From FrontPage, a symposium on criminalizing Holocaust denial, with Alan Dershowitz, Deborah Lipstadt, Roger Kimball, and Gregory Glazov. As we’ve all learned in school, 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, only 30% is solid ground. What if everything was reversed? What if every land mass was a body of water, and vice versa? From The Wilson Quarterly, Soldiering Ahead: For three decades, women have been moving up in the world. They run corporations, colleges, even countries. So what has changed? What's different about female leaders? Compensating the Wrongly Convicted: With an increasing number of exonerated inmates being released, states vary widely on the reparations they make to innocent people they have imprisoned. The behavior of the bald eagle falls under the rubric of kleptoparasitism, which makes the bird a fitting symbol of the U.S.  government, especially as regards foreign policy.

Robert Baden-Powell's scouting movement is 100 years old, but how has his advice to young people — written up a year after the first Scout camp — stood up over the years? Profits vs. Partners: Are the country’s top law firms going the way of the dinosaur? From New York, Disaster Relief: Why did we feel oddly liberated thinking that the terrorists had struck again, finally? Balancing the wheel of life: In seeking good health, be mindful of the lessons of the moose, experience of native people suggests. Orthodox Paradox: The 12 years Noah Feldman spent at a yeshiva day school made him who he is. Now the school doesn’t acknowledge who he has become. A reflection on religion, identity and belonging (and an interview). Key aspects of national security, including intelligence and analysis used to create the President's Daily Brief, have been turned over to private corporations.

From The Nation, a cover story on Purple America: Democrats are poised to seize a historic opportunity to win back voters in the South and West they started losing four decades ago. Max Blumenthal is Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour. Consumers of counterfeit branded products may be dupes or they may be shrewd shoppers, but they are also communicators; people who demonstrate literacy in the meanings attached to certain symbols in the marketplace both of goods and ideas. A review of An Acceptable Sacrifice? Homosexuality and the Church. Accounting for good people: Surprising as it might seem, the Big Four accountancy firms have lots to teach other companies about managing talented people. The Optimism Revolution: Optimism as you know it isn't always the best medicine. In the new view, behavior trumps positive outlook. Why a healthy mentality paints the world in light and shadow.

From America, Behind (and Beyond) the Walls: A review of Nuns by Silvia Evangelisti. The joys of partial recall: If you can't remember the name of your favourite movie, don't worry: You're not alone. The Myth About Boys: We've been fretting about them for a decade. But young men are better off, socially and academically, than ever. From Adbusters, an essay on Jazz and Jihad: The Discourse on Solidarity. No objections here: Supply-and-demand has top law firms' "summer associates" hitting pay dirt without breaking much of a sweat. Thirty years after feminists made key advances, Italian teenagers are coveting jobs as showgirls, dancers and quiz show hostesses. How have Italian women been held back by rules and customs? How has the image of the house-confined mamma, with daughters dreaming of fame and success through beauty, endured? Are you kidding? Tubal ligation procedures denied to young women who don’t want children.

A review of Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent by Larry Berman. A review of Women's Roles in Nineteenth-Century America by Tiffany K. Wayne. A review of Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner ( and more and more and more). Democracy has never been an idyll: Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, had never actually read any of the works of Plato he so airily cited. A review of No Retreat, No Surrender by Tom DeLay (and more). 

From TNR, a review of Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York by Hilary Ballon. A review of The Fabric of America: How Our Borders and Boundaries Shaped the Country and Forged Our National Identity by Andro Linklater. A review of MacArthur by Richard B. Frank. Who was this "Great Liberator"? A review of Lincoln Unmasked: What You're Not Supposed to Know About Dishonest Abe by Thomas J. DiLorenzo. Alger Hiss Rides Again: Spy case erupts; defenders turn to Nixonian tactics. A review of LeMay: A Biography by Barrett Tillman. How Slavery Destroyed Virginia: A review of Dominion of Memories: Jefferson, Madison, and the Decline of Virginia by Susan Dunn.

