From TLS, books we have never read: A review of How to discuss books that one hasn’t read by Pierre Bayard; Brain droppings and brats of humour: A review of New Foundling Hospital for Wit, 1768-1773; a review of Being Prez: The life and music of Lester Young by Dave Gelly; and a statement from the Commission for Racial Equality, calling the book “racist claptrap” which should be removed from bookshops, has made Tintin in the Congo into a bestseller.
The masses aren't asses: Harry Potter is a true literary success — no matter what some critics say. Harry's next conquest: Academia: A massive conference planned for Toronto next month will explore all things Potter. Pottering Around: The end is near! Scott McLemee checks on the scholarly response to Harry Potter as devotees await the final chapter. Hogwarts U.: With courses, clubs, and quidditch at colleges across the nation, the magic of J.K. Rowling's wizarding world is far from ending. A look at how the Christian Fantasy Genre builds niche without Hogwarts, muggles or spells.
From Busted Halo, Jane Austen meets Jesus: The book that will make John D. Spaliding rich and famous. A brief history of American Audio Bibles: Casting Samuel L. Jackson in the role of God says as much about the power of Pulp Fiction as it does about hermeneutics, but imagine a God that sounded like Eartha Kitt. From Ars Disputandi, God, Master of Arts: An essay on the relation between art and religion: What does theology have to do with art in this (post)modern period? A review of Fra Filippo Lippi: The Carmelite Painter by Megan Holmes. A review of Mosaics as History: The Near East from Late Antiquity to Islam by G.W. Bowersock.
From Common-place, National Character: An article on Daniel Day-Lewis, American historian. Treks and tales from the far North: Inuit artists share the stories that inform their art; the Porcupine caribou herd on awesome parade – and a photographer who isn't afraid to risk lens and limb. Grow op, garburetor, and timbits are a few of the words expected to be added to the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles in its first revamp in 40 years. Time to say au revoir and arrivederci to misplaced romantic notions: Claire Prentice on shattering national stereotypes.
A review of American Food Writing: An Anthology With Classic Recipes. The deep delicious South: John T. Edge, America's bard of Southern food, talks about Kool-Aid pickles, eating with the KKK, and how okra might be the ultimate tool of integration. A review of Bad Food Britain: How a Nation Ruined its Appetite by Joanna Blythman. Rise of the terroiristes: Appellations began in 1935 to protect French winegrowers from fraud. Now they are found on everything from cheese to fruit to hay. They are not just a brand for the brandless, writes Andrew Jefford, but a way of sensually mapping the world. The beer-ifation of class: Catherine Tsai deconstructs the process by which a new style of beer is born.
It is time for Ban Ki-moon to speak up and speak out: After six months in the job, the UN secretary general should be taking the lead, but his record so far is underwhelming. The UN chief doesn't have to shout to get results: Be it on Darfur or climate change, Ban Ki-moon has already made diplomatic gains. In I Wouldn't Start from Here: A Misguided Tour of the Early 21st Century, Andrew Mueller catalogues his travels in some of the world's most benighted places - including Kosovo, Palestine, Libya, Sarajevo, Afghanistan and Iraq - as he grapples with "possibly the most maddening mystery of our time" (and more). A Tale of Three Tribes: The dilemma of ethnic minorities lies in the choice between preserving cultures and integrating individuals into a broader society.
From Roots, we should put a wit virus into the established system of ethnic, religious, language, and any other kind of exclusivism: Macedonian author Pajo Avirovic on how a joke goes along way in a society riven by ethnic tension; and how can it be that the primary concern of Macedonian politics is not, as in most other European countries, economic and democratic development, but fear of annihilation? A review of Understanding Evil: Lessons from Bosnia by Keith Doubt. Jean Tirole on four principles for an effective state: Meeting the expectations of its citizens will require the French state to become more effective. Under Nicolas Sarkozy, France represses its controversial history. Bernard-Henri Levy reviews Sarkozy's Testimony: France in the Twenty-First Century. Theodore Dalrymple on Tony Blair's domestic legacy: corruption and the erosion of liberty. A. A. Gill loves the English language but detests the English people: A review of The Angry Island: Hunting the English.
Who knew Bill Kristol had such a flair for satire? David Corn on why Bush is a loser. You don’t have to dust for long before finding Dick Cheney’s grimy fingerprints all over the Bush crime scene. It’s becoming clearer by the day that behind every one of Bush’s illegal actions lurks the shadow of the Vice President. Sean Wilentz on debating Dick Cheney's view of executive power. Attention, small-government conservatives: Ever helpful, this column has found yet another reason to be unhappy with President Bush. He appears to be the biggest regulator since the Nixon-Ford years. King George W, Madison's worst nightmare: This is the war-making imperial President that Madison, Jefferson and Washington warned us about. J'accuse George W Bush: Why are we relying on a sports commentator to attack the US president? Where's our modern-day Emile Zola?
The Power of the Campaign Narrative: All successful presidential candidates have had a coherent, appealing story, while the losers tell bad stories — or more often, no story at all. Cheating pols: Americans can live with adultery, but we still love a love story. The Transformer: Barack Obama is transmogrifying one-man American amalgam: First, he floors black church, then Mr. Slick for lawyers; "We’re worried about building enthusiasm for grass roots". Is Obama the next JFK? At first glance, says Theodore Sorensen, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama seem notably different. But the parallels in their candidacies are striking. From The Progressive, an interview with Elizabeth Edwards. The Real Bill Richardson: Is the presidential contender a libertarian Democrat?
