From The New York Review of Ideas, a review of For the Common Good: Principles of American Academic Freedom by Matthew W. Fink, Robert C. Post; and face-off between cannon fodder: The Norton Anthology of English Literature vs. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. From THES, a review of Unlimited Intimacy: Reflections on the Subculture of Barebacking by Tim Dean; a review of Black Beauty: Aesthetics, Stylization, Politics by Shirley Anne Tate; and a review of Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero by E. Paul Zehr. From The Utopian, a special issue on fear and loathing, including Shashank Joshi on knowing what (not) to be afraid of: On the limits of political alchemy from Thucydides to Bush; and an inside look at Sharia courts in England. From The Paris Review, an interview with Gay Talese: "Nonfiction writers are second-class citizens, the Ellis Island of literature. We just can't quite get in. And yes, it pisses me off". A review of Bethany Moreton's To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise (and more and more; and more by Maud Newton at Bookforum). Are depressions necessary? The current crisis has revived an old debate about the utility of economic downturns. Is the economic crisis a sin? Why America needs a new Social Gospel.