Discovering Mexican Literature of the United States
A keystone of the Chicano literature revival, along with a more recent novel about Mexican American social mobility, form a grand legacy awaiting our discovery.
By Gerald Early
The Conservative’s Dilemma
Trump’s slash-and-burn march to the White House, one of the most stunning accomplishments in the annals of American politics no matter how loathsome the man may be to so many, ended the dynastic claims of two powerful political families: The Republican Bushes and the Democrat Clintons.
Beyond Dissidents
Age of Ambition is no doubt one of the best books about contemporary China in English.
The King of Panama
Roberto Durán made and spent millions, winding up broke, as most poor boys who became successful athletes do. During his salad days, he had a huge entourage, manzanillos, the “Panamanian slang for people who leech off the rich and famous,” as Durán puts it in his autobiography, to whom he gave away thousands a day. He drank, ate, whored, had children out of wedlock for which his wife forgave him. He apologizes for none of it. His autobiography is a defense of his life, an apologia, not an expression of contrition.
Lady and the Trump
For Schlafly, Trump, as a personality, is clearly a break from the moderately conservative Republican nominees of the last few elections like Romney and McCain, which is part of Trump’s appeal. His crudity, his bluntness, and his bouts of incoherence are signs of authenticity, of an utter refusal to submit to the sensibilities of liberal/leftist zeitgeist.
Who is the Tall, Dark Stranger there in My Living Room?[1]
In the days when it was a piece of furniture, TV was both the dark mahogany stranger in the house and the loyal companion, both threatening and familiar, something that seemed to control and something that seemed to transport. The mistake people today make is assuming that television audiences of 50 years ago were more naïve than they are today.
Why I Am Not a Liberal
In There Goes My Social Life Dash believes she can see outside herself because she has placed herself outside the mainstream of her racial group by being a conservative Republican. But this move has given her distance, not perspective.
Tales of the Fight Game
Both the LeDoux and Inoki fights are mere footnotes on Muhammad Ali’s athletic resume. Yet Paul Levy’s biography of LeDoux, The Fighting Frenchman, and Josh Gross’s exhaustive account of Ali vs. Inoki, give readers another way of looking at fights that elevated their importance, if not for Ali, then for the men who opposed him in these bouts.
With a Little Help From My Facebook Friends
Some grace notes to our original May 3 listicle of great films about jazz.
Eighteen Popular Songs About Aging and the Old
From Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands" to Jack Yellin and Ted Shapiro's "Life Begins at Forty," music has our number when it comes to growing old.
Horns On Film
Twenty films on, and about, jazz hit every note in the genre. And then some.
“Race” and Science
Yudell shows how scientists, even with the best intentions of modernizing the concept of race to keep up with current evidence, often wound up reinforcing its standard view to help insure its survival.