Books & the Arts

Bad Brains Bad Brains

More than once in Jonathan Demme's reimagining of The Manchurian Candidate, a distraught Denzel Washington jabs at his skull and rasps, "They got in here." He means it literally.

Aug 12, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

The Middle Man The Middle Man

Over the century that followed the Napoleonic wars, the Ottoman Empire contracted and eventually disappeared from the map.

Aug 12, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Mark Mazower

The Lost Steps The Lost Steps

American policy-makers may be divided into two schools of thought on the Arab-Israeli conflict: the evenhanded and the Israel-first.

Aug 12, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Avi Shlaim

What Are They Reading? What Are They Reading?

I could hardly believe it when I heard Jane Jacobs was still alive and that she had written a new book, Dark Age Ahead, at the age of 88.

Aug 3, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Ben Adler

Shadows and Smog Shadows and Smog

I paid to see Will Smith fight legions of robots, and what I got was a trip back to Wabash Street.

Jul 29, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Holy Water Holy Water

Walden Pond is America's environmental holy land, the naturalist's sacred site and Concord's local swimming pool.

Jul 29, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Jane Holtz Kay

Latin America’s Longest War Latin America’s Longest War

In May, Jan Egeland, the United Nations Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs, called a news conference in New York to declare publicly what he had been warning people about fo...

Jul 29, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Peter Canby

He’s the (Any)One He’s the (Any)One

Can someone win the presidency entirely on the basis of a negative asset?

Jul 29, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Cockburn

His Majesty, Prince

His Majesty, Prince His Majesty, Prince

The 46th annual Grammy Awards ceremony began with a surprise performance by the pop virtuoso who is once again calling himself Prince.

Jul 15, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Jody Rosen

Laughter in the Dark Laughter in the Dark

Stalin has had a rough time at the hands of Russian novelists in recent years.

Jul 15, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Boris Fishman

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