Best of the Moment
north-america
David Mermelstein | WSJ | 29 July 2010
Delightful interview with a charming, clever, Yo-Yo Ma. "My job as a performer is to make something memorable. If I do something nice but forgettable, it needn't have happened"
Richard Posner | New Republic | 29 July 2010
Withering dismissal of WP's "Secret America" series. "Will impress only naïve readers who have failed to realize that the US government and its major components are huge"
Jason Zasky | Failure | 28 July 2010
Story of epic struggle to lay first transatlantic cable. Finally completed in 1866 after years of problems, many avoidable. Narrator enjoys setbacks too much to be entirely reliable, but a good read
Michael Schaub | NPR | 28 July 2010
Excerpt from new Gary Shteyngart novel, preceded by short review. Absurdist humour, satire combine in vision of US as cash-strapped police state all but owned by China, at war with Venezuela
Lisa Wade | Jezebel | 28 July 2010
Survey reports, in some detail, on what young American Christian men think about women. Results suggest a pernicious asymmetry between men and women, not far from rationale for the burqa
Kathryn Schulz | NYT Blogs | 28 July 2010
We tend to despise or deny our mistakes, disparage those of others. Succinct essay suggests we'd do better to embrace American founding fathers' view that errors are inevitable, should be tolerated
Ashley Makar | Killing The Buddha | 26 July 2010
Wide-ranging conversation about history and purpose of American penal system, punishment, torture, with Caleb Smith, Yale professor. Interesting—and depressing— throughout
Garry Wills | NYR Blog | 27 July 2010
Short, bitter account of dinner given by Obama for Wills and eight other historians. They said Afghan war was another Vietnam. Obama said "realistic solution" was possible
Ronald Dworkin | Policy Review | June 2010
America has 30 times as many clinical psychologists as it did 50 years ago, and as many more diverse therapists. Why? Are Americans suffering from an onrush of mental fragility?
Rosabeth Moss Kanter | HBR Blogs | 26 July 2010
Short and sweet blogpost in which Harvard professor offers anti-rules for business leaders, based on Tony Hayward's disastrous stewardship of BP. Case will be studied by business students for years to come