From Cato Unbound, a review of Larry Lessig’s Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. A tragedy's second act: Did Col. Henry Rathbone's agony as an eyewitness to the Lincoln assassination lead him to murder his wife 18 years later? Chris Rasmussen reviews Seaway to the Future: American Social Visions and the Construction of the Panama Canal by Alexander Missal and The Canal Builders: Making America’s Empire at the Panama Canal by Julie Greene. A review of The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret Macmillan (and more and more). A Subversive on a Hill: What sort of power is the United States? From Scientific American, a special section on the science of beauty; and a special section on the science of our food. Justin Frank, author of Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President, on why Obama is in denial about torture prosecution. Who blames the Jews? An article on anti-Semitism and the economic crisis. What makes baseball boring? An article on the unexamined essence of a slow sport. Clive James on why poetry will never leave us: We might have a job defining what exactly the poet laureate does, but that doesn't diminish her importance. Why we read: Writers share their stories of what drew them into the pages of books and the escapes, surprises and solace they find there.
