Books and Ideas

One Possible Scenario One Possible Scenario

One twisted tale of how Harriet Miers's confirmation hearings will unfold.

Oct 20, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Calvin Trillin

Over My Dead Body Over My Dead Body

New biographies of Benito Mussolini and Marilyn Monroe contemplate exploitation of the body--in life and after death.

Oct 19, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Jon Mooallem

How Liberia Held ‘Free’ Elections How Liberia Held ‘Free’ Elections

Votes are now being counted in the first truly free election in Liberia's troubled history. It's a far cry from the 1986 election, which dictatorial Samuel Doe fraudulently "won" b...

Oct 13, 2005 / Feature / Michael Massing

Another Country Another Country

Chronicling the final, devastating months of the Civil War, E.L. Doctorow's new novel, The March, reveals the author's complex love for an earlier version of America.

Oct 12, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Vince Passaro

Frontier Injustice Frontier Injustice

In Andrew Jackson: A Life and Times, the frontier president is cast as a one-man beacon for democracy. But Jackson's core belief was a fervent defense of land.

Oct 12, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Anatol Lieven

The American Political Tradition The American Political Tradition

The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln expertly balances the roots of a political revolution: the impact of a few key leaders and the lives and aspirations of ordinar...

Oct 12, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

Rearranging the Furniture Rearranging the Furniture

For prose scholar Viktor Shklovsky, who lived by the code of style and studied its depths, an unhappy love affair can be as much a personal tragedy as a plot device for more writin...

Oct 6, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Elif Batuman

A Hero for Our Time A Hero for Our Time

Critics have been trumpeting Benjamin Kunkel as the voice of his generation. But his first novel, Indecision, about a 28-year-old empty vessel, is little more than an empty vessel...

Oct 6, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Mark Lotto

Why Is Africa Still Poor? Why Is Africa Still Poor?

As Asian countries grow in economic power, Africa lags behind the developed world. Can it ever catch up? Will corruption, geography and disease continue to hold it back?

Oct 6, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Rice

The First Time Was Tragedy… The First Time Was Tragedy…

As the Bush Administration's incompetence turns Iraq into a terrorist training camp, Americans should look to FDR, who waged war for unavoidable threats, not ideology, while still ...

Oct 6, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Eric Alterman

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