Cerebralnsupplement.nRegular reading gotnyou down? Feel lessnstimulated, queasynabout current events,nunable to evaluatenthe world as anwhole? Perhaps yournsearch has been in thenwrong nooks andncraniums.nYour brain is crying outnfor The American Spectator.nEach bowl is chock-full ofnenriching (albeit humorous) tidbits, meaty booknreviews, vitamin packed articles, delectablendissertations, and ads for other like-mindednmagazines and periodicals. No other supplementnon the market today...

281 CHRONICLESnIn June 1982, he appeared on Soviet television onnan oft-cited broadcast discussing the consequencesnof atomic warfare. It was an extremely cautious andnsuperficial program, aired in such a way as tonguarantee the minimum number of viewers: it wasnbroadcast once, without any advance notice, in thenmiddle of the working day. Much the same thingnhappened to Dr....

explained away, as the price the West must pay to hold annuclear dialogue with the Soviets.nThe notion of symmetry, whose absence Dr. Lownndecried in media questioning of his Soviet counterpart,nconstitutes the essential problem in IPPNW. Dr. Lown andnhis American compatriots can speak in their own voices,nwhereas Dr. Chazov and his Soviet colleagues must speaknin the...

301 CHRONICLESn(After a composite photograph by Nancy Burson, formednby feeding photographs of six men and six women, selectednat random, into a computer programmed to merge facialnfeatures)nHere on this page I am poured out like water,nchild of (times six) my father and my mother,nfruit of adulterated seed, blurred daughter,nborn unregenerate—^your long-dreamed lover.nProphet and ghost and cipher,...

FTnJanuarynEducation—AssumptionsnVersus HistorynThomas SowellnThe central theme of these essays is thatnsociety cannot educate on the basis ofnmere assumptions, but must test even ournmost cherished beliefs against the facts.nThe common refrain of these writings isnthe extent to which the various innovationsnand buzzwords of education havenignored voluminous evidence of theirnvalidityJ3r—more often—lack of validity.n$ 8 . 9 5 ISBN...

the full citation from Sakharov’s “four-stage plan forncooperation”:nSaving mankind from the threat of thermonuclearndestruction undoubtedly takes priority over all othernproblems. But this task cannot be separated fromnother problems of a political, economic, humanitarian,nand ethical nature—and above all from thenquestions of the openness of a society, ofninternational trust, and overcoming the disunity ofnthe West. Any real...

COMMENDABLESnThe Thousandnand One Knightsnby Caroline MorgannJoanot Martorell and Marti Joan denGalba: Tirant Lo Blanc; SchockennBooks; New York.nOriginally published in Catalan in 1490nand now newly translated by David H,nRosenthal, Tirant Lo Blanc is a prosenmasterpiece written by the Valenciannnobleman Joanot Martorell and completednby Marti Joan de Galba afternMartorell’s death. Written when thenCatalan influence in Sicily, Rhodes,nand...

38 / CHRONICLESnSTAGEnIn Search of anPlaywrightnby David KaufmannA Lie of the Mind; Written by SamnShepard; Premiere at the PromenadenTheater (December 1985); NewnYork.n”That ever recurring topic, the dechnenof the drama, seems to havenconsumed of late, more of the materialnin question than would havensufficed for a dozen primenministers …”n—Edgar Allan Poe, 1845n”[The 1922-1923 Season is] the firstnseason...

At this point, would anyone disputenthat Sam Shepard is considered ourngreatest American playwright today?nOf course there arc peripheral possibilities,ncontenders such as Mamet,nRabe, Guare, Wilson (about whom,nmore next month), and lesser candidatesnin Durang, Norman, Henley.nBut from all quarters, Shepard seemsnto have inherited the mantle (dubiousnto begin with) from O’Neill by way ofnWilliams.n”He is the best practicing...

