Cultural Criticism and Analysis

New World Symphony New World Symphony

Joseph Horowitz diligently lays out the immense problems that face American classical music today, and his warnings cannot go unheeded.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Russell Platt

Barbara Ehrenreich’s White Collar Blues Barbara Ehrenreich’s White Collar Blues

Barbara Ehrenreich probes a deeper level of white-collar angst: people who lose or quit their corporate jobs and routinely spend months, even years, finding another.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Michael Kazin

Rushdie’s Receding Talent Rushdie’s Receding Talent

It has almost become a sadness to review a novel by Salman Rushdie. Shalimar the Clown is no exception.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Lee Siegel

Zadie Smith’s Indecision Zadie Smith’s Indecision

It can't be easy to rein in a writer as successful as Zadie Smith. Her new novel, On Beauty, proves it's almost impossible.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz

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

Spectacle Spectacle

Recent movies including War of the Worlds and Land of the Dead reflect today's political landscape.

Aug 11, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Richard Goldstein

Prosaic Judgments Prosaic Judgments

Adam Kirsch prefers his own ideas about poetry to actual poems.

Jun 29, 2005 / Books & the Arts / John Palattella

The Theater of Cruelty The Theater of Cruelty

The detainee abuses at Abu Ghraib were both a continuation and a divergence from historical prison practices.

Jun 29, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Amitav Ghosh

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