Books
The structure, plot, themes, tone, and diction of Was It For This all combine to consecrate the ordinary alongside the exceptional.
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This splendid biography of Leon Battista Alberti, beautifully produced, with a rich selection of well-placed and well-reproduced illustrations, vividly portrays one of the most complex and fascinating figures in a complex and fascinating time, one whose preoccupations are entirely relevant today.
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Sarah Polley’s essay on sexual assault by itself is worth the price of the book, essential reading for anyone interested in the physical and psychological after-effects of violence against women.
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Given that the Climate Emergency will grow more challenging over time, we (including literary novelists) shouldn’t be so cavalier about not eating our spinach.
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This trio of beautifully-illustrated children’s books offer journeys into science that rival science fiction.
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This staunchly eclectic collection is also fiercely focused, unified by the fact that regardless of the subject, the poet never blinks, never looks away, never hesitates to name the pain.
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Maintaining liberty in the face of totalitarian fantasy calls for vigilance. Ernst Jünger’s cautionary tale may be more resonant now than when it was first published.
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Sam Lipsyte’s latest novel does a bang-up job of capturing the edgy and zany milieu of the early ’90s.
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Two books for children that address the climate crisis.
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Book Review: Two Powerful Books from Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa — A Liberal Citizen of the World
Engagingly written by a limpid stylist, The Call of the Tribe marshals a corps of sparkling intellectuals who have in common first-hand experience of dictatorship, a commitment to individual freedom, a belief in reasonably regulated free-market economies, and a rejection of the political zealotry of religion or the doctrinaire left and right.
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