How the World Made the West
Steven Poole at The Guardian: “Western civilisation” would not exist without its Islamic, African, Indian and Chinese influences. To understand why, Quinn takes us back in time, beginning at the
Steven Poole at The Guardian: “Western civilisation” would not exist without its Islamic, African, Indian and Chinese influences. To understand why, Quinn takes us back in time, beginning at the
by Santiago Ramos at Wisdom of Crowds: I’m moving, which means I’ve spent the last few days disoriented between pillars of boxes, lost without my daily routine and familiar living
Scott Alexander at Astral Codex Ten: There’s been renewed debate around Bryan Caplan’s The Case Against Education recently, so I want to discuss one way I think about this question. Education isn’t
Hephzibah Anderson in The Guardian: Sam Taylor, 53, was living in rural France with four well-received novels to his name when he realised that he wasn’t going to be able
Continue readingTranslating is Like X-raying a Book. You Get a Deep Tissue Read.
Soni Wadhwa in the Asian Review of Books: Detective fiction in the West is often grouped with crime fiction and thrillers; but in detective fiction, the focus is on a
Continue reading“The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction”
Joe Fassler at Lit Hub: Years ago, for reasons I still don’t fully understand, I found myself writing about flight. It started as just a few paragraphs, a bit of
Continue readingA Brief History of Failed Attempts at Human Flight
Lucy Moore at Literary Review: After they were released from prison in Paris in the late autumn of 1794, both having narrowly escaped the guillotine, new bosom friends Rose de
by Jeroen Bouterse at 3 Quarks Daily: In 2015, political scientist Larry Diamond warned against defeatism in the face of what he called the democratic recession. “It is vital that
Michael Erard in the European Review of Books: Language as self, language learning as magic, the mortifications of the flesh: these themes run through The Centre, a debut novel by British-Pakistani
Continue readingLearning a Language Involves the Body, Not Just the Brain
William H. Janeway at Project Syndicate: Whether mobilizing for war or (re)constructing advanced manufacturing capabilities in peacetime, success turns on the functioning of complex supply chains. But this truth was
James Stewart in The New York Times: It’s been 14 years since Goldman Sachs was vilified as a “vampire squid” by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone. “Organized greed always defeats disorganized
Continue readingIn the Corporate World, Woke Is the Rage But Greed Is Still King
by Ashutosh Jogalekar at 3 Quarks Daily: Once again the world faces death and destruction, and once again it asks questions. The horrific assaults by Hamas on October 7 last
Continue readingIsrael, Gaza, and McNamara’s Lessons for War and Peace