Weekly newsletter 36


Hic sunt camelopardus: this historical edition of The Browser is presented for archaeological purposes; links and formatting may be broken.

[1]A selection of our best article links of the week, plus featured
  FiveBooks interviews, videos, quotations and more.
    Links:
      1. http://thebrowser.com

Weekly Newsletter

Best of the Week

[5]The Civil Archipelago
    Links:
      5. http://b.rw/rEHsnK

David Remnick | New Yorker | 12 December 2011

Superb, and superbly readable, account of Russia under Putin. Captures
  cynicism, corruption and violence of the state; its historical
  underpinnings; and growing discontent following latest parliamentary
  elections [6]Comments
    Links:
      6. http://thebrowser.com/articles/civil-archipelago

[7]The Overjustification Effect
    Links:
      7. http://b.rw/uMOkbT

Anonymous | You Are Not So Smart | 14 December 2011

Superb essay on money, happiness. "No matter how you turn it, the science
  says once your basic needs are taken care of, money and other rewards don’t
  make you happier." If you think differently, you're deluding yourself.
  Here's why [8]Comments
    Links:
      8. http://thebrowser.com/articles/overjustification-effect

[9]Postscript: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011
    Links:
      9. http://b.rw/v5RX8k

Christopher Buckley | New Yorker | 16 December 2011

Personal recollections of the brilliant essayist and debater by one of his
  best friends. "Lunch began at 1pm and ended at 11.30pm. At about nine
  o'clock, he said, 'Should we order more _food_?'" [10]Comments
    Links:
      10. http://thebrowser.com/articles/postscript-christopher-hitchens-1949-2011

[11]Meet The Internet’s Newest Boy Genius
    Links:
      11. http://b.rw/snmNa3

Om Malik | Gigaom | 13 December 2011

"In my life I have met many smart people — Jeff Bezos, Andy Bechtolsheim,
  Larry Page, Andy Grove, Sergey Brin, Vinod Khosla and Bret Taylor. D’Aloisio
  belongs with them, I am convinced." This is the story of a remarkable 16
  year old [12]Comments
    Links:
      12. http://thebrowser.com/articles/meet-internet’s-newest-boy-genius

[13]The Book Of Jobs
    Links:
      13. http://b.rw/sPtigI

Joseph Stiglitz | Vanity Fair | 11 December 2011

"Even when we repair the banking system, we’ll still be in deep
  trouble—because we were already in deep trouble. That seeming golden age of
  2007 was far from a paradise." Here's why, and what we can learn from the
  Great Depression [14]Comments
    Links:
      14. http://thebrowser.com/articles/book-jobs

[15]Could This Be The End Of Cancer?
    Links:
      15. http://b.rw/sfYP6M

Sharon Begley | Newsweek | 12 December 2011

"After four decades of largely unfulfilled hopes, scientists have hit on a
  potential cure that few thought possible a few years ago: Vaccines." Much
  still to prove but early clinical trials show promising, if variable,
  results [16]Comments
    Links:
      16. http://thebrowser.com/articles/could-be-end-cancer

[17]The Bitch, The Stud And The Prawn
    Links:
      17. http://b.rw/vgs2N0

Adam Curtis | BBC | 8 December 2011

Another terrifically enjoyable piece by documentary maker, illustrated with
  video clips. Tells story of "geezer capitalism" through rise and fall of
  gangster-turned-businessman, George Walker. Sardonic humour much in evidence
  [18]Comments
    Links:
      18. http://thebrowser.com/articles/bitch-stud-and-prawn

[19]Freakonomics: What Went Wrong?
    Links:
      19. http://b.rw/usfVuD

Andrew Gelman & Kaiser Fung | American Scientist | 13 December 2011

The book sold 4 million copies. Impressive for a statistics-themed work. A
  sequel followed, an NYT column, even a film. But something's gone awry: The
  Freakonomics duo have started to mislead us with erroneous, speculative
  claims [20]Comments
    Links:
      20. http://thebrowser.com/articles/freakonomics-what-went-wrong

FiveBooks Interview

[21]Daron Acemoglu on Inequality
    Links:
      21. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/daron-acemoglu-on-inequality

The US, the UK and many other countries have become far less equal over the
  past 30 years. The MIT economics professor says it's important we understand
  how and why this happened, and what it means for our societies [22]Read on
    Links:
      22. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/daron-acemoglu-on-inequality

Featured Topic

[23]Christopher Hitchens
    Links:
      23. http://thebrowser.com/reports/christopher-hitchens-0

Remembering the superlative essayist, polemicist and debater [24]Read on
    Links:
      24. http://thebrowser.com/reports/christopher-hitchens-0

Reader Recommendations

_@obitmag #browsings #somethingtoread #longreads_ The Celluloid Coffin: The
  movies’ Top 10 greatest death scenes [25]t.co/Q4Te9DU9[26]More like this
    Links:
      25. http://t.co/Q4Te9DU9
      26. http://thebrowser.com/browsings

Book of the Week

[27]Book of the Day
    Links:
      27. http://thebrowser.com/recommended/brighton-rock-by-graham-greene

[28]Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
    Links:
      28. http://thebrowser.com/recommended/brighton-rock-by-graham-greene

[29]Peter James says: “This was the first crime novel I came across where
  the central characters were the villains. They were the most important and
  interesting characters” [30]FiveBooks Archive
    Links:
      29. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/peter-james-on-crime-fiction
      30. http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks

Video of the Week

[31]'Loreley'
    Links:
      31. http://thebrowser.com/videos/loreley

Sand art. Amazing
  [32]More videos
    Links:
      32. http://thebrowser.com/videos

Quote of the Week

[33]Maud Newton, on delay
    Links:
      33. http://twitter.com/maudnewton/status/146384694437625856

"I don't think of it as procrastination. I think of it as allowing my work
    to accumulate urgency"

[34]More quotes
    Links:
      34. http://thebrowser.com/quotations

|  [35]Homepage  |  [36]Mobile  Apps  |  [37]RSS Feeds | [38]Twitter |
  [39]Facebook | [40]Privacy Policy | [41]Contact Us |
  Having trouble reading this email? [42]View it in your browser.
  You are receiving this email because you signed up for the Best of the Week
  newsletter on [43]thebrowser.com. [44]Click here to unsubscribe
    Links:
      35. http://thebrowser.com
      36. http://thebrowser.com/app
      37. http://thebrowser.com/feeds
      38. http://twitter.com/thebrowser
      39. http://www.facebook.com/Thebrowser
      40. http://thebrowser.com/privacy-policy
      41. http://thebrowser.com/contact
      42. *|ARCHIVE|*
      43. http://thebrowser.com/newsletters
      44. *|UNSUB|*

Join 150,000+ curious readers who grow with us every day

No spam. No nonsense. Unsubscribe anytime.

Great! Check your inbox and click the link to confirm your subscription
Please enter a valid email address!
You've successfully subscribed to The Browser
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in
Could not sign in! Login link expired. Click here to retry
Cookies must be enabled in your browser to sign in
search