Hillary Clinton's dramatic telling of her trip to Tuzla has for months caused snickering and eye-rolling among reporters, but today the Washington Post takes the time to truth-squad the story, a convenient development for the Obama campaign, which spent a morning conference call questioning Clinton's relationship with the truth and her electability.
Here's a Read More
Absurdistan is the sort of novel that, if mishandled, could make for a truly fabulous mess. As in Gary Shteyngart’s debut, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, we find ourselves immersed in a fictitious post-Soviet nation, this one bearing a striking resemblance to war-torn Afghanistan. What makes Absurdistan different from his debut is that Mr. Shteyngart has Read More
Absurdistan is the sort of novel that, if mishandled, could make for a truly fabulous mess. As in Gary Shteyngart’s debut, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, we find ourselves immersed in a fictitious post-Soviet nation, this one bearing a striking resemblance to war-torn Afghanistan. What makes Absurdistan different from his debut is that Mr. Shteyngart has Read More
"I think I'm American in all sorts of essential ways," said the 52-year-old war journalist David Rieff the other day, "but I never understood this American wish to look on the bright side. I just don't get it."
Dubbed "Mr. Pessimism" by Time magazine in 2002, Mr. Rieff, the son of the late Susan Sontag and Read More
Vermeer
in Bosnia: Cultural Comedies and Political Tragedies , by Lawrence Weschler. Pantheon Books, 432 pages, $25.95. After a fair amount of discussion with folk on neighboring treadmills, the word I've finally settled upon is "excellentric." It adds a dash of excellence to the high art of being eclectic, while connoting the expertise that sometimes goes Read MoreUnvanquished: A U.S.-U.N. Saga , by Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Random House, 352 pages, $29.95.
The first impression one gleans from Boutros Boutros-Ghali's memoir of his days as Secretary General of the United Nations is how much he relished his reputation as a difficult and exasperating man to work with. Mr. Boutros-Ghali notes approvingly that he was Read MoreUnvanquished: A U.S.-U.N. Saga , by Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Random House, 352 pages, $29.95.
The first impression one gleans from Boutros Boutros-Ghali's memoir of his days as United Nations Secretary General is how much he relished his reputation for being a difficult and exasperating man to work with. Mr. Boutros-Ghali notes approvingly that he was seen by Read More
