Thursday Notes

Mary Lefkowitz,"Bring back the Greek gods," LA Times, 23 October, argues against contemporary secularists that it isn't religion as such, but the exclusivist claims of monotheism, that poisons modern life. Hat tip.

lapata at Chapati Mystery recommends"The Boy Who Tired of Posing," an exhibit that is opening at Toronto's Gallery TPW. It features"the story of Mohammad Bin Qasim, an 8th century Arab general who led the campaigns to conquer the Sindh and Punjab lands that would become the modern state of Pakistan."

Joshua Foer,"A Minor History of Giant Spheres," Cabinet, Fall, looks at some large round things from 1664-2006 CE. Hat tip.

Michael Barone's"Land of the Free," Claremont Review, 22 October, is a friendly review of William J. Bennett's 2 volume America: The Last Best Hope. It may give Larry Schweikart's and Patrick Allen's A Patriot's History of the United States some competition in the" conservative" text market. Hat tip.

William Grimes,"Murder by Mail in Gilded Age New York," NYT, 24 October, reviews Harold Schechter's The Devil's Gentleman: Privilege, Poison and the Trial That Ushered In the Twentieth Century.

James V. Grimaldi and Jacqueline Trescott,"Materials Missing at the Library of Congress," Washington Post, 24 October, reports on Congressional investigation into inventory control and lack thereof at the LC. Our fellow historian, James Billington, the Librarian of Congress, is grilled.