Know Thine Enemy
An insider’s naive and myopic account of China’s system and intentions.
Brian Stewart
· 8 min read
Review
A collection of 127 posts
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
A Violent History Obscured
South Korean Nobel laureate Han Kang’s literary experimentation thwarts rather than advances her professed concern for the suffering of everyone, everywhere, all the time.
Brad Strotten
· 7 min read
A Kinder, Gentler Eliminationism
Peter Beinart has responded to the 7 October massacre and subsequent Gaza war with a deeply duplicitous book.
Susie Linfield
· 18 min read
Mammy Dearest
Richard Bernstein’s new book about Al Jolson and ‘The Jazz Singer’ offers a thoughtful reconsideration of an unfairly reviled cultural landmark.
Graham Daseler
· 14 min read
Tyranny Is Not What It Used to Be
In her new book, ‘Autocracy, Inc.,’ historian Anne Applebaum provides us with a distinctive and indispensable guide to one of the great challenges of our time.
Brian Stewart
· 8 min read
Oversimplify and Vilify
‘The Message’ is a lopsided, unserious, and frequently embarrassing essay, the real target of which is the very existence of Israel.
Mark Horowitz
· 12 min read
The Eerie Beauty of ‘Flow’
Gints Zilbalodis’s beautiful dystopian story feels like the start of a new era in cinema, or at least the invitation to one.
Roy Wayne Meredith III
· 5 min read
Sonny Side Up
Al Pacino’s personal life has been a bit of a train wreck, but his new memoir leaves no doubt that acting has been the most important thing in his life.
Kevin Mims
· 21 min read
Reading Nietzsche in Amsterdam
Lale Gül’s autobiographical novel about a young Muslim woman living in the Netherlands has led to death threats and ostracism. But it is a work of admirable intelligence and courage.
Brad Strotten
· 7 min read
A Half-Serious Man
Boris Johnson got a couple of critical things right, but he never could or would have become a good prime minister.
John Lloyd
· 12 min read