The American Quest for Redemption

In a nation born with a sense that it had a redemptive mission in the world, the urge to take what is bad and turn it into something good often turns obsessively inward. The results can be surprising.

Feel Free to Help Yourself by Sarah L. Courteau
Still the Redeemer Nation by Wilfred M. McClay
The End of Second Acts? by Shadd Maruna, Charles Barber

Star Wars

by Tom Vanderbilt

Online review culture is dotted with black holes of bad taste.

In Essence

America the Strong

THE SOURCE: “Don’t Come Home, America” by Stephen G. Brooks, G. John Ikenberry, and William C. Wohlforth, in International Security, Winter 2012–13.

Blue Hawaii

THE SOURCE: “Steelin’ the Slide: Hawai‘i and the Birth of the Blues Guitar” by John W. Troutman, in Southern Cultures, Spring 2013.

Burning the Britannica

THE SOURCE: “Bibliocide” by Julian Baggini, in Aeon Magazine, March 6, 2013.

Dark Green

THE SOURCE: “Dark Ecology” by Paul Kingsnorth, in Orion, Jan.–Feb. 2013.

Double Helix Destiny

THE SOURCE: “The ‘Out of Africa’ Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development” by Quamrul Ashraf and Oded Galor, in American Economic Review, Feb. 2013.

Ecstasy Dot Com

THE SOURCE: “I’m Waiting for My UPS Man” by Ned Beauman, in n+1, Feb. 18, 2013.

Escaping the Ghetto

THE SOURCE: “Neighborhood Effects on the Long-Term Well-Being of Low-Income Adults” by Jens Ludwig, Greg J. Duncan, Lisa A. Gennetian, Lawrence F. Katz, Ronald C. Kessler, Jeffrey R. Kling, and Lisa Sanbonmatsu, in Science, Sept. 21, 2012.

Leave No Man Behind

THE SOURCE: “Rest in Peace?” by Drew Lindsay, in MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Winter 2013.

Party Fatigue

THE SOURCE: “America’s Missing Moderates” by Morris P. Fiorina, in The American Interest, March/April 2013.

Patently Useless

THE SOURCE: “The Case Against Patents” by Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine, in Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2013.

Preventing Poverty

THE SOURCE: “The Mixed News on Poverty” by Anirudh Krishna, in Current History, Jan. 2013.

Remembrance of Powers Lost

THE SOURCE: “Congressional Abdication” by Jim Webb, in The National Interest, March/April 2013.

Rumble Over Priming

THE SOURCE: “Power of Suggestion” by Tom Bartlett, in The Chronicle Review, Jan. 30, 2013.

Stimulus or Wish List?

THE SOURCE: “Geographic Distribution of the Federal Stimulus of 2009” by James G. Gimpel, Frances E. Lee, and Rebecca U. Thorpe, in Political Science Quarterly, Winter 2012–13.

The Coming Meltdown in Kabul

THE SOURCE: “Kabubble” by Matthieu Aikins, in Harper’s, Feb. 2013.

The Jewish Head Start

THE SOURCE: “Were the Jews Moneylenders Out of Necessity?” by Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein, in Reform Judaism, Spring 2013.

The Rewards of Being Wrong

THE SOURCE: “‘General, I Have Fought Just as Many Nuclear Wars as You Have’” by Matthew Connelly, Matt Fay, Giulia Ferrini, Micki Kaufman, Will Leonard, Harrison Monsky, Ryan Musto, Taunton Paine, Nicholas Standish, and Lydia Walker, in American Historical Review, Dec. 2012.

Turkey’s Soul Food

THE SOURCE: “Simit: Turkey’s National Bread” by Alisa Roth, in Gastronomica, Winter 2012.

Up in the Dumps

THE SOURCE: “Happiness Among the Garbage” by José Juan Vázquez, in The Journal of Positive Psychology, Jan. 2013.

Why Is Johnny Having So Much Fun?

THE SOURCE: “More Is More or More Is Less? Parental Financial Investments During College” by Laura T. Hamilton, in American Sociological Review, Jan. 3, 2013.

The American Quest for Redemption

In Essence

Current Books