From Words Without Borders, a special issue on international graphic novels. From Americana, Eniko Bollobas (ELU): The Marking and the Telling: Versions of the Stigma Narrative as Given by Anne Hutchinson, Emily Dickinson, and Philip Roth; and Zsofia Anna Toth (Szeged): American Cinema at the Crossroads of American Studies. A chronicler of the world now looks inward: The historian Tony Judt, who has written nine books and scores of essays, has lost the ability to move nearly every muscle in his body. Jim Tice on the highest-ranking generals in US history. Break me off a piece of that breakup song: Thao Nguyen on the perverse pleasure of musical pain. The 9/11 Trial: Jane Mayer on Eric Holder and the battle over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. From THES, a review of Stuff by Daniel Miller. Drive that Hummer: Is it a car or a statement? Specific studies have not yet proven that full-scale nudity directly benefits brain performance, but here’s peripheral evidence indicating that skin-only is superior. Can creative writing ever be taught? Rachel Cusk investigates. Smile, you too can understand statistics: Converting statistics into the features of a face makes statistical analysis into a recognisably human activity. A review of The 188th Crybaby Brigade: A Skinny Jewish Kid From Chicago Fights Hezbollah by Joel Chasnoff. A profile of Tereska Torres, the reluctant queen of lesbian literature. A review of Lost Land of the Dodo: An Ecological History of Mauritius, Reunion, and Rodrigues by Anthony Cheke and Julian Hume. An interview with Jytte Klausen, author of The Cartoons That Shook the World.