A review of The Second Gilded Age: The Great Reaction in the United States, 1973-2001 by Michael McHugh. In our era of legalistic nitpicking over dull charters of rights, the (re)publication of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and Thomas Jefferson: Author of America by Christopher Hitchens should make your heart beat faster. A review of The Limits of Sovereignty: Property Confiscation in the Union and the Confederacy During the Civil War by Daniel W. Hamilton. A review of Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President by Stephen Hayes (and more and more). A review of Age of Betrayal: The Triumph of Money in America, 1865-1900 by Jack Beatty and West form Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America After the Civil War by Heather Cox Richardson.

From National Review, an interview with Stephen F. Hayes, author of Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President. A review of Nixon and Kissinger by Robert Dallek. David Gordon reviews The Ruses for War: American Interventionism Since World War II by John B. Quigley. A review of Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919 by Ann Hagedorn. Edward Luttwak reviews The Reagan Diaries, ed. by Douglas Brinkley. A review of Henry Kissinger and the American Century by Jeremi Suri. BBC's Document uncovers details of a planned coup in the USA in 1933 against FDR which included George W. Bush’s grandfather, Prescott. The Great Triumvirate: A review of The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World by John O’Sullivan.

A review of Being Shelley: The Poet's Search for Himself by Ann Wroe. Leading literary firms failed to recognise the work of Jane Austen when it was sent in by a prankster. The opening chapters of three novels were submitted under an invented name, with titles and character names changed. Think you can do better? Try our opening line quiz. From LRB, The Astor Place Riot: A review of The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama and Death in 19th-Century America by Nigel Cliff. In some ways, one might regard the literary couples whose intimate relationships inspired Katie Roiphe’s Uncommon Arrangements as performance artists. From American Heritage, a look at how Alaska gold formed Jack London. From TLS, a review of Cahiers de la Guerre et Autres Textes by Marguerite Duras. A review of Nancy Cunard: Heiress, Muse, Political Idealist by Lois Gordon. Invisible book: A new biography provides the context for Ralph Ellison's failure to finish a second novel (and more from Bookforum). From The Nation, I'm not the man I used to be: A review of Peeling the Onion by Gunter Grass.

Face Book: A review of The Post-Katrina Portraits: Written and Narrated by Hundreds. A review of Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett. A review of F5: Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado Outbreak of the Twentieth Century by Mark Levine. A review of The Obsession: Tragedy in the North Atlantic by John Chipman. A review of Dancing With Rose: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's by Lauren Kessler. A review of Insulin Murder: True-Life Cases by Vincent Marks and Caroline Richmond. A review of Six Feet Over: Adventures in the Afterlife by Mary Roach (and more). From New Statesman, stand-up poet Luke Wright tackle ten existential questions. A review of Failure: An Autobiography by Josh Giddings. A review of Mere Anarchy by Woody Allen.

In the Wall Street Journal deal, the question is when, not if, Rupert Murdoch would take control. Will Rupert Murdoch's play to own and operate the Wall Street Journal have a silver lining for liberals? Eric Alterman investigates. Swept Away by the River of Money: The Wall Street Journal, which the heirs of the Bancroft family are in the process of selling to Rupert Murdoch, is the ultimate symbol of the capitulation of the "American century" to the forces of economic change.

Goodbye to Newspapers? Russell Baker reviews When the Press Fails: Political Power and the New Media from Iraq to Katrina by W. Lance Bennett, Regina G. Lawrence, and Steven Livingston and American Carnival: Journalism Under Siege in an Age of New Media by Neil Henry. From AJR, A Fading Taboo: Paper by paper, advertising is making its way onto the nation’s front pages and section fronts. Should newspapers become local blog networks? From TAP, how the press workers at the Los Angeles Times bucked the paper's legacy and organized at the notoriously anti-union employer. Have media drunk enviro-Kool Aid? Jack Shafer says reporters and editors are losing their heads by cozying up to environmental cause. He's wrong. Bruce Bartlett on the changing world of commentary. Shut Your Loophole: Add loophole to the list of words that should be banned from journalism.

From The Economist, how to deal with a falling population: Worries about a population explosion have been replaced by fears of decline. If a country wants to keep its population up, it should promote IVF. A review of Embryo Culture: Making Babies in the Twenty-First Century by Beth Kohl Sarah and Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Conception is Changing Men, Women, and the World by Liza Mundy. Japan's population is ageing fast and shrinking. That has implications for every institution, and may even decide the fate of governments. In the Ruins of Empire should inform our thinking about calling on Japan to make reparations to "comfort women". China's corpse brides: An article on a lucrative, grisly market for grave robbers and murderers. An interview with Xinran, author of The Good Women of China. 

