Thursday Notes

Stephanie Rosenbloom,"The Professor as Open Book," NYT, 20 March, introduces"Professors Strike Back," the opportunity for faculty members to reply on camera to RateMyProfessors.com. Historian Jochen Hollbeck of Rutgers and art historians John Kenfield of Rutgers and Jason Rosenfeld of Manhattan Marymount College take advantage of the opportunity.

Adam Kirsch,"A Convergence of Civilizations," NY Sun, 19 March, reviews Anthony Pagden's Worlds at War: The 2,500-Year Struggle Between East and West.

Jill Lepore,"Just the Facts, Ma'am," New Yorker, 24 March, treats"fake memoirs, factual fictions, and the history of history."

Hugh Wood,"The hopes and glories of Edward Elgar," London Times, 19 March, looks at how Elgar (1857-1934) has been, by turns, adulated and neglected. Hat tip.

Rick Perlstein,"Nixonland," Bookforum, April/May, an excerpt from Rick's new book by that title, takes you behind the scenes at the 1972 Democratic national convention and the McGovern campaign's fatal search for a vice presidential candidate.

Jamie Reno,"Prophets and Politicians," Newsweek, 19 March, interviews San Diego State's Edward Blum about Barack Obama and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Finally, farewell to George Mason University's Robert T. Hawkes, Jr.