Shelf Life Shelf Life
Gary Wills's Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State; Elizabeth Arnold's Effacement.
Apr 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / John Palattella
Gramaphoons Gramaphoons
A rock bottom, a bottom line, a body in extremis all make the poems of Graham Foust quaver and reel.
Apr 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko
The Crack-Up The Crack-Up
The Latin American utopia has disappeared, says novelist and crackero Jorge Volpi, and he displays little nostalgia for it.
Apr 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Ben Ehrenreich
A Guide to Discussing the News for Responsible and Serious-Minded Citizens A Guide to Discussing the News for Responsible and Serious-Minded Citizens
Hot topics.
Apr 16, 2010 / Column / Calvin Trillin
In Defense of Hamid Karzai In Defense of Hamid Karzai
Redeeming our faltering ally.
Apr 15, 2010 / Column / Calvin Trillin
Get Out Get Out
Can you feel your confidence match the billowing crowd? You even feel cocky, believing you've earned the admiration of a few. It is, in fact, what it appears to be: a voice fastened to paper very carefully, a cry cut from its mouth. But then, you think, who is that you're talking to? There's no one here, just paper and ink and you. What is this pathetic game? Get out. Go find a friend.
Apr 14, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Craig Morgan Teicher
Extravagant Disorder Extravagant Disorder
Miroslav Tichy's haphazard, eccentric photographs are disciplined, even rigorous--and indifferent to the claims of their female subjects.
Apr 14, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Jana Prikryl
A Reign Not of This World A Reign Not of This World
Juan Carlos Onetti immerses himself in reality just long enough to fashion an escape. This is his peculiar gift.
Apr 14, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Blitzer

Scattered Threads Scattered Threads
This year's Whitney Biennial fails to address the question of which art pertains to our time rather than any other.
Apr 8, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

Anderson’s Amphibologies: On Perry Anderson Anderson’s Amphibologies: On Perry Anderson
Perry Anderson deftly punctures the EU's self-serving myths, but his own pieties make him a better prosecutor than judge.
Apr 8, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Mark Mazower