As a thought experiment, ask yourself how close the USA might be, exactly, to becoming another quasi-, tin-pot democracy led by an authoritarian figure, along the lines of Putin’s Russia and Erdogan’s Turkey? What types of damaging... Read More

Larger-than-life writer at large Ernest Hemingway always made it his practice to seek out the world’s centers of attention, whether they were war zones, Parisian literary salons, prerevolutionary Cuba, or idyllic Key West and Idaho. In... Read More

Storytelling is the purpose of writing. And while crafting more polished sentences and paragraphs can be practiced and improved upon, creating an affecting story calls upon other talents, some of which are better honed at late night... Read More

The extraordinary qualities of rubber—cushioning, elasticity, insulation (wires)—have changed society in countless ways over the past hundred and forty years, highlighted by the joy of shooting rubber bands in math class. But more... Read More

The erudite, illustrated essays of "Dissimilar Similitudes" concern art, history, religion, and culture in late medieval Europe—in particular, how devotional objects and images were viewed by worshippers. Some challenge traditional... Read More

Once, riot grrrl Atlantis Black’s star was on the rise, but success evaded her, replaced by darkness. Still, the enigmatic musician had the perspicacity to ensure that her legacy would endure via unanswerable questions, many of which... Read More

Told as a series of interconnected stories, Linda Kass’s captivating, based-in-truth novel "A Ritchie Boy" is about assimilation, hope, and perseverance. When he was fifteen, Eli and his parents escaped war-torn Austria, which had... Read More

Thorough research is apparent in Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman’s "The Religion Clauses", a deep monograph about the correctness of the separation of church and state. Both a history of the US Constitution and Supreme Court... Read More