From Policy Review, Robert Kagan on End of Dreams, Return of History. From Monthly Review, from military Keynesianism to global-neoliberal militarism: The unique positive U.S. relationship between economic recovery and heavy bouts of military spending (if not war) has remained up to the present. More and more on Are We Rome? by Cullen Murphy. The challenge of imperialism: Fifty years ago, Senator John F. Kennedy shook the foreign policy establishment with a speech that questioned Cold War verities — and anticipated America's problems in the Middle East today. A review of The Matador's Cape: America's Reckless Response to Terror by Stephen Holmes. Michael Burleigh reviews Globalisation, Democracy and Terrorism by Eric Hobsbawm. A review of The Secret History of Al-Qaida by Abdel Bari Atwan. Sticks, stones, and names: Sure we should respond to terrorism with calm, tactical rationality. We should also call its perpetrators what they are: scum, writes Carlin Romano.
From Christianity Today, What Scandal? Whose Conscience? A review of Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience by Ronald Sider; and can we talk? An article on the Gospel in political captivity, revisited. A review of The Political Teachings of Jesus by Tod Lindberg. Benedict the Brander muscles his message: The Pope's focus on Catholic fundamentals scares reformers but works miracles, marketers say. An article on The Ratzinger Effect: more money, more pilgrims – and lots more Latin. A look at why the Pope is boosting Latin Mass. Could the Latin Mass save Western civilization? (and more) Should the Latin Mass scare Jews? A review of Inquisition: the Reign of Fear by Toby Green (and more).
Roger Scruton on A Righter Shade of Green: While the Left pursues environmentalism to advance its global agenda, conservation is best entrusted to local stewardship. We need to save ourselves from ourselves: James Surowiecki on fuel efficiency. Worse Than Gasoline: Liquid coal would produce roughly twice the global warming emissions of gasoline. You are now free to pollute about the country: Air travel is the latest guilt trip for the environmentally conscious consumer. Here's how flying contributes to global warming and what is being done to cool the jets. Climate change debate hinges on economics: Lawmakers doubt voters would fund big carbon cuts. Environmentalism for Billionaires: How businesses are looking to cash in on global warming with green-washed plans that aren't as eco-friendly as they seem.
There has never been a tougher time to be wealthy: No matter how much money you happen to be making right now, the sad truth is that many of the things you covet most may well remain tantalizingly out of reach. What Edwards doesn't get about poverty: John Edwards's failure to appeal to low-income voters proves the poor want more than just new programs. From prophylactics and toilet cleaners to white yachts and a white-tablecloth restaurant: The amazing journey of a high-school dropout who realized dollars were just tokens in a larger game. Paul Krugman on why universal health care opponents have no case. From The New Yorker, a review of Michael Moore's Sicko. The MSM's Michael Moore Inferiority Complex: In a world full of political provocateurs and public hotheads, why is it that only Michael Moore triggers the media's all-too-absent obsession with factual accuracy? Because he scares them.
A review of Six Feet Over: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach. In a taut soliloquy that takes us from the origins of the universe to the last days of a dying sun 6 billion years later, renowned cosmologist Sir Martin Rees explains why the 21st century is a pivotal moment in the history of humanity. A Survival Imperative for Space Colonization: J. Richard Gott III has issued a wake-up call: To ensure our long-term survival, we need to get a colony up and running on Mars within 46 years. Although astronaut missions are much more expensive and risky than robotic craft, they are absolutely critical to the success of our exploration program.
A review of The Telescope: Its History, Technology, and Future by Geoff Andersen. The Gedanken Experimenter: In putting teleportation, entanglement and other quantum oddities to the test, physicist Anton Zeilinger hopes to find out just how unreal quantum reality can get. An Economic Gamble: What does society get for the billions it spends on science? Cracking a nearly eight-decade-old riddle, new calculations have solved the equations to produce simulated Möbius strips, the shape of Escher's muse, and it can explain why wide bands make bad Möbius strips. Math Wonder: Danica McKellar is counting on girls to love numbers. Eric Mazur, the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics at Harvard, is driven by a passion. He wants to end science illiteracy among the nation’s college students; specifically, he strives to open them to the "great beauties of physics".
From the Union of Concerned Scientists, a list of prominent global warming skeptic organizations. An Islamic creationist is mailing a lavishly illustrated, 800-page attack on evolutionary theory to scientists around the world. From Skeptical Inquirer, a review of Abducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens by Susan A. Clancy; and who were the ancient engineers of Egypt? James Trefil finds out. Isn’t It Ionic? The Ionocraft was a masterpiece of engineering elegance... except for the extension cord.
The Gene of the Crop: A new study shows that some genetically modified crops might be better for the environment than those treated with pesticides. Rise of Roboethics: An article on grappling with the implications of an artificially intelligent culture. Spray could banish shyness: It was hailed as the "trust" hormone, then the "mind-reading" hormone. Now it seems oxytocin may also help people with social phobia to interact. The end of barroom brawls: A study shows alcohol can reduce aggression. The human hand, when made into a fist, can do considerable damage. It can be deadly. Particularly when young, beefy men are throwing punches, not skinny 10-year-olds on a playground. Great expectations: Research looks at why placebo effect varies from person to person. Would you take medication that had no pharmacological effect? Maybe you already have.