From NYRB, a review of At the Same Time: Essays & Speeches by Susan Sontag and The Road from Danzig: Timothy Garton Ash reviews books by Gunter Grass. An interview with JT LeRoy, the woman behind the most audacious literary hoax of all time. Form TNR, Andrew Delbanco reviews Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee, and a look at how Harry Potter explains the world. Before Harry, there was Little Nell: Mass hysteria over a fictional character's fate long predates today's media-industrial complex. A review of Reading Life: Books for the Ages by Sven Birkerts.
Why print is still king, amid the multimedia din: An issue with electronic data viewed on screens is that humans instinctively see it as unstable, "nervous" – because it is. It’s made up of some brilliant elements: celebrity-on-celebrity interviews, stunning candid photographs, thick, turnable pages. Even the advertisements are tasteful. So what’s preventing Interview from becoming the next Rolling Stone? The current issue of Rolling Stone, in celebration of the magazine's 40th anniversary, is devoted to the year 1967 — the music, the culture, the whole scene, man. At the back of the magazine, there is a list of the top 40 singles for that year. It makes for depressing reading. A review of All that glitters: Living on the Dark Side of Rock and Roll by Pearl Lowe. A review of Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield.
A review of History of the Art of Antiquity by Johann Joachim Winckelmann. Essad Bey at Positano: Lev Nussimbaum spent the second half of his life as a refashioned Muslim prince—before meeting an early end in Italy. In Positano, Elizabeth Kiem visits an artist at rest. From Sign and Sight, Poison in the air: Why German artists should keep their hands off Hitler. Activism Illustrated: A review of Visions of Peace and Justice: San Francisco Bay Area: 1974-2007. Over 30 Years of Political Posters From the Archives of Inkworks Press. Art for Less: Local fund-raisers. New approaches to art fairs. With prices rising faster than ever, savvy collectors are shifting their strategies for nabbing deals. Where to find the next bargains.
