General
Story Stream
A Tool Kit for Tradition in Philadelphia September 08, 2023
“No half baths, and no skylights!,” my realtor snapped at me, half joking but exasperated. We were standing in a windowless closet on the third floor of what would soon be my very first property, and I was pointing out the places where my grand plans...
The Other Napoleon September 08, 2023
Ridley Scott’s forthcoming Napoleon may be his greatest epic yet—or a total stinker. Either way, watching Joaquin Phoenix portray Bonaparte, it will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to fully forget Danny DeVito. DeVito’s version exists of course onl...
Modern Illiteracy and Its Cure September 08, 2023
Despite its off-putting title, this is a very insightful book. I had thought that my own generation (late baby boomers) might be the “dumbest,” but Mark Bauerlein, professor emeritus of English at Emory University, argues forcefully that it is millen...
Famous Amis September 07, 2023
Martin Amis (1949–2023) died in May as both the preeminent satiric novelist of his generation and also a perpetual whipping boy. Never did he produce the book that united the critics in praise, sold explosively, and swept all the awards (or indeed an...
We Will All Become Boring September 05, 2023
There has never been a more solitary period in human history. In Britain, the number of people living alone has doubled since 1974 and now represents approximately one fifth of the adult population. In the United States, the figure is approaching 30%...
Tolkien and the Contemporary Reader September 04, 2023
Fifty years ago, on 2 September 1973, J.R.R. Tolkien died of a gastric ulcer at the age of eighty-one. The news received a surprisingly muted response from the press. While the obituaries acknowledged the extraordinary impact that The Hobbit (1937) a...
When Corporations Try to Save the World September 01, 2023
Many observers of corporate America over the last several years have been surprised, confused, and chagrined to discover that CEOs and senior managers these days seem to be paying more attention to social activism than profit and loss. Big players in...
