Peter Murmann

Surprisingly, the article on Lincoln’s state of mind in this month’s Atlantic Monthly turned out to be very interesting. Making valid inferences after the fact about what propelled a person to act in a particular way is difficult, to put it mildly. With hindsight everyone has perfect vision. Joshua Wolf Shenk’s Lincoln’s Great Depression does [Read More]

David Brooks fills the role of William Safir as the conversative op-ed columnist in the NY Times. I often don’t agree with his columns but today he is written one that is right on the money about educational segregation. Karl’s New Manifesto By DAVID BROOKS (NYT) I was in the library reading room when suddenly a [Read More]

A few days ago, I read this wonderful short piece by Lawrence Raab in a book entitled “The Paris Review Book for Planes, Trains, Elevators, and Waiting Rooms” (p. 260). Because so much consequential thinking happens in the rain. A steady mist to recall departures, a bitter downpour for betrayal. As if the first thing a man wants to [Read More]

Verylyn Klinkenborg published today interesting travel notes in the NY Times. Rereading the Landscape of an Essay by Joan Didion SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. Forty years ago this month, a housewife named Lucille Miller – just turning 35 – came to trial in San Bernardino for the murder of her husband, a dentist who was named Gordon Miller and [Read More]

The New Yorker once in a while publishes personal histories that are compelling because they touch upon core issues our lives, are deeply thought through, and are superbly written.  The one I read last night by Amy Holmes is available on the web.