Books & the Arts

Writer’s Block Writer’s Block

An e-mail from my rabbi, who's moved to the West Coast, says they're "happier than pigs in shit." Something forced about that. People with a new grandchild don't boast

Oct 26, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Alan Feldman

The Uncertainty Principle The Uncertainty Principle

By writing a novel about a conventional novelist writing about a conventional man, J.M. Coetzee's latest work illuminates the role of the novel and cuts through typical and tired t...

Oct 26, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Pankaj Mishra

The War of the Liberals The War of the Liberals

Power and the Idealists clings to the notion that the Iraq War was waged for humanitarian ideals, while At the Point of a Gun documents the inner torment of humanitarian interventi...

Oct 26, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Holmes

The Two-Way Squeeze The Two-Way Squeeze

The quiet purposefulness that characterized Rosa Parks's actions bears eloquent witness to the power of her protest.

Oct 25, 2005 / Books & the Arts / The Editors

Deadline for Saddam Deadline for Saddam

Saddam Hussein went to trial on Wednesday declaring he was still the president of Iraq. A series of odes a decade ago to Hussein's dictatorial days show the tyrant was always out ...

Oct 24, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Calvin Trillin

The Hidden History of Slavery in New York The Hidden History of Slavery in New York

Those who believe that slavery in America was strictly a "Southern thing" will discover an eye-opening historical record on display at the New-York Historical Society's current exh...

Oct 24, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Adele Oltman

One Possible Scenario One Possible Scenario

One twisted tale of how Harriet Miers's confirmation hearings will unfold.

Oct 20, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Calvin Trillin

The Young and the Damned The Young and the Damned

Paradise Now explores the bond among suicide bombers; The Squid and the Whale brings two monstrously large characters to human scale and The President's Last Bang is nastily effici...

Oct 19, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

The Blue The Blue

heron is gray, not blue, but great enough against brown-tipped bowed cattails to be well-named, is known for its stealth, shier

Oct 19, 2005 / Books & the Arts / David Baker

How Art Can Save Your Life How Art Can Save Your Life

Michael Kimmelman's The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa is a celebration of the intersection between art and life and the random genius of the unexpected.

Oct 19, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Hal Foster

x