Books and Ideas

Darkness Lit From Within: On A.B. Yehoshua

Darkness Lit From Within: On A.B. Yehoshua Darkness Lit From Within: On A.B. Yehoshua

The soul-destroying weariness in A.B. Yehoshua’s stories seems as old as time itself—and unique to contemporary Israel.

Mar 6, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Vivian Gornick

Jellyfish or Fossil? On Louis Agassiz

Jellyfish or Fossil? On Louis Agassiz Jellyfish or Fossil? On Louis Agassiz

Frustrated, stubborn, committed to bad science, was Louis Agassiz anything other than a laughingstock?

Mar 6, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Wineapple

Honoring Rosa Parks Requires More Than a Statue

Honoring Rosa Parks Requires More Than a Statue Honoring Rosa Parks Requires More Than a Statue

The memorial to Parks turned her into a meek and redemptive figure—instead of the radical freedom fighter she was until the end of her life.

Feb 28, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Marwa Amer and Jeanne Theoharis

Passing the Signal Along Passing the Signal Along

The task of a critic has to do with the nature of the knowledge we call art.

Feb 28, 2013 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz

The Sip Heard Round the World The Sip Heard Round the World

He sought to trash the Democrats. He’d rough them up for sure, but first he Just had to have a bit to drink. Poor Rubio was dry and thirsty.   Though pundits say his future’s bright, Whatever life to him may bring, His sobriquet will always be The senator from Poland Spring.

Feb 20, 2013 / Column / Calvin Trillin

At War With Art

At War With Art At War With Art

The Smithsonian’s show on the Civil War and American Art expresses a deep unease about the relationship between between art and history.

Feb 19, 2013 / Books & the Arts / James W. Loewen

A Deliberate Pace: On Rachel Carson A Deliberate Pace: On Rachel Carson

On a Farther Shore captures the conservationist’s deep sense of geologic time and the forces of evolution.

Feb 19, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Vivian Gornick

Hacker Unearths Paintings by George W. Bush Hacker Unearths Paintings by George W. Bush

To new artist George Bush (the junior), We welcome you. Greetings. Salaam. We’re eager to see your depiction Of nukes stashed away by Saddam. 

Feb 13, 2013 / Column / Calvin Trillin

You Are What You Click: On Microtargeting

You Are What You Click: On Microtargeting You Are What You Click: On Microtargeting

Why privacy and anonymity are being violated online by an unstoppable process of data profiling.

Feb 13, 2013 / Books & the Arts / David Auerbach

In Our Orbit: My Lai Rules In Our Orbit: My Lai Rules

Nick Turse’s Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam.

Feb 13, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Richard Kreitner

x