China's Chicago: A giant city in the south-west is a microcosm of China's struggle to move millions from rural to urban areas. Despite its attempt to impose "capitalism with Chinese characteristics" in an effort to preserve the authority of the Communist state, Beijing will soon find that it can no longer silence the many who speak out against tyranny and corruption. Scared of China's economy? You should be. The Sopranos State: How North Korea’s crime empire functions. North Korea's no Mozambique: A review of North of the DMZ by Andrei Lankov. A matter of honour: A row over the UN's record in North Korea gets very close and personal, to everyone's detriment.

A review of Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and South East Asia. From The Economist, ten years after Asia's financial crisis, the region is booming again. Has it fully recovered or are economic mistakes being repeated? Left behind by Asia's rise:  Nature has dealt Papua New Guinea a tough hand. Even so, reformers have already shown how it could be doing much better. The survivors of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia were witness to one of the greatest atrocities in human history. Many cannot bring themselves to speak of it. The French children of these survivors are trying to come to terms with their parents' silence. A review of Perfect Hostage: A Life of Aung San Suu Kyi by Justin Wintle. 

A review of The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan by Yasmin Khan. A review of Gandhi: The Man, His People and The Empire by Rajmohan Gandhi. The Gandhis' girl: The election of India's president is a modest boost to the government. The Internet's Spice Route: An excerpt from The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means to All of Us. A review of Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron (and more). A review of Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang by James Millwoard. A review of The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion by Paddy Docherty. A review of Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalisation by Nayan Chanda. Going nowhere: Despite reports in the Financial Times, there's no backlash against globalisation — only against growing inequality and social immobility.

From Turbulence, at the end of the 20th century many involved in various movements around the world had the sense that we were winning. In 2007 things appear much more complicated. What would it actually mean to win? Politics in an age of fantasy: If progressives want to be a meaningful political force in the 21st century we need to start dreaming, argues Stephen Duncombe; Sandro Mezzadra and Gigi Roggero on the crisis of the "movement of movements"; how do we engage with existing social struggles without falling back into empty sloganeering? Ben Trott suggests the idea of directional demands might provide a way out of the impasse; if the cell form of capitalism is the commodity, the cellular form of a society beyond capital is the common.

Nick Dyer-Witheford discusses the circulation of commons and the conditions they would create for new collective projects and waves of organising; the demand for a basic income de-linked from wage labour appears to be gaining ground, in parts of Europe at least. But is it really as radical as it sounds?; Euclides André Mance celebrates a new mode of production which is expanding as part of a network revolution, and argues that it could form the material basis for new post-capitalist societies; the crazy before the new: Complexity, critical instability and the end of capitalism; and politicising sadness: After the euphoria of the event, the melacholy of the comedown, as our power-to-act wanes and we sense new possibilities receding.

The threat from outer space: An article on the ultimate environmental catastrophe. A look at why climate engineering is doable, as long as we never stop. James Hansen finds it almost inconceivable that "business as usual" climate change will not result in a rise in sea level measured in metres within a century. Is he the only scientist who thinks so? The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain, Or Does It? Climate change explains shifting rainfall patterns: wet places getting wetter and dry places drier. The localvore's dilemma: Sometimes buying local food helps in the battle against climate change. Sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes, it's just too confusing to decide. Ten Dispatches About Place: As Everywhere becomes Nowhere, we establish private landmarks for the presence of the eternal in daily life. 

Married Man Seeks Same for Discreet Play: He has a loving wife, a small child—and sex with men on the side. How the Internet has made it easier than ever to lead a detection-proof double life. Why do men kill their wives? Could some of these murders really be no more than "divorce substitutes"? The upcoming trials of Neil Entwistle and James Keown might provide some answers. Helen Fisher on The Laws of Chemistry: Whom you are most attracted to reflects the biology of your brain as much as the heat of your heart. And it may not have to do with us—it's all about the kids; and Marriage, a History: Long ago, love was a silly reason for a match. How marriage has changed over history. Is monogamy natural? A lifetime of love versus a quick roll with a stranger. It's funny how we can have two seemingly opposite urges at the same time. Ron Jeremy will hit the open highway with Pastor Craig Gross, founder of the anti-porn Web site XXXchurch.com, to debate the issue of pornography. Is it seriously wrong to have virtual sex with a virtual child? Peter Singer on virtual vices.

