A new issue of Open Letters Monthly is out. As of Friday, former President George W. Bush’s “coalition of the willing” formally ceased to exist, leaving only the U.S. military’s 130,000 or so forces in Iraq. Hospital how-to guide: A review of The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande. An interview with Steven Landsburg, author of The Big Questions. From Ode, Charles Eisenstein on money and the turning of the age. Inside Obama’s War on Terrorism: Recent threats have put more focus on the battles President Obama faces as a commander in chief fighting a far-flung terror network. Michael Dirda reviews The Year's Work in Lebowski Studies. From Bomb, an interview with Daniel Nester, author of How to Be Inappropriate. Tongue twisters: In search of the world’s hardest language. From The Awl, a special section on the end of the 00’s. When fear makes us superhuman: An excerpt from Extreme Fear: The Science of Your Mind in Danger by Jeff Wise. From The New York Times Magazine, a special issue on The Lives They Lived. Ashis Nandy and the Postcolonial Trap: Because postcolonialism has only one idea, it can easily become oppressive in practice. From Wired, Scott Brown on why some memes never die. That most despised of human specimens: A review of Hidden Talent: The Emergence of Hollywood Agents by Tom Kemper. Joel Kotkin on Obama's Secret Power Base: He’s got a completely different group of people to answer to. Dr. Drew Pinsky uses TV’s most exploitative form (reality TV) to treat the most desperate people (addicts); is this therapy or tabloid voyeurism?
