online archive
1:00PM
MAY 22 2007
American history, religion, feminism and sex
From The New Yorker, Angels and Ages: Adam Gopnik on Lincoln’s language and its legacy; and O Lucky Man! Nicholas Lemann reviews The Reagan Diaries. A review of Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989 by Michael Beschloss (and an excerpt). Gay in D.C. during the height of McCarthyism: A review of Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon (and more). Alan Brinkley reviews Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot (and more). A review of Vincent Bugliosi's Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. An interview with R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., author of The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House.
From The Texas Observer, Being Warren Chisum: Inside the mind of the state's most powerful fundamentalist. The death of the Rev. Jerry Falwell highlighted the evangelical Christian movement’s recent evolution. Down, but Maybe Not Out: Seeing the persistence of the conservative movement through two of its most recent fallen — Paul Wolfowitz and Jerry Falwell. Church and State: Frances FitzGerald on how Jerry Falwell shaped American society. Frank Rich on the Reverend Falwell's heavenly timing. A review of Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion.
A review of On Conscience and more and more on Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI. A review of The Power and the Glory: Inside the Dark Heart of John Paul II's Vatican. What does a girl have to do to get excommunicated? Catholic officials keep threatening to excommunicate pro-choice politicians and activists like Frances Kissling. She thinks they're bluffing, and canon law is on her side. The indomitable Ms. Choice is being hectored and picketed by Ms. Right-To-Life. The abortion debate is back.
From Alternet, A "Ho" By Any Other Color: A look at the history and economics of Black Female Sexual Exploitation. Women are appalled by this new, demeaning, oversexed (and sold out) statuette of Mary Jane from the Spider-Man comic. A review of Janet Halley's Split Decisions: How and Why to Take a Break from Feminism. A review of Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Women’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters. A review of Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity by Virginia Smith. What could she possibly be thinking? A review of The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine. A review of Angus McLaren's Impotence: A Cultural History.
From Wired, an article on the uncomfortable reality of sex in space. What are the scientific reasons for having sex? "People who have sex at least twice a week don't want to work". The quickest way for longtime couples to rekindle romance may be to pretend they’re strangers. An interview with Virginia Vitzthum, author of I Love You, Let's Meet: Adventures in Online Dating. And diamonds haven’t always been forever: How the jewelry industry convinced us true love costs $4,000
