Books & the Arts

Not Dark Yet Not Dark Yet

Gore Vidal's Point to Point Navigation is a brave and continuous affirmation of life and an assurance that though the Republic has been betrayed, we are not to give up hope.

Nov 22, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Michael Wood

Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind

Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day is actually four stories, each replete with brilliant patter, fancy footwork, wishful thinking and a plaintive ukulele.

Nov 22, 2006 / Books & the Arts / John Leonard

The Lessons of History The Lessons of History

While there may be something great about winning a war, the United States must learn there is something much greater about using the tools of peacemaking to build a better world.

Nov 17, 2006 / Books & the Arts / John Hope Franklin

Hooray for Right-Wing Hollywood Hooray for Right-Wing Hollywood

Right-wing culture warriors gathered in LA to praise ABC for its flawed 9/11 docudrama, talk up a conservative version of The Daily Show and release a thriller fueled by a nativist...

Nov 16, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Max Blumenthal

Coming to America! Coming to America!

Reviews of films from the vulgar to the magisterial: Borat, Flags of Our Fathers, For Your Consideration, Our Daily Bread and Fur.

Nov 16, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Half a Life Half a Life

In The Lay of the Land, the final work in Richard Ford's acclaimed trilogy, Frank Bascombe picks up where he left off in Independence Day--taking road trips, describing houses and ...

Nov 16, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Benjamin Hedin

Representative Fictions Representative Fictions

An ambitious two-volume history of the novel explores its evolution across continents and centuries.

Nov 16, 2006 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz

The Last Antiwar Poem The Last Antiwar Poem

Allen Ginsberg's "Wichita Vortex Sutra," written at the height of the Vietnam War, speaks with a jarring relevance today.

Nov 14, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Rolf Potts

A Civilizing Mission A Civilizing Mission

The Selected Writings of Eqbal Ahmad collects the work of one of our finest postcolonialist critics.

Nov 9, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Amitava Kumar

The Business of America The Business of America

The American Way of Strategy and Empire's Workshop examine the paradox of idealism and brutality in US foreign policy.

Nov 9, 2006 / Books & the Arts / George Scialabba

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