From The New Yorker, Nicholas Lemann reviews The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst by Kenneth Whyte; Restless Genius: Barney Kilgore, The Wall Street Journal, and the Invention of Modern Journalism by Richard J. Tofel; and The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch by Michael Wolff; guy walks into a bar car: David Sedaris on lost loves and lost years; and Barack Obama has inherited a less visible crisis, which may, in time, trump the others: the deterioration of the global nuclear-nonproliferation regime (and more). "Spinal Tap" made mockumentaries the art form of our time; it also made life hell for every struggling hair-metal band — just ask Anvil. A review of The Philosophy of Literature by Peter Lamarque. Why is it that writers who can’t recall their
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