Weekly newsletter 39


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]When Currencies Collapse
    Links:
      5. http://b.rw/whPsTW

Barry Eichengreen | Foreign Affairs | 15 December 2011

Superb essay. Euro, dollar account for 90% of global foreign exchange
  reserves. What would happen if investor confidence in either faltered?
  Eichengreen looks back to 1930s and 1970s for clues (Free access for Browser
  readers) [6]Comments
    Links:
      6. http://thebrowser.com/articles/when-currencies-collapse

[7]Reversal Of Fortune
    Links:
      7. http://b.rw/y9DBxH

Patrick Radden Keefe | New Yorker | 2 January 2012

Story of epic battle between big oil and American lawyer acting for
  residents of Ecuadoran Amazon. Fascinating on tactics of corporate giant
  faced with class-action suit, and shades of grey that emerge in plaintiffs'
  case [8]Comments
    Links:
      8. http://thebrowser.com/articles/reversal-fortune

[9]What Has Happened To The ANC?
    Links:
      9. http://b.rw/zYy4Gy

Richard Dowden | African Arguments | 6 January 2012

Superb, succinct critique of South Africa's governing party, this week
  celebrating centenary of its birth. Lavishly, and at expense of South
  African taxpayers. Party of Mandela and anti-apartheid struggle looks
  inglorious now [10]Comments
    Links:
      10. http://thebrowser.com/articles/what-has-happened-anc

[11]Greece: The History Behind The Collapse
    Links:
      11. http://b.rw/t38cL4

Georges Prévélakis | Eurozine | 23 December 2011

Professor of geopolitics at Sorbonne seeks to explain peculiarities of
  Greece's political administration, dysfunctional economy, through lens of
  history. And the lessons Europe must learn from his country's near failure
  [12]Comments
    Links:
      12. http://thebrowser.com/articles/greece-history-behind-collapse

[13]The Secret Life Of J Edgar Hoover
    Links:
      13. http://b.rw/tSPh49

Anthony Summers | Observer | 1 January 2012

Explosive read on former FBI director. Imagine a cross-dressing paranoid
  narcissist with connections to organised crime. "Hoover was like a sewer
  that collected dirt. I now believe he was the worst public servant in our
  history" [14]Comments
    Links:
      14. http://thebrowser.com/articles/secret-life-j-edgar-hoover

[15]How Banks Are Using Your Money To Create The Next Crash
    Links:
      15. http://b.rw/xX8zKV

Keith Fitz-Gerald | Money Morning | 4 January 2012

"Banks, trading houses are leveraging your money to increase their profits
  – just as in the run-up to the last financial crisis. Only this time, things
  may be worse." It's time to understand the concept of "rehypothecation"
  [16]Comments
    Links:
      16. http://thebrowser.com/articles/how-banks-are-using-iyouri-money-create-next-crash

[17]Christopher Hitchens
    Links:
      17. http://b.rw/yrmZtU

Salman Rushdie | Tumblr/Vanity Fair | 5 January 2012

Rushdie's tribute to his great friend and ally. "I have often been asked if
  Christopher defended me because he was my close friend. The truth is that he
  became my close friend because he wanted to defend me." And he was
  magnificent [18]Comments
    Links:
      18. http://thebrowser.com/articles/christopher-hitchens

[19]The Ghosts In The Living Room
    Links:
      19. http://b.rw/vEieQ2

Adam Curtis | BBC | 22 December 2011

Engaging piece, with video, on history of ghosts on television. Not
  fictional ghosts but "real" ones, or reports of their appearances. And why
  the BBC promised not to show its 1992 programme Ghostwatch ever again
  [20]Comments
    Links:
      20. http://thebrowser.com/articles/ghosts-living-room

FiveBooks Interview

[21]William Boyd on Writers Who Have Inspired Me
    Links:
      21. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/william-boyd-on-writers-who-have-inspired-me

The acclaimed novelist tells us about the authors, from Heller to Chekhov,
  who most influenced his own development as a writer – and reveals the secret
  to a well-crafted sex scene [22]Read on
    Links:
      22. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/william-boyd-on-writers-who-have-inspired-me

Featured Topic

[23]Sex
    Links:
      23. http://thebrowser.com/reports/sex

Call girls, bondage, pornography, naked yoga, adultery and the science of
  sperm; it's all here but maybe NSFW [24]Read on
    Links:
      24. http://thebrowser.com/reports/sex

Reader Recommendations

_@Mark_Veldhuizen_  Exactly!  Slate  busts  the great pepper conspiracy.
  (Although,  what  is  the  "aroma"  of  mustaches?)  [25]t.co/IhqFveKk
  [26]#browsings [27]More like this
    Links:
      25. http://t.co/IhqFveKk
      26. https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings
      27. http://thebrowser.com/browsings

Book of the Week

[28]Book of the Day
    Links:
      28. http://thebrowser.com/recommended/out-my-life-and-thought-by-albert-schweitzer

[29]Out of My Life and Thought by Albert Schweitzer
    Links:
      29. http://thebrowser.com/recommended/out-my-life-and-thought-by-albert-schweitzer

[30]Roman Krznaric says: “His autobiography traces his transformation from
  his literary and intellectual work to the way he gave himself to human
  service” [31]FiveBooks Archive
    Links:
      30. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/roman-krznaric-on-art-living
      31. http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks

Video of the Week

[32]Iowa Nice
    Links:
      32. http://thebrowser.com/videos/iowa-nice

You think you know Iowa? Think again. (Some swearing, but try not to mind)
  [33]More videos
    Links:
      33. http://thebrowser.com/videos

Quote of the Week

[34]Sophie Pinkham, on Kim Kardashian
    Links:
      34. http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/01/05/the-wedding-party

"Marriage is no longer the inevitable result of a wedding"

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

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