From The New Yorker, an article on The Magical Grasp of Antiques. The E Decade: Was David Shenk right about the dangers of the Internet in 1997? From n+1, Dispatches from the Jewish Imagination: A review of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union and Nathan Englander's The Ministry of Special Cases (and more and more from Bookforum). A review of Femininity in Flight: A History of Flight Attendants by Kathleen M. Barry. An article on Reason's Peter Bagge, a cartoonist who's quick on the draw. The spies who never left us: The bad guys are back, and the new cold-war thriller cannot be far behind. Why We Color Butter Yellow: An excerpt from Moveable Feasts: The History, Science, and Lore of Food by Gregory McNamee. The rise and rise of the Brutalists: Curious about who and what exactly the Brutalists are? Look no further: here's a definitive guide. An article on the first name in English dictionaries. It isn't Johnson.
A review of Queuing for Beginners: The Story of Daily Life from Breakfast to Bedtime by Joe Moran. Green Unseen: Environmentally friendly buildings don't need to look like cheese wedges. From Wired, bird, plane or SuperMensch? Jews and superheroes share a rich history. Thirty years after Umberto Eco’s brilliant essay titled “Travels through Hyper-reality” (now a paper-back book), hyper-fakery has gone global: Mickey Mouse has taken up residence in both Paris and Shanghai (and part 2). They Aren’t Sluts—Just Missbehavin’: Bad-girl mag Missbehave celebrates its first anniversary—and hot dads, sex toys, sneakers, Lily Allen. From AJR, Norman Pearlstine, Company Man: An editor revisits his role in Plamegate. From TAP, Harry Potter and the Complicated Identity Politics: J.K. Rowling subtly critiques, yet ultimately hews to, a fantasy script dependent on stereotypes culled from real-life racism.
A review of Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos and the Color Line by Adrian Burgos Jr. Athletes of the sky: A review of A Very British Coop: Pigeon Racing from Blackpool to Sun City by Mark Collings. There's a huge market in the US for books of the political analysis and investigative journalism sidelined by the mainstream press. But are enough Americans picking up copies to make a difference at the polls? Vintage Classics may have had TS Eliot's theory on tradition in mind when it launched its latest wheeze, which involves the pairing of past and modern masters. A dream life of parties, glamour - and lavatories: A review of Wicked Whispers: Confessions of a 3am Gossip Queen by Jessica Callan. Like Florida without the humidity: A review of Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son by Kevin Cook.
A review of Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul by Karen Abbott (and more). From Asia Times, Burmese literature has yet to acquire an international reputation, even though it is rich with a sense of the oppression in the military-run country. It's hard for a literary agent to contact a client hiding in the jungle. Though the U.S. capital is home to scores of memorials, just a handful of them command the attention of most visitors. Clay Risen takes a tour of Washington’s other monuments. Andrew Keen says the internet is populated by second-rate amateurs - and that it is swiftly destroying our culture. A review of Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean by Douglas Wolk (and more). Jan Herman is still pondering why Noam Chomsky's recent article, "Imminent Crises: Threats and Opportunities" was listed on the right wing cultural site Arts & Letters Daily, which delivers best ideas at high speeds (As if!)