44 / CHRONICLESnexist in our upper-middle-class suburbanncommunities. …” And thenmost fatuous: “I’m glad the law willngive Bernadette Protti a secondnchance. I pray she’ll discover that, asntime goes on, life gets better.”nIt was left to a schoolmate of Kirsten’snto restore some semblance ofnmoral balance. “The reader is led tonbelieve that society ‘made’ Bernadettendo what she did....

Letter FromnNew Yorknby Leo RaditsanWhose Voice Counts?n”I am teaching you to use a tool morendeadly than a pistol.” This is the messagenbeginning journalism studentsnhear from an instructor who spoke lastnyear at a conference on “Our Enemies’nUse of the Media,” sponsored by Accuracynin Media. In a world of Goliaths,ncount Accuracy in Media as onenof the Davids...

46 / CHRONICLESnand lose a war.nThe film makes viewers concentratenon what actually happened in order toncontrast it with contemporary accounts.nThis is real history. Over andnover again you ask yourself, Whyndidn’t anybody say this at the hme?nThe authors of this film do not thinknthat now, 17 years later, it is too late tongo back to see...

outlaw it, but, if possible, to make itnunprofitable; failing that, to ignore it.nThere is something to be saidnagainst the public observance of MartinnLuther King’s birthday, and thensame could be said about Washington’snbirthday, or Our Lord’s: thenworth of these exemplary figuresndoesn’t depend on Caesar’s recognition,nand their commemorationnshouldn’t depend on his favor.nThat’s too rigorist for me, though....

48 / CHRONICLESnto have done; and we have done thosenthings which we ought not to havendone; and there is no health in us.”n(The last seven words do not exist innthe 1979 revision, which an Episcopalnfriend, one of the best men I know,nfound an improvement. “Thinkingnlike that is self-defeating,” he said. “Itnmakes it sound as if...

skeptical about parapsychology. But itnwill take more than doubts about Tarotncards and ESP to turn psychology intona science. If there is a unifying principle,nit is probably the blank slate. Butneven that little would be vigorouslyndisputed by cognitive psychologistsnwhose experiments seem to indicatenthat the mind works only in some waysnand not in others; ethologists whosenstudy of...

50 / CHRONICLESn”because of what people did to him, sonthat he found no release sexually ornartistically and thus became a menacento himself and to the society thatncreated him.”nPT contributors still occasionally invoken”social principles and values” andnstigmatize individual violence as “antisocial,”nthough readers would be hardnput to identify the society whose valuesnare being defended. Certainly it is...

stant drumbeat of support for the legalizationnof marijuana.nPT does see at least one real dangernin drug use: drugs, a contributornwarned in 1973, can serve to “soothenand eliminate tensions that otherwisenwould produce beneficial socialnchanges.” What kind of beneficial socialnchanges? A 1969 article with thenrevealing title “The Building of Nations”ngave away the game when itndenounced those family...

The Imk that continues to be a centralnreference in a great national ilebate—nRichanI John Neuhau^ hest-selling analysisnof religion anti ffemocraor in America.nPublic SquarenDirector of The Rockfonllnstttiitti’s Center onnReligion & Soaetv, Neuhaus challenges Amencantohring the vital moral ami rellgiousouestlonsnbackintothe “public souare.”nFrom the critics:n• “The book is elegant in execution and sweeping in scope.”n• “A large and...

Andrei Navrozov, editor of The YalenLiterary Magazine and a contributingneditor for Harper’s, joins Chronicles ofnCulture this month as our poetry editor.nHis primary effort with Chroniclesnwill be in soliciting the verse of distinguishednEuropean poets, with the firstnfruits of his work appearing elsewherenin this issue (see “A Victorian Honeymoon”nby Vernon Scannell on pagen15), Below, Mr. Navrozov reflectsnupon...

Mosher had given “conflicting stories”nto some faculty members about somendetails of his research—the intendednresearch use of a van, the number ofndocuments collected, and the date of ancamera purchase. (The Stanford administrationnapparently regards thensuspect camera purchase as central tonthe case and has gone so far as to hire anHong Kong detective agency and anhandwriting expert to...

