The Future of the Arab The Future of the Arab
Riad Sattouf’s biting graphic memoir ignores the big picture of politics in the Middle East and focuses instead on daily life and the imposition of authority through violence.
Jan 27, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Ursula Lindsey
Pine Pine
Slid the video in. Lost the flagship. Poor & empty, I took to materials, not seriatim but Matryoshka nonetheless. In rained Saturday, the ersatz hull of the husk close to touc…
Jan 27, 2016 / Books & the Arts / E.G. Cunningham
Why Donny McCaslin Was David Bowie’s David Bowie Why Donny McCaslin Was David Bowie’s David Bowie
In the making of Blackstar, David Bowie trusted that Donny McCaslin and his quartet would invoke a profoundly emotive album.
Jan 26, 2016 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
Trump the Improviser? Trump the Improviser?
This candidate operates in a jazz-like fashion, but all he makes is unexpected noise.
Jan 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
Point First, Shoot Later Point First, Shoot Later
Two museum exhibitions emphasize possible approaches to how an artist can navigate the oceans of photography around us.
Jan 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
Before Europe’s Intrusion Before Europe’s Intrusion
A 17th-century map reinforces what few other than historians of China have known: It was an open and diverse world with a long tradition of maritime commerce.
Jan 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Paula Findlen
What’s the Point of a Supreme Court Dissent? What’s the Point of a Supreme Court Dissent?
A recent book shows that, before Antonin Scalia, dissents were valuable to the Court. Now they may be endangering the institution.
Jan 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Michael O’Donnell
Hawks Hawks
Hawks kettling on the thermals high above the Appalachians on their way south—it looks like thought, the mind floating by way of association, veering and floating, circling back to…
Jan 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Elizabeth Arnold
Rushdie Misses the Magic Rushdie Misses the Magic
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights has all the markers of a Salman Rushdie novel, but it’s not a great book.
Jan 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Aaron Thier
The Many Manipulations of Henry Kissinger The Many Manipulations of Henry Kissinger
In his new biography, Niall Ferguson is blind to his subject’s recklessness and treachery.
Jan 7, 2016 / Books & the Arts / David Milne