The Dirty Halo: On Sarah Bernhardt The Dirty Halo: On Sarah Bernhardt
Robert Gottlieb's vigorous biography of Sarah Bernhardt shows the actress in all her workaholic, passionate and unsentimental force.
Nov 23, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Jana Prikryl
Burning Down the House: On Ed Koch Burning Down the House: On Ed Koch
Ed Koch rebuilt New York City by demolishing its long-running experiments in urban liberalism.
Nov 23, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Samuel Zipp
Without Artifice: On William Brennan Without Artifice: On William Brennan
Justice William Brennan's watchword was human dignity, and to protect it he interpreted individual rights expansively.
Nov 17, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Michael O’Donnell
The Merry-Go-Round: On Jack Anderson The Merry-Go-Round: On Jack Anderson
Poisoning the Press tells the tale of Jack Anderson's fall from muckraking hero to blustering pundit.
Nov 17, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Diane Simon
The Group: On George Price The Group: On George Price
The enigma of George Price: He derived an equation for the evolution of altruism, yet he died believing himself a failed good Samaritan.
Sep 22, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Miriam Markowitz
Ardor and the Abyss Ardor and the Abyss
Emily Dickinson's reclusiveness was a way of protecting the world from herself.
Jun 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach
In With Both Feet In With Both Feet
Like Charles Dickens's Gradgrind, Justice Louis Brandeis wanted facts.
May 26, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Michael O’Donnell
Garbage and Gravitas Garbage and Gravitas
Ayn Rand was a melodramatist of the moral life: the battle is between the producer and the moochers, and it must end in life or death.
May 20, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Corey Robin
A Wise Unknowingness A Wise Unknowingness
"There is such a thing as a moral atmosphere." So said Violet Gibson, the woman who shot Mussolini.
Mar 18, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Wineapple
A Body on the Gears A Body on the Gears
At Berkeley in 1964, Mario Savio embodied the need to speak and act in the face of doubt.
Mar 11, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Scott Saul