Path of Least Resistance? Path of Least Resistance?
"Yes, nonviolence is a noble ideal, but do you really think it would stop a Hitler?" Or a street thug, a dictator, a death squad? Pacifists are long accustomed to these...
Feb 1, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Colman McCarthy
New China Hand New China Hand
Quite recently yet another of Jasper Becker's indispensable dispatches from China appeared in his newspaper, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. "Every year," Becker re...
Feb 1, 2001 / Books & the Arts / James North
Publishers Caught in a Web Publishers Caught in a Web
Jason Epstein's Book Business: Publishing Past Present and Future is the third memoir of a major American life in book publishing to reach print in less than two years. It is at ...
Jan 26, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Gayle Feldman
The Future of the Public Intellectual: A Forum The Future of the Public Intellectual: A Forum
The following debate is adapted from a forum--put together by Basic Books and held in New York City some weeks ago. Participating were: John Donatich, who moderated and is publis...
Jan 26, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Various Participants
A Taste for Desert Landscapes? A Taste for Desert Landscapes?
A review of Sol LeWitt's Autobiography.
Jan 18, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Arthur C. Danto
The Summer House The Summer House
After a hard rain, a sudden clearing. Puddles shine on the gravel path Winding down to the meadow where smoky wisps Rise from the warm ground, low earth clouds That thin and vanish; and now The birds start up again, and the crickets. What if a happy life is only a long succession Of happy moments; if they come unbidden And the virtue that serves us best is simple readiness, Mere openness to the occasion, if the sycamore Swaying whenever the wind moves by Serves as our great exemplar, sage, and prophet? I hope not. I hope the efforts I've made To claim my life as my own and give it meaning Lead in the end to a happiness more alive And lasting than any that fortune offers Whenever she pleases, the random bounty Impossible to anticipate or encourage. My efforts, my patching of roofs and windows, The writing of invitations, the widening of my guest list, The mastery of guitar chords, the library work On the history of landscape in water color and oils, What exactly they add to the world of hills and valleys That the hills and valleys should be grateful for. And then this hard rain and sudden clearing, This low sun, these rosy clouds that I interpret As proof I'm included in the lucky flow of gifts Circling the earth, offering me a welcome Hard to resist, without conditions or reservations, With nothing expected of me, nothing to be earned.
Jan 18, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Carl Dennis
The Reel Drug War The Reel Drug War
Steven Soderbergh's Traffic—for all its flaws—illustrates how the United States' is deluding itself in its crusade against drugs.
Jan 18, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Michael Massing
Looking Backward, Going Forward Looking Backward, Going Forward
A review of Looking Backward 2000–1887, by Edward Bellamy.
Jan 18, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Robert L. Weinberg
Circus Maximus Circus Maximus
We're sorry, but we do not have permission to present this article on our website. It is an excerpt from Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking-Glass World (Metropolitan). © ...
Jan 12, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Eduardo Galeano
All That Jazz All That Jazz
Let's cut to the chase on Ken Burns's Jazz, which rolled out on PBS January 8, by invoking Wallace Stevens. 1) Is it entertaining TV? Mostly, in PBS fashion. ...
Jan 12, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Gene Santoro