Saleem H. Ali, author of Treasures of the Earth: Need, Greed and a Sustainable Future, asks this simple question in his preface: “Would the world be a better place if human societies were somehow able to curb their desires for material goods?” and proceeds to offer his own perspective. He
Peter Stothard, editor of the Times Literary Supplement, recommends Berkshire from the Pevsner Architectural Guides in his weekly column, “The Best of Brit Lit,” for The Daily Beast. Check out the whole series for more books on architecture throughout the British Isles.
This past Sunday “The Way We Live Now,” a regular feature in the New York Times Magazine, covered the effects of the increase in Americans’ inclination towards thrift in these recent years: specifically the cycle of deleveraging, which is a contraction of credit as individuals begin to spend and borrow
Today, Tutankhamun is perhaps one of the most well known out of the many ancient Egyptian pharaohs – artifacts from his tomb have been displayed throughout the world. Before the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, though, archaeologists first came upon remains from his mummification and funeral. Tutankhamun’s Funeral includes early 20th
Last week, workers excavating the future World Trade Center site made an astonishing discovery: the remains of an eighteenth-century wooden ship, presumably buried as landfill two hundred years ago. If you aren’t already familiar with the story, read the account from the New York Times here. Has this left you
Books, often carriers of cultural history, also have a cultural history of their own. The book has played a different role in each culture and era. The Book in the Renaissance, by Andrew Pettegree, examines the first 150 years after the invention of print. As it were, books played more
On this day 140 years ago, Georgia became the final Confederate state to be readmitted to Congress during Reconstruction. In the years prior to their readmission in 1870, the state had improved both their agricultural and manufacturing efforts from the economic troubles caused by the Civil War. These and other
Today’s New York Times features an interview with Alice T. Friedman, author of American Glamour and the Evolution of Modern Architecture. Check out the piece and discover why glamour is “no mere aesthetic.”
This morning The Wall Street Journal featured a nice review of Yale Press’s new release of Hobbes’ “Leviathan”, edited by Ian Shapiro and part of YUP’s “Rethinking the Western Tradition” series. Written by Jeffrey Collins, the review discusses not only Hobbes’ fundamental conceptions of man in nature vs. man in
This Monday, the International Criminal Court in The Hague charged the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, with three counts of genocide in Darfur, which is the worst crime in international law. The charges come after a long legal process, during which al-Bashir was reelected for another term as president.