Arts & Letters Daily » New Books

When nuns puked nails

thuudung — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 02:00:08 +0000

Demonic possession might explain your convulsions, vomiting, or visions. But what explains the popularity of demons, in the 16th century and today?… more»

Narratives of war

thuudung — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 02:00:26 +0000

And now Michael Howard anoints a new Clausewitz. His name: Emile Simpson, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. Are his ideas the future of military strategy?… more»

Reassessing Edward Thomas

thuudung — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 02:00:35 +0000

When Edward Thomas was killed, in 1917, his reputation rested on his prose: 20 books, 70 articles, 1,900 reviews. He wrote on deadline, but he was no hack… more»

Cabinet magazine rewrites the encyclopedia

thuudung — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:00:53 +0000

In the pages of Cabinet, insecure academics commiserate with insecure artists. The magazine is idiosyncratic, goofy, and a consistent delight… more»

Jill Lepore, the microhistorian

thuudung — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 02:00:51 +0000

The genius of Jill Lepore. She’s turned microhistory into an essayistic art. But therein lurk the perils of the quest for perfect readability… more»

The hunt for Herman Melville

thuudung — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 02:00:25 +0000

The Melville biographer Hershel Parker warns that his craft is under attack from “subversive interlopers” – academic critics with their intellectual fads… more»

History of sound and listening

thuudung — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 02:00:27 +0000

“Listening” has pleasant connotations. “Noise,” not so much. But noise is often the sound of progress, irksome as it is… more»

A history of neon

thuudung — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 02:00:10 +0000

For Adorno, neon represented mass-produced kitsch. For others, the ostentatious yet charismatic glow means something else: possibility… more»

The science of monsters

thuudung — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 02:00:28 +0000

The question of monsters is credulity versus skepticism: Science puts to rest tales of Minotaur and Medusa. And yet we want to believe. Why?… more»

Hobsbawm: The posthumous essays

thuudung — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 02:00:24 +0000

What explains Eric Hobsbawm’s influence? His genius for conceptually framing history? His encyclopedic knowledge? His Marxism?… more»