An Accelerated Grimace: On Cyber-Utopianism An Accelerated Grimace: On Cyber-Utopianism
Clay Shirky's Cognitive Surplus is the latest monotonous revery about the Internet social revolution. Evgeny Morozov punctures that bubble.
Mar 3, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Chris Lehmann
A Signature Copy A Signature Copy
Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy; Matt Porterfield's Putty Hill; Patricio Guzmán's Nostalgia for the Light; J. Hoberman's new book, An Army of Phantoms
Mar 3, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Walkouts, Payouts and Lockouts Walkouts, Payouts and Lockouts
Why the NFL's labor dispute should matter to you.
Feb 17, 2011 / Blog / Eric Alterman
The Upside of Censorship The Upside of Censorship
Sometimes the censor is art’s best friend.
Feb 17, 2011 / Books & the Arts / JoAnn Wypijewski
Ronald Reagan Superstar Ronald Reagan Superstar
Reagan proved that deficits don't matter—and truth doesn't either.
Feb 17, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Eric Alterman
Where Hunger Goes: On the Green Revolution Where Hunger Goes: On the Green Revolution
Nick Cullather’s The Hungry World teaches us that US agricultural assistance in Asia during the cold war was a Green Counterrevolution.
Feb 17, 2011 / Books & the Arts / David Rieff
Spring Spring
Larvae harden into adults, into the complexity of distinct anatomy— windowed wings, legs like stitches—tossing off the sodden blanket of the soft body, their innocence lisping over the pig, oomphs and fizzes forming a transcript of triumphs, but what does it mean to win, out here? Spring’s raffle: who will live, who’ll become distressed and wish for a place to climb in. I’m watching the air fill with the born-again, resting on the corpse of the rotted oak. Tomorrow I’ll drag it, chain-sawed to thick tablets, into the woods. No tragedy to watch it go. The insects have broken from that burrow into warm air. Snow has melted from bark and pooled. With nowhere to turn.
Feb 17, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Paula Bohince
Being in the World: On James Miller Being in the World: On James Miller
With Examined Lives, James Miller offers a serious and readable study of the relationship between philosophy and life conduct.
Feb 17, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Richard Wolin
The Swift Demise of Rep. Christopher Lee The Swift Demise of Rep. Christopher Lee
A member of Congress named Christopher Lee— A buff enough member, we all would agree— Was hoping on Craigslist to go on a spree. So, shirtless, he posted a “How about me?”— Not knowing that someone with Google could see He wasn’t the guy he’d pretended to be, And, yes, he was married and thus hardly free. Now Christopher Lee is naught but debris.
Feb 16, 2011 / Column / Calvin Trillin
All Alter-Review Slacker Friday All Alter-Review Slacker Friday
Reviewing two shows in the Lincoln Center's "American Songbook" series, plus the Cowboy Junkies.
Feb 11, 2011 / Blog / Eric Alterman