May 25, 2008

Remote and Recent

by Cliopatria

The Washington Post's Book World, 25 May, features Chinese history and prospects:

Judith Shapiro,"China's Greatest Student" reviews Simon Winchester's biography of Joseph Needham, The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom.

Edward Cody,"Something to Prove" reviews Xu Guoqi's Olympic Dreams: China and Sports, 1895-2008.

John Pomfret,"Social Engineering" reviews Abrahm Lustgarten's China's Great Train: Beijing's Drive West and the Campaign To Remake Tibet and Mark Leonard's What Does China Think.

"In Conversation ..." interviews Chinese dissidents Ma Jian and Xiaolu Guo.

Thomas Bartlett,"The Betrayal of Judas," CHE, 30 May, is a classic story of major institutions, mega-bucks, and academic superstars coalescing to get an important piece of ancient history wrong.

Susann Cokal,"‘Poor, Obscure, Plain and Little'," NYT, 25 May, reviews Ruth Brandon's Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres.

Matthew Power,"The Other Half," NYT, 25 May, reviews Bonnie Yochelson's and Daniel Czitrom's Rediscovering Jacob Riis: Exposure Journalism and Photography in Turn-of-the-Century New York.

Andrew Stuttaford,"A Cabinet of Soviet Curiosities," NY Sun, 21 May, reviews Paul R. Gregory's Lenin's Brain and Other Tales from the Soviet Archives.

Mark Walker,"A 20th-Century Faust," American Scientist, May/June, reviews Michael J. Neufeld's Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War. Hat tip.

Christopher Caldwell,"The 54 of Us," NYT, 25 May, reviews Steve Coll's The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century.

A. N. Wilson,"V. S. Naipaul, master and monster," TLS, 21 May, reviews Patrick French's The World Is What It Is: The authorised biography of V. S. Naipaul.

Michael Shermer,"Fight for the Life Of the Mind," NY Sun, 21 May, reviews Alan Sokal's Beyond the Hoax.

Brendon Boyle,"Siege of the Ivory Tower," NY Sun, 21 May, reviews Mary Lefkowitz's History Lesson: A Race Odyssey.

Randal Jelks,"Obama, Wright, and Trinity," The Immanent Frame, 19 May, takes another look at Chicago's retired black pastor. Hat tip.

Sean Wilentz,"Barack Obama and the Unmaking of the Democratic Party," Huffington Post, 23 May, continues his argument for the nomination of Hillary Clinton. Thanks to Chris Bray for the tip.