From Flashpoint, Ellen Cardona (CC): Pound’s Early Years, 1885-1924: The Evolution of a Suburban Prejudice; and "Our friend the atom": An article on Walt Disney and the atomic bomb. Scott McLemee says farewell to a man of letters, John Leonard. There is another way to spend your philanthropic time and money: going to parties. A review of Mindboggling: Preliminaries to a Science of the Mind by Roy Harris. A review of Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed and Forgery in the Holy Land by Nina Burleigh. Jewcy takes a look at the financial crisis, in six easy pieces. Advice to Democrats: Act boldly, act swiftly, and stop worrying about losing seats in the midterm elections. An excerpt from Make It Plain: Standing Up and Speaking Out by Vernon Jordan. From Seed, mathematician Steven Strogatz and architect Carlo Ratti discuss the laws that govern urban behavior and how those laws might shape the cities of the future. An interview with Niall Ferguson on Obama and the global crisis: "A world war without war". Misleading by petition: Just what is the consensus on global warming? A look at how Barack Obama's victory made New York rejoice in its promise. A review of Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World by Alex (Sandy) Pentland. A review of The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread by Maria Balinska.