What’s the best cure for a man who hates the mountains? Send him to the mountains. What’s the best cure for a misanthrope? Send him to live with other people. Thus begins “Twenty-One Days of a Neurasthenic” by Octave Mirbeau (1848–1917). Continue reading Twenty-One Days of a Neurasthenic, by Octave Mirbeau @ NYJB
I continue my CCLaP essay series “American Odd” with “The Manson File,” by Nikolas Schreck, an anthology of poetry, prose, and art by Charles Manson. Continue reading American Odd: The Manson File, by Nikolas Schreck
his week I review Uncertain Justice: The Roberts Court and the Constitution, by Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz, a sober look at the Roberts Court and how recent rulings have shaped modern law. Continue reading Mondays with the Supremes/CCLaP Fridays Crossover: Uncertain Justice: The Roberts Court and the Constitution, by Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz
“Understanding the full scope of The Familiar is akin to counting the raindrops.” Continue reading The Familiar, Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May, by Mark I. Danielewski @ NYJB
For Jennifer Birkett, Emeritus Professor of French Studies at the University of Birmingham, Samuel Beckett thought “life was a matter of doing time, while writing was a way of undoing it.” Continue reading Undoing Time: The Life and Work of Samuel Beckett, by Jennifer Birkett @ NYJB
This week for American Odd I write about The Cremaster Cycle by Matthew Barney. Continue reading American Odd: The Cremaster Cycle by Matthew Barney
This week I review “A Kingdom in Crisis,” by Andrew MacGregor Marshall, a fearless expose of Thailand’s corrupt politics and looming succession crisis. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: A Kingdom in Crisis, by Andrew MacGregor Marshall
Ian Tattersall’s new book, “The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack,” explores the intellectual history of paleoanthropology and seeks to answer, “What does it mean to be human?” Continue reading On Being Human Redux: The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack, by Ian Tattersall
In this installment of American Odd, I review a biography of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, as told by his mother, Lucy Mack Smith. Continue reading American Odd: History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, by Lucy Mack Smith
This week I review “Cities of Empire: The British colonies and the creation of the urban world,” by Tristram Hunt. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Cities of Empire, by Tristram Hunt
The Driftless Area Review 