From Harper's, what is, and to what end do we study history? If we adhere rigidly to the truth, to a quest for the truth, Friedrich Schiller tells us, we will move forward. A review of The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo by Sir Edward Creasy. Empire and Its Discontents: A review of The Scandal of Empire: India and the Creation of Imperial Britain by Nicholas B. Dirks; The Roman Predicament: How the Rules of International Order Create the Politics of Empire by Harold James; and Among Empires: American Ascendancy and Its Predecessors by Charles S. Maier.

The history book that has everything: What do you want from a history book? Knowledge, interpretation, style, restraint — and strong opinions. The New Penguin History of the World has it all. From Polis to Imperium: A review of The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian by Robin Lane Fox. A review of Cultural Borrowings and Ethnic Appropriations in Antiquity. A review of Xenophon's Retreat: Greece, Persia and the End of the Golden Age by Robin Waterfield. A review of La "crise" de l'Empire romain de Marc Aurèle à Constantin. Mutations, continuités, ruptures. We're just a flea bite away from catastrophe ourselves: A review of Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe by William Rosen (and more and more and more).

A review of Europe's Reformations, 1450-1650: Doctrine, Politics, and Community by James D. Tracy. A review of The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815 by Tim Blanning (and more). A review of Napoleon: The Path to Power 1769-1799 by Philip Dwyer. A review of Napoleon in Egypt: The Greatest Glory by Paul Strathern. A review of Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna by Adam Zamoyski. A review of A Turn to Empire: The Rise of Imperial Liberalism in Britain and France by Jennifer Pitts. A review of William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner by William Hague; Abolition!: The Struggle to Abolish Slavery in the British Colonies by Richard S. Reddie; and The Trade, The Owner, The Slave by James Walvin (and more and more).  

A review of World War One: A Short History by Norman Stone. Nine decades ago the Royal Family switched to an English-sounding name because of anti-German feeling, as did some of their subjects. Is there an echo of this predicament today? From The Atlantic Monthly, a review of Europe At War 1939-1945: No Simple Victory by Norman Davies. A review of Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941 by Ian Kershaw. A review of Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War by Chris Bellamy. A review of Hitler's Home Front: Württemberg under the Nazis by Jill Stephenson. A review of The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World by Kati Marton (and more). The introduction to From Guilt to Shame: Auschwitz and After by Ruth Leys. A review of Churchill: The Unexpected Hero by Paul Addison. A review of Austerity Britain 1945-51 by David Kynaston. Graciana del Castillo and Edmund S. Phelps on the road to post-War recovery. A review of The Berlin Wall: 13 August 1961 – 9 November 1989 by Frederick Taylor (and more). An excerpt from The Logics and Politics of Post-WWII Migration to Western Europe by Anthony M. Messina. A certain way of being European: A review of In Europe: Travels through the twentieth century by Geert Mak.

From Postmodern Culture, Jussi Parikka ( Humboldt): Insects, Sex, and Biodigitality in Lynn Hershman Leeson's Teknolust; an interview with Christian Bok on his current project, The Xenotext Experiment, which explores the intersection between poetry and biotechnology; a review of Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day; and a review of The Ethics of Mourning: Grief and Responsibility in Elegiac Literature by R. Clifton Spargo. From The New Yorker, a review of The Most Arrogant Man in France: Gustave Courbet and the Nineteenth-Century Media Culture by Petra ten-Doesschate Chu. 

From Nextbook, The Right Questions: German conceptual artists find provocative ways to confront the Holocaust. From Axess, the conformity of rebellion: It has become a requirement of contemporary culture that art transgress norms and overstep boundaries. But the absurdity of this consensual rebellion is being exposed by Søren Ulrik Thomsen and Frederik Stjernfelt, authors of Critique of negative edification, who want to free art from any ideological directives, whether radical or conservative. It may sound macabre, but the creator of Disce Mori (latin for "learn to die") jewellery is just one of a crop of contemporary artists and interior designers inspired by the art of taxidermy.

