The Mediocrity Feedback Loop
If leading media critics don’t expect much, filmmakers won’t deliver much.
Charlotte Allen
· 15 min read
Review
A collection of 136 posts
Deprograming Patriotism
‘The Technological Republic’ is a searching indictment of a culture that has lost sight of its metaphysical horizons and now seeks an escape from history.
Brian Stewart
· 11 min read
The Art of Not Quite Listening
Ian Penman has published an eccentric new book about Erik Satie, a French surrealist composer and celebratory nuisance with a tiny oeuvre and massive influence.
Thomas Larson
· 9 min read
Hell in North Germany
A riveting new book by American historian Lynne Olson re-examines the story of Ravensbrück, the Nazis’ notorious concentration camp for women.
Ron Capshaw
· 12 min read
Literary Prozac
Matthew Gasda’s new novel unfolds in a haze of empty dialogue and overwrought introspection.
Brad Strotten
· 7 min read
Heterodox Radical
A new collection of Murray Kempton’s articles reveals a thoughtful journalist whose politics were difficult to categorise.
Ron Capshaw
· 8 min read
A Bridge Too Far
Biden’s re-election campaign was a grand exercise in hubris, which led to the very outcome it was intended to prevent.
Joshua Muravchik
· 14 min read
A Minority of One
A valuable new collection of wartime letters written by Leslie Fiedler shows how politically astute the budding literary critic was about communism.
Ron Capshaw
· 7 min read
Religious Reasoning
The first and largest mistake Douthat makes in his new book is to argue that faith and rationality are mutually supportive.
Graham Daseler
· 15 min read
Know Thine Enemy
An insider’s naive and myopic account of China’s system and intentions.
Brian Stewart
· 8 min read
Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes
Those who ignore politically inconvenient information about affirmative action are more interested in defending a narrative than in actually solving a problem.
Erec Smith
· 9 min read
Epic Failure
Many of the people involved in Uberto Pasolini’s new screen adaptation of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ are intimidatingly talented. It’s a pity, then, that the film is such a disaster.
Jaspreet Singh Boparai
· 14 min read
Victims of Realism
Alexander Vindman’s bracing new book argues that Ukraine has been made to suffer the consequences of Western naivety and restraint.
Brian Stewart
· 6 min read
Picture Perfect
Vincenzo Latronico’s prismatic novel ‘Perfection’ is a lament for the hopes and dreams of a generation reconfigured by the internet.
Andrew White
· 9 min read
Red Spies and Lies
Clay Risen’s new book about the American “Red Scare” emphasises the injustices of anti-communism but minimises the true extent and danger of communist infiltration.
Ronald Radosh
· 23 min read