PERSPECTIVEnBETWEEN THE LINESn”He whom nature has made weak and idlenessnkeeps ignorant may yet support his vanity by thenname of a critic. “n—Samuel JohnsonnNot too long ago we devoted an issue to the death ofnserious art. While there may be many objections tonthe thesis that popular culture has replaced painting, thensymphony, and the drama, there is...

authorized professionals and intellectuals. … Ifnthe reader’s expression of his freedom through thentext is tolerated among intellectuals (Clercs) (onlynsomeone like Barthes can take this liberty), it is onnthe other hand denied students (who are scornfullyndrien or cle^erlv “coaxed” back to the meaningn”accepted” by their teachers) or the public (who arencarefully told “what is to be...

But if big businessmen did notnbankroll Hitler, who did? Turner’s answernis as simple as it is unsensational:nthe Nazis raised most of the moneynthemselves by charging admission tontheir mass rallies and by insisting uponnprompt payment of Party dues. Volunteernlabor and contributions in kindnconstituted further, if indirect, sourcesnof income. Turner supports this conclusionnwith e’idence that is detailednand...

that had as its purpose the dissolutionnof all the old social and politicalnbonds. (Here he follows rather closelynHermann Rauschning’s still unrivalednanalysis in The Revolution ofnNihilism.) .nKay Heriot subscribes to thenRauschning/Overy view of Nazism asna revolutionary movement that hadnnothing whatever in common with thenconservatism of which she is an impassionedndefender. In her judgment, Nazismnwas the nihilistic...

booze. Often he is plastered by midafternoon;nhe concedes that “sleep isnan exalted term for what I get up tonnowadays. These are blackouts, bub.”nLike many heavy drinkers and chronicnshoppers, Self recognizes that his selfdestructivencompulsions are symptomaticnof a life that is profoundly disorderednand — in his- case — utterly,npathetically empty and friendless. Andnlike many addicts, Self is...

Her features in the frame are pale and blurrednImprisoned in the glass. Her hairbrush soarsnAnd swoops and rises like an ivory birdnAbout her stormy head. The misty gauzenOf chiffon at her breast is startled bynA rose’s crimson wound; her gaze imploresnReprieve, or answer to her brimming ‘Why?’nAnd there is no reply. She knows that shenMust...

the iron curtain, the Warsaw Pactnwould collapse. Though new Armyndoctrine talks a great deal about offensivenaction and “deep strikes” into Pactnterritory, neither the U.S. nor NATOnseems willing to expand conventionalnforces enough to defend the West, letnalone push the battlefield eastward.nGiven the material advantages possessednby capitalism, Soviet expansionncan continue only so long as the politicalnwill of...

• Persuasion at Work -nLeading the Chargenm the Battle of IdeasnAt last, there exists a publication ready to lead the fight fornthe survival of the American way of life.nIts name is Persuasion at Work. And it is edited by AllannCarlson—a clear-thinking, plain-talking writer who has thenunique ability to communicate with all of those who carenabout...

dentalK’, without notice by his adoringnpubhc. It is almost as if the chroniclersnof the day were keeping silent aboutnone of its most amazing phenomenan— and that would be as out-ofcharacternfor those London gossips as itnwould for modern journalists. ThenEarl of Oxford, on the other hand, isnpraised for his wit and writing bnnearly eery contemporary, een...

Following a series of events Ogburnnadmits he can only guess at, WilliamnShakspere of Stratford was paid off tonbe de V’ere’s “front man.” PossiblynShakspere heard rumors aboutn”Shakespeare” and came to London tontr’ to cash in on the name (somendocuments show that this would bencharacteristic of Shakspere). Such anmo”e would hae seemed expedient tonthose protecting de ‘ere’s—and...

all the other possibilities is that, withnhim, everything suddenly makesnsense, down to the smallest detail,nwhereas with Shakspere nothingnmakes sense. No longer must we try tonbelieve, without a scrap of evidence orna single corroborating record, thatnShakspere—son, husband, and fathernof illiterates—was given a classicalneducation (but “small Latin, and lessnGreek”?) in that wide spot in the roadncalled Stratford,...

