Reviews
(Photo by Todd Balfour)
Soft Despotism
The Bulverizing of the American Mind

A new book by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff gives good advice but undermines its entire project in the process.

By Fronteiras do Pensamento – Terry Eagleton no Fronteiras do Pensamento Porto Alegre 2010, CC BY-SA 2.0,
Radical Sacrifice
The Useful Errors of Terry Eagleton

Eagleton’s diagnosis of the central problem of postmodernity is spot-on, even if his denials of his own postmodern outlook are less convincing.

Continent in Crisis
After Union, the Deluge

In a searing new book, Ian Kearns reckons with the European Union’s many failures—and offers a disturbing prediction of its collapse.

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Contagions and Control
Plucking Out the Heart

Damon Centola’s new book offers real insights into how ideas and behaviors can spread—but its implications for social control are ominous.

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Children or Job Seekers?
The Debate over Underage Migration

Three recent books delve into the tough issues posed by underage migrants—and illuminate their oft-misunderstood reasons for coming here.

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Yellow Journalism
Only a Pawn in Their Game

Seymour Hersh’s memoir reveals not a fearless reporter but a useful idiot: a man who spent a lifetime channeling faulty intelligence in a game of intrigue he did not understand.

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At the Movies
The Bad Faith of First Reformed

For all its arthouse pretensions, Paul Schrader’s latest provides a clichéd Hollywood treatment of faith: all doubt and agony, no joy or grace.

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Life of the Mind
To Think or Not to Think?

Alan Jacobs’s latest book is a guide for thinking seriously in an age of distraction—but it falls prey to the very kind of habits which he aims to counter.

Russia Today
The Hot Peace We Have

Though it has its blindspots, Mike McFaul’s memoir of his time as Obama’s main Russia hand is an enlightening and important read—especially with Trump now at the wheel.

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At the Movies
Unless Ye Become as Little Children

A new head-banging musical about Joan of Arc captures the inner life of a visionary child—and the radical strangeness of Christian faith.

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