From The Nation, Jacqueline Stevens on America's Secret ICE Castles: Immigration agents are holding US residents in unlisted and unmarked subfield offices, while ICE agents regularly impersonate civilians — OSHA inspectors, insurance agents, religious workers — in order to arrest longtime US residents who have no criminal history (and an interview with Stevens). From the Acton Institute, Anthony B. Bradley on MTV’s wack morality. God Among Us: Z.N. Lupetin on the cult of celebrity. David Harvey on reshaping economic geography and the World Development Report 2009. A review of Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money by Dolly Freed. Ollie Atkins was there when Alger Hiss’ career was destroyed and Richard Nixon’s was made; he was still around the two men’s careers passed each other in the opposite direction. A review of Freedom for Sale: How We Made Money and Lost Our Liberty by John Kampfner. From Skeptic, Steuart Campbell discusses the evidence of the phenomenon known as ball lightning; and a review of Robert Wright’s The Evolution of God. The use of humour to disguise an intellectual challenge: A review of Playing the Fool: Subversive Laughter in Troubled Times by Ralph Lerner. Game for anything: It was Professor Plum with the candlestick, says Gary Day, who is fascinated by a history of board games. From TLS, a review of books on Samuel Johnson. How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Borg: The idea that there are totalitarianisms of the left as well as totalitarianisms of the right is one of the more insidious ideas of the 20th Century.
And please take advantage of Special Holiday Savings from Bookforum, with offers of 1 year (5 issues) for only $12.00, or 2 years (10 issues) for $24.00.
