Language, Chance, and Science
The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language by John H. McWhorter. Oxford University Press, 2016. Hardcover, 208 pages, $20. Reviewed by Gene Callahan John H. McWhorter is a linguist at Columbia University, and a fascinating and sometimes...
The Function of Criticism in a Time of Entropy
American Audacity: In Defense of Literary Daring By William Giraldi. Liveright, 2018. Hardcover, 462 pages, $30. Reviewed by Oliver Spivey William Giraldi, author of the critical prose collected in American Audacity: In Defense of Literary Daring, is that rarest of...
Psychedelic Utopia
Outside Looking In: A Novel by T. C. Boyle Ecco, 2019. Hardcover, 400 pages, $28. Reviewed by Scott Beauchamp “Honesty and wisdom are such a delightful pastime, at another person’s expense!” —Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance It isn’t too much of a...
Americans’ Dignity, and the Nation’s Shame
Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America by Chris Arnade. Sentinel, 2019. Hardcover, 304 pages, $30. Reviewed by Addison Del Mastro It is an understatement to say that Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America, is an important book: it is a must-read. And the...
"Delsol’s analysis stands out for the breadth of its perspective. Her essay covers topics as varied as corporatism, the French love for status and strikes, immigration, religion and secularism, populism and the role of intellectuals, Jacobinism, and the EU..."