With thanks to the inimitable James Wood in the New Yorker. The books overlap enough to disclose a composite type: an outsider, a youngish Englishwoman of ambiguous ethnicity (“But you are English—or aren’t you?” Marya is asked), curiously unidentifiable by the traditional English markers of accent and education (“She was born in the West Indies… Continue reading The Discovery of Jean Rhys
Some highlights from the family trip to Slovenia this June.
The Atlantic features a damning excerpt from David I. Kertzer’s forthcoming book on Pope Pius XII and his negotiations with Hitler. ‘Pius XII and Adolf Hitler had no affection for each other. Yet each man had his own reasons for initiating these talks. The pope placed the highest priority on reaching a deal with the… Continue reading Kertzer’s New Book on Pius XII and Hitler
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr puts it better than anyone about the Republican Senators who refuse to allow any kind of gun regulation while children continue to be killed in this country…
If you’v never read anything by Shirley Hazzard, you need to. I’m hooked, after reading an appreciation of her stories in Commonweal a couple of months back…
Just had a delightful chat with Giles Brown of Talk Radio Europe on clocks and camshafts. Will post a link to the show once it’s online!
From today’s New York Times. ‘An author’s platform has long been something publishers look at — does she have a radio show, for example, or a regular guest spot on TV? But as local news outlets and book coverage have dwindled, the avenues for book publicity have shrunk, making an author’s ability to help get… Continue reading Social Media Is No Guarantee of Sales
An excellent article by Prof. Kenneth Kemp (who was at the recent conference on evolution sponsored by Society of Catholic Scientists), critically reviews a recent intelligent design book by a misguided Dominican priest. But interestingly, Kemp highlights the self-inflicted problem genomics poses to Catholic theology when it comes to original sin, as it is understood… Continue reading Clinging to St. Augustine
My article on artificial intelligence, ‘Minds Without Brains?’ is in the April issue of Commonweal. Online here. This was a fascinating piece to write, especially given the chance to speak with so many people in the field.
I just finished David Whitehouse’s Space 2069. It’s a sobering read for those of us who remember the Apollo moon landings and the contraction of NASA’s more ambitious programs after that. The bulk of the book is devoted to current plans to return to the Moon and to explore Mars. The last third of the… Continue reading The Final Frontier… or The Undiscovered Country?