Did you miss ^Hhe mostnimportant hook of the SOs^^?^ HalthnThe most talked-about book of 1981?nThe surprise bestseller? It was no contest.nGeorge Gilder’s Wealth and Povertynwon in a walk.nNo doubt you’ve been meaning to read it. The expertsn(even some liberals) agree that you should:n”A book so grand in its outlook, so optimistic in its approachnthat it...

listen to Adam Smith,nHis Ideas are innthe News.nIn 1776, Adam Smith published ThenWealth of Nations. He had some surprisingnideas about free trade, protectionism,nand the tole of go*etnment in theneconomv—all controvetsies in today’s news.nFor o’er 200 vears. Smith has influencednour ideas about how out economicnwotld works.nThe provocative and persuasive ideasnof Smith and others have been gatheredninto...

is repelled, sensing behind the letters a lonelynabstractionmonger, a man afraid to live. Another yearnpasses. Then, in the course of a travel, Goethe stops at thenvillage where the letters were posted. He inquires, andnwithout unmasking his own identity, presents himself at thenyoung man’s house. The latter receives him with passionatenreverence, then tells him the story...

Between the Linesn(continued from p. 9)nGreek class is corrected by a teacher, he can easily ascertainnthe rightness or wrongness of the correction. Points ofnhistory, grammar, and metrics are open to investigation.nFacts have a fine and democratic quality. But interpretahonnis a hieratic mystery, closed to all but the initiates who havenlearned to recite and manipulate the...

two obvious parallels: allegorical interpretation and scripturalnhermeneutics.nLiterary texts can lose their relevance for some part (ornall) of a culture. If the texts have acquired an almost sacredncharacter—like Homer—this presents a problem. ThenIliad and Odyssey are filled with scenes which later Greeks,nespecially philosophers, found distasteful. Perhaps the worstnwere those in which the gods fought with each...

recognition of this special need separatesnhim from the critical (and pedagogical)nZeitgeist of our time. Modernnlife remains in the dark shadow ofnMarxist doctrine, with the stress onneconomic questions rather than religiousnquestions. In truth, Karl Marx isnour Grand Inquisitor, as liberation theologyndemonstrates with such tellingnforce. Indeed, we have made so much,nthese days, of the Harvey Coxes and...

the benefits of nuclear energy and biologicalnengineering. Rifkin believes thatn”instead of using knowledge to increasenour rule over, we might just as easilynuse knowledge to become a partnernwith the rest of the earthly creation.”nWhat this means is never spelled out.nDoes Rifkin mean, for instance, thatnpolio microbes should remain undisturbednby Salk vaccine?nRifkin’s simplistic “empathetic approach”nto science is...

ARTnWilliam Morrisnin Tokyonby Shebbaz H. SafianinMingei: Japanese Folk Art, an exhibitionnconsisting of 115 paintings, sculptures,nceramics, furniture, lacquers,ntoys, and other artifacts, opened at thenBrooklyn Museum on July 12 andnremained on display through Septembern30, 1985. Most’of the art of Japannis imbued with simplicity, directness,nand a tremendous sense of design.nJapanese work in the visual arts ofnJapan, sustained over...

