Books & the Arts

Latina America Lavishly Comes of Age Latina America Lavishly Comes of Age

The quinceañera has become a rite of passage for even the poorest Latina teens, another example of our most treasured rites debased at the cash register.

Oct 16, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Lakshmi Chaudhry

Terry McMillan vs. Ghetto Lit Terry McMillan vs. Ghetto Lit

Driven by a tabloid episode from her own marriage, the novelist joins the debate over the mass marketing of trashy books to young black readers.

Oct 15, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Amy Alexander

What’s Radiohead Worth? What’s Radiohead Worth?

The British rockers stick a fork in the recording industry by offering downloads of a new album for whatever fans want to pay. Oh, the anguish.

Oct 15, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Peter C. Baker

Apocalypse Now? Apocalypse Now?

According to Chalmers Johnson, Bush's imperial presidency may be the final chapter in the collapse of American democracy.

Oct 11, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Holmes

Sound Check Sound Check

The history of twentieth-century music charts the rise of modern masters like Duke Ellington and John Adams.

Oct 11, 2007 / Books & the Arts / David Schiff

Taking Celebrity Seriously Taking Celebrity Seriously

The Paris Principle: politics are sooo hot.

Oct 11, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Duncombe

Burns’s War: What Is It Good For? Burns’s War: What Is It Good For?

An increasingly bookless universe has become the wasteland so many have feared. In a perfect world, we'd have more Ken Burnses expressing a multiplicity of views.

Oct 11, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Eric Alterman

Strange Culture Strange Culture

If the stuff of life is corporatized, does art about it become a form of interference in business?

Oct 11, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Patricia J. Williams

Dirty Sexy Television Dirty Sexy Television

Who needs reality TV when you can revel in the decadence, dysfunction and dirty laundry of the fictional super-rich?

Oct 8, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Simon Maxwell Apter

Strange Culture Strange Culture

Federal authorities are prosecuting Steve Kurtz under the Patriot Act for using harmless bacteria in his artwork. A new film examines his ordeal.

Oct 5, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Patricia J. Williams

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