FiveBooks Newsletter 64

[1]The Browser
Links:
1. http://thebrowser.com

FiveBooks at TheBrowser

This week began with the 9/11 commemorations and two terrific FiveBooks
interviews in which [5]Fran Lebowitz and [6]Jay McInerney took us inside the
New York they know and love. Great tributes both, to one of the most
powerful cities in the Western imagination.
Links:
5. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/fran-lebowitz-on-new-york-writers
6. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jay-mcinerney-on-essential-new-york-novels

We followed up with an atmospheric walk through [7]the seamier side of
London, courtesy of historian Peter Ackroyd, and then it was back to ancient
Rome with [8]Tom Holland for an investigation of power and religion.
Links:
7. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/peter-ackroyd-on-london
8. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/tom-holland-on-ancient-rome

Today, we finish with [9]James Randi, the one-time magician who became the
scourge of "psychics", flim-flam artists and would-be spoon-benders
everywhere. And, as he explains, there's $1m in it for anyone who wants to
take him on.
Links:
9. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/james-randi-on-scepticism

Next week, our varied menu takes in art crime, philosophy and inequalities
in wealth. Do come back for more!

FiveBooks News

[10]James Randi on Scepticism
Links:
10. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/james-randi-on-scepticism

Friday September 16

The former magician sharpens his knives against proponents of flim-flam,
pseudoscience and the so-called paranormal. And tells us where the creator
of Sherlock Holmes went very badly wrong [11]Continue reading…
Links:
11. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/james-randi-on-scepticism

[12]Juan Méndez on Torture
Links:
12. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/juan-méndez-on-torture

Thursday September 15

Can torture ever be justified? No, says the UN special rapporteur, who tells
us how torturers try to excuse themselves and what remedies should be
available to surviving victims [13]Continue reading…
Links:
13. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/juan-méndez-on-torture

[14]Susan Gelman on Essentialism
Links:
14. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/susan-gelman-on-essentialism

Wednesday September 14

Putting people and things into categories is something we all do. It’s a
useful shortcut but reveals biases. And it plays a role in everything from
ethnic violence to childhood development, as psychologist Susan Gelman
explains [15]Continue reading…
Links:
15. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/susan-gelman-on-essentialism

[16]Tom Holland on Ancient Rome
Links:
16. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/tom-holland-on-ancient-rome

Tuesday September 13

How accurate is what we think we know about the Romans? The author of
_Rubicon_ tells us about the exercise of power, the staging of ceremony and
the influence of religion in ancient Rome [17]Continue reading…
Links:
17. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/tom-holland-on-ancient-rome

[18]Peter Ackroyd on London
Links:
18. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/peter-ackroyd-on-london

Monday September 12

The historian and biographer of London picks five books that shine a light
on parts of this vast, complex and confusing city where, he says, pathos and
pantomime meet [19]Continue reading…
Links:
19. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/peter-ackroyd-on-london

[20]Jay McInerney on Essential New York Novels
Links:
20. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jay-mcinerney-on-essential-new-york-novels

Sunday September 11

The author of Bright Lights, Big City tells us what changed after 9/11 and
which books best capture the ambition, romance and creativity of New York
[21]Continue reading…
Links:
21. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jay-mcinerney-on-essential-new-york-novels

[22]Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers
Links:
22. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/fran-lebowitz-on-new-york-writers

Saturday September 10

9/11 changed New York immensely, but it’s always been a city where people go
to be free and it will be again, says the writer and humorist. Just look at
its rich and varied literary life [23]Continue reading…
Links:
23. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/fran-lebowitz-on-new-york-writers

[24]It's Already Happened
Links:
24. http://b.rw/ru4RYu

James Meek | LRB | 14 September 2011

Superb, highly readable essay on commercialisation of Britain's national
health service. And that's not something I thought I'd ever write. But it's
a fascinating story from the pioneers of hip replacement ops to lobbyists of
today [25]More like this
Links:
25. http://thebrowser.com/best