Tag Archives: books

In light of the crazy-go-nuts reaction from all philosophical directions to these two posts, this story is a breath of fresh air: When Asma Hasan was majoring in religion and American studies at Wellesley, she decided she wanted to read more about Islam, especially about American Muslims like herself. Most …

Koufax: even the name is magic. As a very young left-handed pitcher, the grandson of a former professional baseball player, growing up in LA in the ’60s, Sandy Koufax was a mythical figure to me. I attended one of his four no-hitters, I followed him fanatically on the radio and …

A couple of weeks ago in celebration of Columbus Day, we discussed a series of books containing a quite unfavorable picture of the explorer, much of it written in his own words. Columbus clearly was, shall we say, insensitive to the well-being of the natives he found in the New …

Long New Yorker essay on Ellsberg and his new book on the Pentagon Papers: To anyone over a certain age (forty-five?), Daniel Ellsberg needs no introduction, but it would be quite a challenge to explain Ellsberg to someone who had never heard of him. There was this brilliant young man …

PW Daily on the lavish new Stones memoir: Bill Wyman has been a great pack rat. In some 40 years touring with the Rolling Stones, he amassed a treasure trove of material, including rare photographs, tour posters and ticket stubs, letters and telegrams. These objects–combined with his surprisingly crystal-clear recollections …

The Observer has an ongoing series on Kurt Cobain’s diaries, including images of the actual journals, and Barney Hoskyns’ essay on his importance: “There’s something wrong with that boy…” noted William Burroughs when, in 1993, Kurt Cobain dropped in to pay his respects in Lawrence, Kansas. ‘He frowns for no …

The American Civil Liberties Union, The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Foundation have sued the Justice Department under the Freedom of Information Act in an effort to extract more information about the government’s application of …

Lyricist of classic Broadway and Hollywood musicals.

Steven Zeitchik writes in Publishers Weekly: When Copper Canyon marketing director Joseph Bednarik learned that two of his house’s books had been shortlisted for the National Book Awards this year, he went through the usual gamut of sweet emotions. But he also realized what many prize contenders have come to …

A Paris court shows surprising backbone and opts for free speech: A Paris court today cleared Michel Houellebecq, a best-selling novelist, on charges of inciting anti-Muslim hatred when he dismissed Islam as “the most bloody stupid religion”. The unqualified acquittal of Houellebecq, 44, a provocateur who specialises in sex-laden tirades …