Books & the Arts

Fading Czech Velvet Fading Czech Velvet

As I'm driven to the home of Ivan Klima, one of the Czech Republic's most internationally respected writers, the hand of fate slips in beside me in the taxi.

Apr 29, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Mark Schapiro

The Way of All Flesh The Way of All Flesh

Hark! The squeal of the two-headed amphibian. Mating season must have begun.

Apr 21, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Rushdie as Orpheus, on Guitar Rushdie as Orpheus, on Guitar

From the Satanic Versifier, more love and more death, with a song in his heart.

Apr 21, 1999 / Books & the Arts / John Leonard

Accountant of Death Accountant of Death

After we admit that all historical circumstances are specific and all sufferings absolute--that Serbian "police" are not Nazis and ethnic Albanians not Jews (and NATO forces can...

Apr 15, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

France’s Philosophe Impolitique France’s Philosophe Impolitique

Recent French philosophy has been most passionately loved and hated for its militant radicalism.

Apr 15, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Richard Shusterman

Bioterrorism Hits Home Bioterrorism Hits Home

The high moral tone in Washington and London about "rogue" states, such as Iraq, building arsenals of biological weapons belies a shameful past.

Apr 15, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Peter Pringle

Solzhenitsyn’s History Lesson Solzhenitsyn’s History Lesson

Knowledge of Khrushchev's reaction cited above is personal; he was the author's grandfather.

Apr 15, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Nina Khrushcheva

The End of Humanism The End of Humanism

Like a guest at a potlatch, laughing to see his host's worldly goods go up in flames, I roared at The Matrix--roared and at the same time was humbled, knowing Warner Bros.

Apr 8, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

False History Lessons False History Lessons

Confronted with the inexplicable, policy-makers and pundits alike grope for the apt historical analogy. It's a natural human reaction.

Apr 8, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Kai Bird

Front Page With a Human Face Front Page With a Human Face

Back in the fifties, before the term "new journalism" was coined, back when Gay Talese was writing minor obituaries for the New York Times, Tom Wolfe was a grad student at Yale a...

Apr 8, 1999 / Books & the Arts / Dan Wakefield

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