From NYRB, how historic a victory? Michael Tomasky reviews Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age by Larry Bartels and Red, Blue, and Purple America: The Future of Election Demographics; Michael Massing on Obama: In the Divided Heartland and Joan Didion and Darryl Pinckney on Obama: In the Irony-Free Zone. Cass Sunstein on Obama the Visionary Minimalist: He seeks consensus on "what" to do, not "why" to do it. Here are three reasons why Obamania isn’t just completely ridiculous. Memo to the White House staff: Congratulations on your appointment; here follows a handy list as you begin your duties in the White House. It’s only rock and roll but the Chinese Communist Party doesn’t like Guns 'n Roses' "Chinese Democracy" (and more). From NPR, Junot Diaz, Jhumpa Lahiri and Joseph O'Neill on what it means to become an American (and from Bookforum, a review of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and an interview with Jhumpa Lahiri). From The Smart Set, when is a world record a sad affair? When it's noted in Guinness World Records 2009 (and more); and palate or palette? A look at the unlikely relationship between modern art and modern cooking. Monks in the charts, exorcisms on TV, a statue of Jesus sexually aroused: Mark Lawson on why artists can't resist the lure of Christianity.
