Books and Ideas

‘I am not myself’ ‘I am not myself’

I’m severely everyone & it hurts   if I’m sick you’ll take care of me?   “Oh, yeah sure of course.”

Mar 27, 2012 / Books & the Arts / John Coletti

The Not Yet Richer, Still Struggling for Economic Equality, Sex The Not Yet Richer, Still Struggling for Economic Equality, Sex

A new book takes exciting and historic trends a step too far.

Mar 23, 2012 / Blog / Bryce Covert

Challenging the ‘Self-Made’ Myth Challenging the ‘Self-Made’ Myth

No one who has succeeded in America actually did it on his or her own.

Mar 21, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Katrina vanden Heuvel

On Not Leaving the Field On Not Leaving the Field

Right-wingers who want to be heard Note Newt’s place is solidly third. But if right-wing votes were combined, The front-runner might fall behind. So they say to Newt, “Won’t you go?” And Newt, being Newt, answers no.   Newt’s ideological kin Are dreading a moderate’s win. They argue that it would advance The cause if Newt gave Rick a chance To face Mitt not in a duet. And Newt, being Newt, still says nyet.   “When England was under the blitz, Did Churchill say, ‘Let’s call it quits’?” Says Newt. “That is not what you see From statesmen like Churchill and me.” “Oh, please, just this once, Newt,” they say. And Newt, being Newt, says, “No way.”

Mar 21, 2012 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Havel’s Specter: On Václav Havel

Havel’s Specter: On Václav Havel Havel’s Specter: On Václav Havel

The Czech playwright's enduring ideas about politics, truth and human nature.

Mar 21, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Caleb Crain

Winging It: The Battle Between Reagan and PATCO Winging It: The Battle Between Reagan and PATCO

The true economic legacy of the Reagan years is not tax cuts but union busting.

Mar 21, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Chris Lehmann

Alice Kaplan: Angela Davis’s France

Alice Kaplan: Angela Davis’s France Alice Kaplan: Angela Davis’s France

For a young black student, France was not the refuge it was reputed to be.

Mar 15, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Francis Reynolds

If Vaclav Havel Met Occupy’s Human Mic… If Vaclav Havel Met Occupy’s Human Mic…

The words of the former president of the Czech Republic resonate with the problems Occupy confronts today.  

Mar 14, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Schell

The Republican Finalists The Republican Finalists

Regarding those still in the race And all the sighs they engender, All small-time pols quote Brando now: “I coulda been a contender.”

Mar 14, 2012 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Gaddis’s Kennan: Strategies of Disparagement Gaddis’s Kennan: Strategies of Disparagement

Intent on blaming the cold war simply on Soviet perfidy, John Lewis Gaddis does a disservice to the subject of his biography—and to his readers.  

Mar 14, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Eric Alterman

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