From Americana, a special issue on John Dewey. From Dissent, Suzanne Nossel on a human rights agenda for the new administration; and a review of Torture and Democracy by Darius Rejali. Nathan Glazer reviews Who's Your City?: How the Creative Economy is Making Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life by Richard Florida. Very silly and deeply serious: For three decades, Laurie Taylor has constantly reminded us of our better and freer intellectual selves. More on It's a PC World by Edward Stourton. Untapped riches: Greenland braces for independence and wealth. Rational choices, reasoned discussions, respect for lawful institutions — that's what Clive James wants from his action heroes. The Observer profiles Bashar Assad, no longer the pariah President. Living a simple life: The apparently insatiable urge to possess things is a form of violence, too. A review of The Real All Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation by Sally Jenkins. Extra! Extra! Newspapers and auto makers take heart — history shows that flexibility (and luck) can hold off the angel of death. From Business Week, a look at the six unknowns that are roiling the stock market; and an article on the end of instant messaging (as we know it). A review of Autophobia: Love and Hate in the Automotive Age by Brian Ladd.  

From the Middle East Quarterly, Caroline Sevier (AEI): The Costs of Relying on Aging Dictators; and Efraim Karsh and Rory Miller (King's): Did Edward Said Really Speak Truth to Power?; Jonathan Fine (HUJ): Contrasting Secular and Religious Terrorism; and an essay on the fallacy of grievance-based terrorism. Executive search engines: Does it make sense to pony up for $100K-plus job sites?  A review of The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph that Shocked America by Louis Masur. An interview with David Hendrickson, author of Cause for Depression: A pictorial guide to the financial crisis. George Soros on the crisis and what to do about it. Kaboom! A look at the world's biggest non-nuclear explosions. From The Jury Expert, a review of American Juries: The Verdict by Neil Vidmar and Valerie Hans; and do liberals and conservatives punish differently? A review of What Blood Won't Tell: A History of Race on Trial in America by Ariela J. Gross. A review of Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey by Colin Grant. From Slate, a look at how Europe deals with immigration. From New Scientist, a special section on science fiction: The future of a genre. From Cosmos, the beauty industry makes some wild, and seemingly scientific, claims about anti-ageing products, but how do they hold up under the harsh light of science?

From Australian Book Review, a review of How to Do Biography: A Primer by Nigel Hamilton (and more); and a review of Castles, Battles, and Bombs: How Economics Explains Military History by Jurgen Brauer and Hubert van Tuyll. More on The Politics of the Veil by Joan Wallach Scott. From New Statesman, here come the liberals: For decades American conservatism defined global politics, but now we are about to witness a seismic change in Washington; and against the liberalocracy: Brian Cathcart, the editor of the Daily Mail, sees himself as a victim, desperately leading the defence of the values of the mass of decent people; and a review of The American Future: a History by Simon Schama and Will America Change? by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies. Michael Lind on Obama and the dawn of the Fourth Republic: His victory really may mark the beginning of a new era in American history. A review of Al' America: Travels Through America's Arab and Islamic Roots by Jonathan Curiel. Is Sarah Palin a cultural alien? Robert Lang wants to know. From Mental Floss, a look at 12 oddly specific museums preserving our history. A review of A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir by Donald Worster. An article on Ingrid Newkirk, the loudest voice the animal kingdom has ever known.  

From the International Journal of Zizek Studies, Jan De Vos (Ghent): From Panopticon to Pan-psychologisation or, Why do so many women study psychology?; Nathan Coombs (SOAS): Rejecting both Mao and Deng: Slavoj Zizek and Waiting for the Leftist Critique to Come; and how badly do you want to kill your father? From Against the Current, a review of Globalisation: A Systematic Marxian Account by Tony Smith; a review of Trinity of Passion: The Literary Left and the Antifascist Crusade by Alan M. Wald; a review of Socialist Register 2008: Global Flashpoints, Reactions to Imperialism and Neoliberalism. From Academe, a review of Color and Money: How Rich White Kids Are Winning the War over College Affirmative Action by Peter Schmidt; a review of New Players, Different Game: Understanding the Rise of For-Profit Colleges and Universities by William G. Tierney and Guilbert C. Hentschke; and when did faculty become the bad guys in The Chronicle of Higher Education? More on Stop Me If You've Heard This : A History and Philosophy of Jokes by Jim Holt.  A review of Scramble for Africa: Darfur Intervention and the USA by Steven Fake and Kevin Funk. A review of The Culture of War by Martin van Creveld (and more).  Jacques Alain Miller on Obama: Metis and hermaphrodite.