A review of In Europe: travels through the twentieth century. A review of The Berlin Wall: A World Divided, 1961-1989 by Frederick Taylor. Vaclav Havel writes three roles for himself: A review of To the Castle and Back. As Rutka Laskier awaited the final horrors of the Holocaust in the Bedzin ghetto of Poland in 1943, she committed her arresting thoughts to a diary. In his final book before he died earlier this year, Ryszard Kapuscinski hails his inspiration and travelling companion Herodotus as a "vivacious, fascinated, unflagging nomad". There is no more fitting description for Poland's celebrated foreign correspondent himself, says Margaret Atwood; and more on Travels With Herodotus. Blind exorcism in Poland: Ryszard Kapuscinski, the prize-crowned reporter who died this year, is the latest of a string of Polish intellectuals to have their secret police past uncovered.
From The Quarterly Conversation, two essays on Roberto Bolaño; and talking with translators: Interviews with CM Mayo, Chris Andrews, and Natasha Wimmer. To whom it may concern: Authors agonise over their dedication as it is the most revealing page in the whole book. How to Feed the Monster: One of the most important literary dilemmas facing writers today is the writer's relationship to the truth, whether she believes in it and how she chooses to handle it. Character studies: When writers are describing a face, discretion is generally the best rule, but with artists it is all in the detail. Lynne Truss reflects on the difference between capturing real and imaginary people. Gazing into the Abyss: The sudden appearance of love and the galvanizing prospect of death lead a young poet to a “hope toward God” Site of the living dead: There is life after death and it's called MySpace.
From The New York Review of Magazines, The Nursery of Genius A brief survey of ten magazines of influence; Going Green: How the business magazine climate is changing; independent publishing is Dead. Long live independent publishing: Six months after their distributor collapsed, small magazines are still picking up the pieces; and I Love the 90s: An article on life after zines.
Stand Still and Rot: A review of The Eclipse of Art: Tackling the Crisis in Art Today by Julian Spalding. Gods on display: An exciting exhibition in Berlin awakes a plea for the return of stolen treasures of Khmer art. On Lexus, Hairapy, and the Scherzo from Beethoven's Ninth: (with a nod to Kubrick): By making Beethoven's Ninth an image of our humanity, we have conditioned ourselves to filter out all of those elements in the music that make it a worthwhile (if troubling) listening experience. Monumental Vibrations: A blind man listens to the world’s longest song.
