Books and Ideas

Love and Betrayal in Colonial Africa Love and Betrayal in Colonial Africa

Abdulrazak Gurnah's seventh book, Desertion, revisits the theme of exile and expands it to relationships---between lovers, between families, between countries.

Sep 8, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami

Robert Kaplan: Empire Without Apologies Robert Kaplan: Empire Without Apologies

In his new book, Robert Kaplan proposes that the antidote to anarchy is empire, policed by soldiers holding an assault rifle in one hand and candy bars in the other.

Sep 8, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Andrew J. Bacevich

Desert Storm Desert Storm

This might be a good time for the Bush Administration to step up its reading on Saudi Arabia, starting with these three books.

Sep 8, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Milton Viorst

The Power of Outrage The Power of Outrage

A nation's conscience is stirred by the abandonment of the poor and the frail: This may be the one bright spot of the man-made disaster on the Gulf Coast. Eric Foner gives a histor...

Sep 6, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

To Return and Rise Again To Return and Rise Again

Louisiana's poet laureate writes of the resolve of New Orleans's displaced citizens to rebuild their shattered city.

Sep 4, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Marie Osbey

Good Vibrations Good Vibrations

Orgasms used to be a secret, then they became a right. Now they're a duty. It's time to explode the myths.

Sep 1, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Cristina Nehring

Requiem for a Dream Requiem for a Dream

Daniel Fuchs's The Golden West is best read as an author's requiem for the Hollywood he loved.

Sep 1, 2005 / Books & the Arts / David L. Ulin

Optimism of the Will Optimism of the Will

The rich legacy of former Nation editor and activist Carey McWilliams is on full display in three books.

Sep 1, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Mike Davis

A Robertson Republican A Robertson Republican

Bush's paean to his staunchest ally's murderous impulses, with apologies to Gilbert & Sullivan.

Sep 1, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Calvin Trillin

It’s a Man’s, Man’s World It’s a Man’s, Man’s World

Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men seems designed as a calculated assault on the reader.

Aug 25, 2005 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz

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