The Battle Hymn of the War on Poverty The Battle Hymn of the War on Poverty
How the call to empathy helped mobilize a nation.
Jan 15, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Sasha Abramsky
Casual Opulence Casual Opulence
Denise Levertov’s Collected Poems.
Jan 15, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Adam Plunkett
This Week in ‘Nation’ History: The Passion of Amiri Baraka This Week in ‘Nation’ History: The Passion of Amiri Baraka
We published some of his earliest poems as well as his great 1964 essay on Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay.
Jan 11, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Katrina vanden Heuvel
Reading Melville in Post-9/11 America Reading Melville in Post-9/11 America
The author's half-forgotten masterpiece, Benito Cereno, provides fascinating insight into issues of slavery, freedom, individualism—and Islamophobia.
Jan 7, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Greg Grandin
Melville and the Language of Denial Melville and the Language of Denial
The events behind his story Benito Cereno are more than two centuries old, but the deceptions of racial inferiority that Melville exposes resonate today.
Jan 7, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Toni Morrison
What Bill de Blasio Can Learn From New York City’s Last Radical Mayor What Bill de Blasio Can Learn From New York City’s Last Radical Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia also took office in a time of crisis—and he was open to new ideas and bold reforms.
Jan 7, 2014 / Books & the Arts / D.D. Guttenplan
Why Does Obama Want to Extend a War He Doesn’t Believe In? Why Does Obama Want to Extend a War He Doesn’t Believe In?
Obama wants another decade of war in Afghanistan—but a new book says he’s already lost faith in the mission.
Jan 7, 2014 / Books & the Arts / George Zornick
Infamy or Urn? Infamy or Urn?
How was Emily Dickinson able to be frugal and fruitful in her art?
Jan 7, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko
This Week in ‘Nation’ History: How We Helped Start the ‘Melville Revival’ of the 1920s This Week in ‘Nation’ History: How We Helped Start the ‘Melville Revival’ of the 1920s
An article in our pages in 1919 helped rescue the long-deceased scribe from obscurity and secured him a prominent place in the American canon.
Jan 4, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Katrina vanden Heuvel
A Guerrillero-Gentleman: On Joaquim Câmara Ferreira A Guerrillero-Gentleman: On Joaquim Câmara Ferreira
Was the author's aristocratic grandfather, who would become a leader of the armed resistance against Brazil’s military dictatorship, a hero or a terrorist?
Dec 30, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Carlos Fraenkel