Reviews and News:

A memoir of the New Deal and "Washington's continuing irresistible impulse to shape America to the liking of our political elites, left or right."

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Ross Douthat on the alt-right's love for Jane Austen and the liberal response. "'My dear Mr. Douthat,' said the internet one day. 'Have you heard that the alt-right has laid claim to Jane Austen?' I replied that I had not."

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Worried about fake news? Read Scoop.

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In Commentary, Andrew Roberts reviews the 19th volume of the Churchill Documents, which comprises "every important document of any kind that concerns Churchill." The variety of correspondence and documents shows Churchill's inspirational gifts and ruthlessness.

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A Japanese scholar on his collection of Middle English manuscripts.

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The demise of language and rise of cloning: "On both sides of the Atlantic, human cloning for pregnancy has been stealthily gaining ground in the last few years, in part due to cultural perceptions and words that obscure reality."

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The link between violent video games and actual violence is "overbroad and sensationalistic," researchers argue.

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New photograph of Chopin discovered by Swiss physicist.

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Essay of the Day:

In Aeon, Stephen C Angle writes in defense of hierarchy:

"The modern West has placed a high premium on the value of equality. Equal rights are enshrined in law while old hierarchies of nobility and social class have been challenged, if not completely dismantled. Few would doubt that global society is all the better for these changes. But hierarchies have not disappeared. Society is still stratified according to wealth and status in myriad ways.

"On the other hand, the idea of a purely egalitarian world in which there are no hierarchies at all would appear to be both unrealistic and unattractive. Nobody, on reflection, would want to eliminate all hierarchies, for we all benefit from the recognition that some people are more qualified than others to perform certain roles in society. We prefer to be treated by senior surgeons not medical students, get financial advice from professionals not interns. Good and permissible hierarchies are everywhere around us."

Read the rest.

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Photo: Dolomites

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Poem: Rachel Hadas, "Apple Bough"

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