Cultural Criticism and Analysis

Gladwell for Dummies Gladwell for Dummies

Malcolm Gladwell's success as a brand-name thinker rests on the assumption that the unexamined life is the only sort his readers could be living.

Nov 5, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Maureen Tkacik

The Down Side of Thinking Positive The Down Side of Thinking Positive

Nation contributor Barbara Ehrenreich presents Bright Sided, her new book about the negative aspect of positive thinking.

Oct 23, 2009 / Books & the Arts / GRITtv

Suspended Sentences Suspended Sentences

Eliot Weinberger's enigmatic essays save him from becoming a prisoner of his polemical style.

Sep 30, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Scott Saul

Wild About Harry Wild About Harry

Taking a cue from FDR, Britain launches the New Deal of the Mind.

Apr 15, 2009 / Books & the Arts / D.D. Guttenplan

Back Talk: Toni Morrison Back Talk: Toni Morrison

The Nobel Prize-winning author talks about Barack Obama, the writer; language; and her new novel, A Mercy.

Nov 19, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Christine Smallwood

Stewartsville: George R. Stewart’s Names on the Land Stewartsville: George R. Stewart’s Names on the Land

What possessed the fierce individualist George R. Stewart to compile a history of place-naming in the United States?

Nov 19, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Christine Smallwood

Remembering Studs Remembering Studs

Studs Terkel's longtime publisher looks back on the historian's remarkable career.

Nov 13, 2008 / Books & the Arts / André Schiffrin

In Defense of Studs Terkel In Defense of Studs Terkel

Edward Rothstein separates Studs Terkel's politics from his oral history, proving he doesn't understand the man's legacy at all.

Nov 6, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Howard Zinn

America’s Love/Hate Relationship With Itself America’s Love/Hate Relationship With Itself

Veteran journalist Dick Meyer discusses America's love-hate relationship with itself.

Sep 11, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Sarah O’Leary

La Zone Grise La Zone Grise

Five books explore the sorrows and moral complexity of Irène Némirovsky and others who suffered Nazi persecution in France.

Apr 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Alice Kaplan

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