Books and Ideas

Messenger Messenger

The birds stopped coming after the annuals died. I didn't realize how much I missed them until the bluebird Returned, lured by the burgundy haze of the fall pansies Pour...

Feb 28, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Franklin

The Base Camp of Christendom The Base Camp of Christendom

Pat Buchanan surely holds the record for the greatest impact on a presidential election with the fewest votes. With less than 0.43 percent of the tally nationally, he still manag...

Feb 21, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Philip A. Klinkner

Denmark Vesey: A New Verdict Denmark Vesey: A New Verdict

A historian questions whether he led a slave revolt, but his heroism still stands.

Feb 21, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Jon Wiener

Not Betsy Rosses Not Betsy Rosses

For a while I thought about designing a flag. Something bigger, blurrier than "nation." I imagined a hovering planet on a field of blue, and "United We Stand" could be written un...

Feb 21, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Eileen Myles

Black Mischief Black Mischief

On East Capitol Street a few years ago, I was in a taxi when a car pulled suddenly and dangerously across our bow. My driver was white, with a hunter's cap and earmuffs and an inde...

Feb 14, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Christopher Hitchens

Following Doctors’ Orders Following Doctors’ Orders

It's the largest profession in healthcare. It's the largest female profession in America. But despite its tremendous importance and impact, most people know very little about con...

Feb 14, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Suzanne Gordon

Lost in America Lost in America

"When I write, I bid farewell to myself," Jimmy Santiago Baca said in 1992. "I leave most of what I know behind and wander through the landscape of language." This is a memorable...

Feb 14, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Ilan Stavans

Society of the Spectacle Society of the Spectacle

The slogans scrawled across the walls of Paris in May 1968 suggest possibilities most of us have forgotten or that were long ago deemed preposterous. "Never work!" said one sloga...

Feb 7, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Jeremy Smith

Our Collective Bargain Our Collective Bargain

The fortunes of American unions have taken a turn for the worse. Thanks to terrorism and recession, union members are reeling from a series of economic and political setbacks. Ne...

Feb 7, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Steve Early

Hoisting the Black Flag Hoisting the Black Flag

As the World Economic Forum met in New York City recently, the American media were much more concerned with what protesters were doing in the streets than with what they were say...

Feb 7, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Karen Rosenberg

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