Hugh Honour. But that is how Leencelebrated the Bicentennial in 1976 atnhis Cleveland Museum!nVisitors entering the Mingei exhibitionnwere greeted by a solemn, 51-inchngranite Buddhist sculpture of KannonnBosatsu, the most merciful and mostnpopular of Buddhist deities in Japan.nWith hands clasped together in thenBuddhist practice of greeting andnshowing reverence, eyes closed innmeditation, the elegant sculpture setnthe mood...

the American Indians of the Northwest,nare aborigines living on Hokkaido,nthe large northern island of thenJapanese archipelago. The objects displayed,nthough of tvpes dating fromnthe late Edo (1615-1868) and Meijin(1868-1912) periods, were executednroughly between 1800-1910. ThenAinu designs of elongated C’s, S’s,nU’s, half O’s are forceful remindersnthat more visionary explorers like ThornHeyerdahl are needed. Such designsnoccur on tiny...

New York provided another commentnon “progress” in a concurrentnexhibition of photographs and etchingsnat The Donnell Center of the NewnYork Pubhc Library. These depictionsnof ornamental manhole covers are thenwork of an indomitable photographer,nHertha Bauer. Featured in The GuinnessnBook of Records for her 1,200nphotographs of such covers, Bauer celebratesnthe art of the idiosyncraticnworking class.nShe hopes to collect...

dull expression on human faces. It isnthousands of miles of rolling hills ofnmonotonous beauty. It is archaicnwooden houses without plumbing.nBut there is electricity, and TV antennasndecorate many a cottage.nIn the 13th century, Southern Siberianwas dotted with staging postsnwhich enabled the Khans to maintainna good intelligence and communicationnsystem in their empire. Today,nSouthern Siberia is still a...

force.”nThe contempt of Russian officialsntoward us, the starry-eyed and mono-nHngual American tourists, was verynmuch in evidence. (I could detect nonsuch contempt among the non-nRussian Soviets I met during the journey.)nWe were treated as suckers innrestaurants and hotels, in concert hallsn(where shoddy performances werenscheduled for several hundred foreignntourists at a time), and at airports.nRude comments about...

Blok thus addressed the West: “Therenare millions of you. But we are a hordenthat cannot be counted. And now thentime has come. . . . You must stoopnbefore Russia—the Sphinx; for if youndo not . . . .we have nothing to lose,nand treachery is our weapon.” In onenof his most publicized poems, then20th-century Soviet Russian...

Letter From thenLower Rightnby John Shelton ReednOdds and Ends FromnHere and TherenThe last couple of years have beennbusy ones, here in the South. Mississippinfinally ratified the 19th Amendmentnto the U.S. Constitution, givingnwomen the vote. At Billy Bob’s, innFort Worth, Merle Haggard stood alln5,095 customers to drinks. And innHardwick, Georgia, Daniel Sargent,n27, a one-legged and legally...

the party is and where it is-headed onnits path to the worker’s paradise. ThenSoviet Communist Party has had onlynthree previous programs — in 1961,n1919, and 1905—so a new Party programnin 1986 is a major development.nWhy is there a new program now?nProbably because the 1961 program isnnow an acute embarrassment. A remarkablenexample of inbred thinkingn”The experience...

does state that the GNP will doublenand grow at an annual rate of 4.7 percentnuntil the year 2000, and productiitynwill increase 230-250 percent.nIt is unlikely that these goals will benaccomplished, given that the high ratesnof investment during the last eightnyears have produced only a meagern2.6 percent growth rate. The Sovietsnsimply lack the money to invest...

Muffled Voicesn”The Noise of the City Cannot BenHeard” was the title of a very popularnsong in the Soviet Union just afternWorld War II. According to AleksandrnSolzhenitsyn, the song was so much inndemand that “no singer, even the mostnmediocre, could perform it withoutnreceiving enthusiastic applause.” ThenSoviet Chief Administration ofnThoughts and Feelings was puzzled bynall this, yet...

flection than either Index on Censorshipnor Freedom at Issue, Survey turnsnfrequently to the themes of “the repressionnof the individual” and “thenstruggle … to create pluralist formsnof social existence within a totalitariannsystem,” especially in the USSR andnEastern Europe.nLike Survey, The South Slav Journalnseres primarily as a journal of seriousnscholarship, drawing upon distinguishednWestern authorities on Yugoslavianand outstanding...