————————— John Kenneth Galbraith remarks in one of his books that if you've ever worked on a farm nothing else ever seems like work. Those of us who have studied mathematics at university level can make a similar claim. If you've ever grappled with advanced math, the study of other subjects seems like a joke.... Read More

In case you hadn't noticed, we are in the middle of a Shakespeare boom. There was that charming movie, of course; then a barrage of Bard books — Park Honan's biography, Harold Bloom's Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human and John Berryman's Shakespeare. A new film of A Midsummer Night's Dream is to be released... Read More

On the weekend of the Fourth one's thoughts turn naturally to the history of these United States, and to one's own lamentable failure to read as much history as a good citizen (or, in my case, intending citizen) should. But quality is a fair substitute for quantity, so here are some of the best from... Read More