Books & the Arts

A Hard Man A Hard Man

Paul Thomas Anderson's masterful There Will Be Blood pits an oil baron against a preacher in an epic contest of wills.

Jan 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Battle Pieces Battle Pieces

In This Republic of Suffering, historian Drew Gilpin Faust strips from the Civil War any purpose beyond massive slaughter.

Jan 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

United We Scam United We Scam

Two new books profile the generation of counterfeiters and con men who sprouted up in Jacksonian-era America.

Jan 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Steve Fraser

Christianizing US History Christianizing US History

With House Resolution 888, the religious right seeks to rewrite American history, turning the founding fathers from deists to Christian fundamentalists.

Jan 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Chris Hedges

The Defiant Ones The Defiant Ones

Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis are two inmates in a Southern prison who learn to unshackle themselves from hatred.

Jan 9, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch

The Dot Matrix The Dot Matrix

In I'jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody, novelist Sinan Antoon explores themes of love, loss, identity and resistance in the face of political oppression.

Jan 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami

Fly Papers Fly Papers

An English translation of Lydie Salvayre's The Power of Flies demonstrates how this novelist and practicing psychiatrist has earned more nervous respect than love in France.

Jan 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Lorna Scott Fox

Castro Helps Chavez Avert a Coup Castro Helps Chavez Avert a Coup

An excerpt from Fidel Castro: My Life, a spoken autobiography.

Jan 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / The Nation

Two Poems for The Nation Two Poems for The Nation

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Jan 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Jack Spicer

The Front Page The Front Page

One of three versions of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's madcap newspaper comedy from a period when reporters probably did call their city rooms and say, "Hello, sweetheart, get ...

Jan 2, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Bakshy

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