From Standpoint, Christianity is central to British identity, but its marginalisation has created a moral vacuum which radical Islam threatens to fill; Alain de Botton on why the "death of God" need not mean an end to the culture he inspired; an article on the science of the soul; and we must pay for cathedrals of knowledge if scientists are to solve the great mysteries of the universe. The Age of Innocence: An article on the fine legal line between teenage angels and monsters. From Not Bored!, here are cynical proposals for revolutionizing the advertising industry. Rick Perlstein on the meaning of Box 722: "Here is the fundamental tragedy of the backlash". Nicole Rudick reviews The Americans by Robert Frank. From NYRB, a review of books on how the mind works; Elizabeth Drew reviews A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America by Jim Webb; Edmund White reviews books on Marguerite Duras; John Updike on "The Clarity of Things"; William Dalrymple reviews books on India and the place of sex. Our noses don't like the smell of BO, but maybe our brains do. A review of Does Ethics Have a Chance in a World of Consumers? by Zygmunt Bauman. What you read is what he is, sort of: For David Sedaris, reality is a subjective, slippery concept, especially in his essays. The great divide: Nir Rosen goes inside Baghdad’s Shiite slums to witness life under Muqtada al Sadr and his Mahdi Army.
