Reviews and News:
Waller R. Newell on why we need “next best books”: “I’m becoming more and more convinced that not only do we need the Great Books, but we just as much need what I call the Next Best Books — great histories, biographies, novels, and the memoirs of statesmen. I have always believed that the Great Books help us to understand history, including its distaff side. More and more, though, I have come to believe that a knowledge of history is also needed to help people understand the Great Books, especially today’s young people, who through no fault of their own are educated to become historical blanks and ciphers.”
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A history of slavery in New England.
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Gay Talese disavowed his new book on motel voyeur Gerald Foos when confronted by a Washington Post reporter about discrepancies. He later disavowed his disavowal: “I was upset and probably said some things I didn’t, and don’t, mean. Let me be clear: I am not disavowing the book and neither is my publisher.” Cha-ching.
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In Case You Missed It:
Gender is not a spectrum. “Once we assert that the problem with gender is that we currently recognise only two of them, the obvious question to ask is: how many genders would we have to recognise in order not to be oppressive? Just how many possible gender identities are there? The only consistent answer to this is: 7 billion, give or take.”
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Joseph Loconte examines how the Somme destroyed the myth of human progress and influenced the work of J. R. R. Tolkien
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Advice on growing old.
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Classic Essay: Pierre Manent, “Current Problems of European Democracy.” Read about Pierre Manent’s life and works at Contemporary Thinkers.
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Interview: Bill Kristol talks with Garry Kasparov about the failure of vision in American politics
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