The Business of Theory The Business of Theory
The last decade or two have witnessed an insidious shift in American culture, one that goes to the heart of the way we talk about our society.
Jan 29, 2004 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Lost Causes Lost Causes
Nations, like individuals, sustain trauma, mourn and recover. And like individuals they survive by making sense of what has befallen them, by constructing a narrative of loss a...
Nov 6, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Thomas Laqueur
Starting Out in the ’50s Starting Out in the ’50s
The best memoirs of recent years reveal "The Way We Live Now" as well as or better than most contemporary fiction.
Oct 23, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Dan Wakefield
Shooting Wars Shooting Wars
In her new book, Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag's focus is upon theaters of war and the way in which photographers have interpreted their role in the production of ...
Sep 18, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Peter Wollen
Walt Whitman Walt Whitman
In 1848, 29-year-old Walt Whitman was for three months a reporter for the Daily Crescent in New Orleans, writing fluff pieces about local color and charm as seen through Yankee...
Jul 2, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Richard Gambino
Hors de Combat Hors de Combat
She's the ultimate quick-change artist, with a style that can absorb any trend and an image to match. She's gone from material girl to S/M maitresse, from power diva to content...
Apr 9, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Richard Goldstein
War and Remembrance War and Remembrance
In a provocative book published recently in Germany, a Hamburg scholar named Klaus Briegleb appeared to take on the entire national literary establishment for indulging in self...
Mar 13, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Hugh Eakin
Neo-Macho Man Neo-Macho Man
Say what you will about oil and hegemony, but the pending invasion of Iraq is more than just a geopolitical act. It's also the manifestation of a cultural attitude.
Mar 6, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Richard Goldstein
Mary McCarthy at 90 Mary McCarthy at 90
Mary McCarthy would have turned 90 on June 21, a fact that is itself astonishing to those who remember her flagrant youth, when her sharp style made her the most feared and forthri...
Aug 15, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Morris Dickstein