Books and Ideas

Some Perspective Some Perspective

Celebrating the death of Zarqawi, the President puts his spin on the truth.

Jun 21, 2006 / Column / Calvin Trillin

The Passion of Anna The Passion of Anna

In Elaine Feinstein's new biography, the complicated life of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova is flattened into a fable of suffering and redemption.

Jun 21, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Elif Batuman

The Poet and the Muse The Poet and the Muse

A new collection of letters between Rainer Maria Rilke and Lou Andreas-Salome reveals an intimate portrait of a poet and his muse.

Jun 15, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Mark M. Anderson

We Are the World We Are the World

When liberals and conservatives discuss the United States' role in the world, they are really talking about the narcissism of small differences. Two new books show how both sides s...

Jun 15, 2006 / Books & the Arts / David Rieff

After Forty-one Suicide Attempts at Guantánamo Bay, Three Prisoners Manage to Kill Themselves After Forty-one Suicide Attempts at Guantánamo Bay, Three Prisoners Manage to Kill Themselves

Another winning strategy for Team Bush and its war on terror.

Jun 15, 2006 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Frank Church’s Quixotic Vision Frank Church’s Quixotic Vision

A Father's Day remembrance of a courageous politician who, in an earlier era, challenged America to resist the apostles of fear who would barter liberty for false security.

Jun 13, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Forrest Church

The Circle of Responsibility The Circle of Responsibility

If certain acts in violation of treaties are crimes, they are crimes whether the United States does them or whether Germany does them, and we are not prepared to lay down a rul

Jun 13, 2006 / Feature / Richard Falk

Heat Wave Heat Wave

As the planet warms and global catastrophe beckons, what changes are we willing to make to adjust to a brave new world? Tim Flannery and Elizabeth Kolbert seek answers in two provo...

Jun 13, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Peter Canby

Boxed In Boxed In

In his new short story collection In Persuasion Nation, absurdist extraordinaire George Saunders offers a surreal depiction of the destruction of individuality through consumer meg...

Jun 8, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Vince Passaro

The Zionist Imagination The Zionist Imagination

As the founding father of the Zionist right, Vladimir Jabotinsky rejected Diaspora existence. Yet in his 1935 novel The Five he tenderly evoked it, offering a glimpse of something ...

Jun 8, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Jacqueline Rose

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