From Prospect, in recent years, the economics of pop music have been upended. The market for CDs has collapsed, and not even the rise of legal downloading can offset the damage to record companies. Meanwhile, demand for live performances has rocketed. A review of Something in the Air, Radio, Rock, and the Revolution that Shaped a Generation by Marc Fisher. A review of The House That George Built: With a Little Help From Irving, Cole, and a Crew of About Fifty by Wilfrid Sheed. A review of The Life and Death of Classical Music by Norman Lebrecht. Cue the violin: A review of Hitchcock's Music by Jack Sullivan. 

From PopMatters, a review of The Gangster Film Reader. Readers of The Guardian pick their top 50 comic movies, with quite a few surprises thrown in. Why is the screenwriter the Cinderella of film? Screenwriters are solitary creatures who rarely get recognised for their achievements. A review of Not Remotely Controlled: Notes on Television by Lee Siegel. Our Springfield soft spots: Ten (out of 10,000,000) reasons why we love The Simpsons; a look at why Lisa Simpson is the heart and soul of the longest-running TV sitcom of all time; and maybe Bart is right, the Simpsons are not so different from the Waltons after all. They may be misfits, but they subscribe to the same cosy theory about the importance of sticking together. There are 12 kinds of ads in the world: Resist them all!

Making Development Less Risky: Innovative forms of insurance could unshackle a green revolution in Africa and other poor nations. A Godsend for Darfur, or a curse? A newly discovered lake under the barren soil of northern Sudan is as likely to be a source of conflict as a solution to the bloodshed. The Best Hotel in Hell: As the city all around it remains the epitome of urban anarchy, Mogadishu's Peace Hotel offers tranquility, security, Internet access and good food. Unites States of Africa: Most are quick to ridicule the idea of a unified African state, but it’s the struggling continent’s only hope. The Americans Have Landed: A few years ago, with little fanfare, the United States opened a base in the horn of Africa to kill or capture Al Qaeda fighters. By 2012, the Pentagon will have two dozen such forts. The story of Africa Command, the American military's new frontier outpost.

Busting the Merchant of War: The Bush administration finally nails a notorious supplier to terrorists—after he spent 30 years hiding in plain sight. Is your Muslim doctor the enemy? How terrorist groups target middle-class Muslims. Why do they hate us? Stick to core American values and you will find many allies in the Muslim world. John Esposito on understanding Islam. Muslims, in a very specific way, are not strangers in your midst. They are kin, and not just kin in the lovely way that all humans are. Islam needs a Reformation. It needs someone with the courage of Martin Luther.  

The European Problem: How American Muslims could become as alienated as European Muslims. What to expect when you're expecting a co-wife: Why American Muslims don't care to legalize polygamy. From Newsweek, a special report on Islam in America: Muslim Americans are one of this country's greatest strengths. But they're vulnerable as never before; America was built on diversity. The same is true of Islam; and Inside the Cyber-Jihad: Are we in danger of losing the war of ideas on the Web? What went wrong? Akbar Ahmed on how Bush still doesn't get it. 

Disfavor for Bush hits rare heights: In the modern era, only Nixon and Truman scored worse, just barely. From Political Affairs, is George W. Bush the worst president in US history? Norman Markowitz investigates. Dicking Around: Spencer Ackerman reviews Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President by Stephen F. Hayes. Murdoch's Crackpot Minion: Liberals can only hope that crackpots like Bill Kristol maintain their influence over the Republicans for a few more years, reducing the right-wing party to a permanent minority. When are Republicans going to come clean and admit they hate democracy? From The New York Observer, Niall Stanage on why Rush Limbaugh loves Cindy Sheehan.

The Problem of Equality: An excerpt from The Commercial Society: Foundations and Challenges in a Global Age by Samuel Gregg. Virginia Postrel reviews Pop! Why Bubbles Are Great for the Economy by Daniel Gross. What’s Behind the Superstar CEO Curse? Executives apparently suffer from the corporate equivalent of the Sports Illustrated curse, which supposedly destroys star athletes’ performance once they appear on the magazine’s cover. A review of Richistan: a Journey Through the 21st-Century Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich by Robert Frank. An article on the curse of inheritance: Do wealthy dynasties always make for happy heirs? A review of The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America by Daniel Brook. 

