Weekly newsletter 77

12 Oct 2012 • 3 min read

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

Weekly Newsletter

Best of the Week

The Greatest Fake-Art Scam in History?

Joshua Hammer | Vanity Fair | 10 October 2012

"The big question every reader will want to know is, how and why does a person become an art forger?" says Wolfgang Beltracchi. And, as mastermind of one of the most lucrative art frauds in postwar European history, he should know Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/greatest-fake-art-scam-history)

Yesterday My Daughter Emigrated

Carlos Duarte | Huffington Post | 8 October 2012

"Yesterday my daughter emigrated in search of a future she couldn't find in her country and that society, or her parents, didn't know how to give her." A lament for Spain. And a denunciation of its politicians (h/t @rszbt) Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/yesterday-my-daughter-emigrated)

The Dead Are Real

Larissa MacFarquhar | New Yorker | 8 October 2012

Profile of Hilary Mantel. Interesting throughout, both on her life and on the nature of historical fiction. "The past, in fiction, has more prestige than the future, but the prestige declines with its distance from the present" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/dead-are-real)

Can Marissa Mayer Really Have It All?

Lisa Miller | The Cut | 7 October 2012

Big profile of new Yahoo boss, and mother. "Mayer was fully girl and fully geek, a former ballet dancer who stayed up all night writing code. And one who seemed driven to make her own path when the men around her wouldn't oblige" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/can-marissa-mayer-really-have-it-all)

Lionel Messi, Here & Gone

Wright Thompson | ESPN | 5 October 2012

Thanks to his exploits with Barcelona FC, Lionel Messi is idolised all over the world. But not in his hometown of Rosario in Argentina. Not even in the bar owned by his family, where the TV is tuned to cooking shows Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/lionel-messi-here-gone)

Why Handwriting Matters

Philip Hensher | Observer | 7 October 2012

"We are at a moment when handwriting seems to be about to vanish from our lives altogether. At some point in recent years, it has stopped being a necessary and inevitable intermediary between people." We shouldn't let it go Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/why-handwriting-matters)

Romney's Five Wars

Juan Cole | Informed Comment | 9 October 2012

Fizzing denunciation of Mitt Romney's foreign policy ideas. If pursued, they'd bankrupt the country and cause more backlash and terrorism. People outside the US admire its democracy, rule of law; they hate its military hubris Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/romneys-five-wars)

Dangerous Intersection

Steven Strogatz | NYT | 8 October 2012

On catastrophe theory and sleep. Night-shift workers will know this: If you stay up particularly late, you tend to sleep less rather than more, even though you may feel very tired. Here's why. And how it relates to economics Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/dangerous-intersection)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)

FiveBooks Interview

(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/renata-salecl-on-modern-misery)

Renata Salecl on Modern Misery

The Slovenian philosophy professor decries the tyranny of choice and says we now expect long life, a beautiful body, sexual and job satisfaction. But the idea that we can perfect ourselves dooms us to failure and misery Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/renata-salecl-on-modern-misery)

Featured Topic

(http://thebrowser.com/reports/healthcare-america)

Healthcare in America

The battle over US healthcare reform reaches the Supreme Court. Here's what's at stake Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/healthcare-america)

Reader Recommendations

@henrylf What is Logic? Helpful intro to the basics, @ethicalrealism - no Kripke required #philosophy t.co/PoH3dN8G #browsings (https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings) More like this (http://thebrowser.com/browsings)

Book of the Week

Book of the Day (http://thebrowser.com/recommended/search-vanishing-beijing-by-m-aldrich)

The Search for a Vanishing Beijing by M A Aldrich

Evan Osnos says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/evan-osnos-on-china) : “This is a quirky book, organised as a series of walks. So you could start at the Drum Tower and walk south, passing the homes of China’s great writers and the little house in which Mao lived as a young library assistant.” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks)