Books and Ideas

There He Goes Again There He Goes Again

Near the end of his threadbare, tendentious and dubious hagiography of Ronald Reagan, Peter Schweizer recounts the President's first trip to Moscow, in late spring 1988.

Jun 8, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Walter C. Uhler

Not Necessarily the First Lady Not Necessarily the First Lady

Nancy and Ronald Reagan met, they have repeatedly said, when she was blacklisted by mistake in the early 1950s after having been confused with another actress who had the same na...

Jun 7, 2004 / Feature / Jon Wiener

Don’t Worry, Be Happy Don’t Worry, Be Happy

David Brooks is a writer whose chief claim to fame is not what he says but where he says it.

Jun 3, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Nicholas von Hoffman

The Irresistible Rise of Berlusconi The Irresistible Rise of Berlusconi

Dressed up as a tropical dictator in a sketch by the great Italian political cartoonist Altan, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wears a double-breasted camouflage jacket, a goony...

Jun 3, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Frederika Randall

What Are They Reading? What Are They Reading?

"If Bush gets re-elected, I'm moving to Canada!" Most of us who've vowed this, at one time or another, won't actually make good on our word.

Jun 2, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Kate Levin

Grapes of Wrath Grapes of Wrath

Several years ago, I did some reporting for a story that I wanted to write about wine and how it's advertised.

May 27, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Matthew DeBord

Philosophical Convictions Philosophical Convictions

Philosophers get attention only when they appear to be doing something sinister--corrupting the youth, undermining the foundations of civilization, sneering at all we hold dear.

May 27, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Richard Rorty

How the Other Half Votes How the Other Half Votes

For years the battle raged across my family's kitchen table.

May 27, 2004 / Books & the Arts / George Scialabba

Come Together Come Together

There's nothing like political disaster to turn soft porn into art. What would Hiroshima, Mon Amour be without Hiroshima?

May 27, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Cristina Nehring

Description of a Struggle Description of a Struggle

"You cannot take a man who was all struggle," wrote Tolstoy of Dostoyevsky, after his great rival's death, "and set him up on a monument for the instruction of posterity."

May 27, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Tim Parks

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