Consent of the Governed: The election of gay officials isn't about promoting agenda; it's about electing the most qualified individuals. What God didn't give them, ebay will: Drag queens are coming out of their closets as Glasgow’s cross-dressing cabaret scene takes off for the first time in a decade. Paul Dalgarno discovers that when it comes to big dance routines and lung-busting diva anthems, you can’t keep a good woman down. Girl/Boy Interrupted: A new treatment for transgender kids puts puberty on hold so that they won't develop into their biological sex. A review of The Decency Wars: Campaign to Cleanse American Culture by Frederick S. Lane. 

From Counterpunch, an article on the Christian Right, sexual scandal and the sexual pleasures of the Courtesan. The Curious Morality of Leadership: Much can be learned from the wobbly, ongoing fall of Sen. David Vitter. The indiscretions of former GOP "family values" poster boy Sen. David Vitter are the latest examples of Republican sexual and moral hypocrisy stretching from Congress to the presidential campaigns. Does the religious majority rule? With church-state issues, the answer is often yes. In six communities where public religiosity was contested in court, an unfortunate theme emerged: Insiders who crossed the majority view quickly became outsiders. The Origins of the God Gap: Only 30 years ago, the party of Jimmy Carter had religious voters locked up. How it lost this crucial bloc is a story of fear, ignorance and political deafness. Ovid the poet would go off like a stink bomb in Ovid the town: And that gives Sam Jordison a warm glow. What better indication of the continuing relevance of one of his favourite poets than his ability to shock Baptist America to its humourless core?

From Prospect, Roger Scruton on the sacred and the human: Today's atheist polemics ignore the main insight of the anthropology of religion—that religion is not primarily about God, but about the human need for the sacred. As René Girard argues, religion is not the cause of violence, but the solution to it. From Taki's Top Drawer, an essay on Hitchens’ Hubris. From The Atlantic Monthly, an interview with Christopher Hitchens on God Is Not Great. From Jewcy, what the angry atheists get wrong: Religion doesn’t require a belief in God.

From Bad Subjects, a special issue on Hope, including an introduction, and an essay on The Moral Politics of Hope: Nihilism has, in its own way, become fashionable, a facade that shields its devotees from the burdens of empathy and human connection. But if nihilism is a fashion, we should remember that fashions go out of style; an interview with geographer David Pinder on radical geography, cities and the politics of utopia; American conservatives preach about the sanctity of life, yet do not promote programs that would help millions of low income citizens get health care. Cutting through the hypocrisy to get to the hope, the author calls for more accountability among the "pro-life"; an article on the war FOR illegals; Future Now! In a lot of ways, the promising future of cyberspace that dawned in the early 1990s has come to pass a decade and a half later; and four snapshots of hope.

From Ovi, the Poetical as the Mind in Action: In order to recover lost humanistic modes of thought in a rationalistic era, it may be useful to revisit Marshall McLuhan, some twenty five years after his death; and Montaigne saw the essay as a presentation of the self, while Pascal’s definition of the traditional essay was that of a “peinture de la pensée,” i.e. a painting of the mind in action. From Prospect, the last interview with Albert Ellis, the foul-mouthed father of cognitive therapy, a modern Diogenes at odds with the institute he founded, and convinced of the value of Stoic wisdom. Is living longer worth it? Ronald Bailey pursues the longevity dividend at Transvision 2007 in Chicago.

An interview with Adrian Moore, author of The Infinite, on what infinity is and of some of the paradoxes it gives rise to. Infinity Comes in Different: Sizes If you were counting on infinity being absolute, your number's up. Is time travel possible? Not all scientists agree but according to Einstein and quantum theory, time travel could be possible. A review of Is Science Neurotic? by Nicholas Maxwell. Will John Wilbanks launch the next scientific revolution? Using innovative copyrights and a Web 2.0 platform, John Wilbanks may just transform how scientific discoveries are made. For scientist John Scott Haldane, life was one long experiment.

X-ray Eyes in the Sky: Scientists are working on satellites that will see far below the planet’s surface, to better understand the structure and composition of Earth’s crust, mantle and core. A review of Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere by Peter Douglas Ward. The roots of happiness: A review of Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin. A review of The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston. A review of Chasing Kangaroos: A Continent, a Scientist, and a Search for the World’s Most Extraordinary Creature by Tim Flannery. A review of The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss.