From Jonathan Steele's Defeat: Why They Lost Iraq, a looks at how Britain went to war unbriefed, unprepared and with no idea of the fallout that would ensue (and two more excerpts). The essential critic: James Wood sees literary criticism as a means of revealing truth in novels... and exposing phoneys. The Fifth Columnist: A look at how Bill Kristol landed that Times gig. An interview with Allen Raymond, author of How to Rig An Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative (and a review). The UN has had its own university for more than 30 years, a little-known endeavor with no regular teaching operations. But now the new rector wants to turn it into a serious academic institution. From The Space Review, an interview with Steven Weinberg; an article on the dark side of space disaster theories;

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