Books and Ideas

Shelf Life Shelf Life

Gary Wills's Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State; Elizabeth Arnold's Effacement.

Apr 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / John Palattella

Gramaphoons Gramaphoons

A rock bottom, a bottom line, a body in extremis all make the poems of Graham Foust quaver and reel.

Apr 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko

The Crack-Up The Crack-Up

The Latin American utopia has disappeared, says novelist and crackero Jorge Volpi, and he displays little nostalgia for it.

Apr 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Ben Ehrenreich

A Guide to Discussing the News for Responsible and Serious-Minded Citizens A Guide to Discussing the News for Responsible and Serious-Minded Citizens

 Hot topics.

Apr 16, 2010 / Column / Calvin Trillin

In Defense of Hamid Karzai In Defense of Hamid Karzai

Redeeming our faltering ally.

Apr 15, 2010 / Column / Calvin Trillin

A Reign Not of This World A Reign Not of This World

Juan Carlos Onetti immerses himself in reality just long enough to fashion an escape. This is his peculiar gift.

Apr 14, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Blitzer

Anderson’s Amphibologies: On Perry Anderson

Anderson’s Amphibologies: On Perry Anderson Anderson’s Amphibologies: On Perry Anderson

Perry Anderson deftly punctures the EU's self-serving myths, but his own pieties make him a better prosecutor than judge.

Apr 8, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Mark Mazower

Explaining Michael Steele Explaining Michael Steele

What's his deal?

Apr 8, 2010 / Column / Calvin Trillin

A Caller of the Dove A Caller of the Dove

In his poems, Mahmoud Darwish greeted even his own name warily, knowing it was something else he'd be forced to leave behind.

Apr 8, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Jordan Davis

Impossible to Ignore Wikileaks Tape Impossible to Ignore Wikileaks Tape

Martin Luther King's words in 1967 are still relevant to today's war, as the Wikileaks tape shows.

Apr 7, 2010 / Laura Flanders

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