A Peculiar Revolt: On Marcus Rediker’s ‘The Amistad Rebellion’ A Peculiar Revolt: On Marcus Rediker’s ‘The Amistad Rebellion’
Public sympathies and political outcomes over the Amistad Africans drifted in opposite directions.
Nov 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Nicholas Guyatt
Totalitarianism, Famine and Us Totalitarianism, Famine and Us
Have histories of famines caused by totalitarianism become a distraction to the new politics of hunger?
Nov 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Samuel Moyn
Transmigrations Transmigrations
Tom Tykwer and Lana and Andy Wachowski’s Cloud Atlas, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s The Law in These Parts.
Nov 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
FDR and the Fight to Defend Our Freedom FDR and the Fight to Defend Our Freedom
Protecting freedom does not mean shielding a market from restrictions—it means fighting for economic justice and equality.
Nov 5, 2012 / Katrina vanden Heuvel
The Letters of Kurt Vonnegut The Letters of Kurt Vonnegut
Says editor Dan Wakefield, hIs writing “is done with such seemingly simple language and style that it sometimes seems shocking.”
Oct 31, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Kurt Vonnegut
Remembering the Berlin Wall Remembering the Berlin Wall
The right celebrates Reagan as the cold war “victor.” American memorials tell a different story.
Oct 31, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Jon Wiener
The Journeys of Fred Halliday The Journeys of Fred Halliday
On socialism or the Middle East, Fred Halliday’s intellectual flexibility was one of his greatest strengths.
Oct 30, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Susie Linfield
Singularly Adaptable: On Alain Mabanckou Singularly Adaptable: On Alain Mabanckou
In Black Bazaar, characters vent and stumble over their shared obsession with the colonial past.
Oct 30, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Aaron Thier
Three Republican Candidates Discourse on the Subject of Rape Three Republican Candidates Discourse on the Subject of Rape
(And a fourth remains exceedingly quiet) Legitimate rape, so we’re told by Todd Akin, Will not produce children but simply awaken Defensive biology. That quickly locks The system all down, just as safe as Fort Knox. Joe Walsh says exceptions for “life of the mother” Are phony exceptions, just like all the other Exceptions suggested. Walsh says it’s all jive, Since doctors can always keep momma alive. Now Mourdock says rapists’ seed must be defended. A pity, he says, but it’s what God intended. This absolute stance to which Mourdock still cleaves Just happens to be what Paul Ryan believes. The Rape Science Three can provide more reminders That now Mitt’s got wingnuts in all of those binders.
Oct 30, 2012 / Column / Calvin Trillin
The Cuban Missile Crisis: Thirteen Days… and Fifty Years The Cuban Missile Crisis: Thirteen Days… and Fifty Years
Even now, our understanding of that fraught moment is built on falsehoods and myths.
Oct 30, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Eric Alterman