Peter Murmann

The Economist reviews two interesting books that put Islamic fundamentalism in perspective. Religion in Europe: The discovery of tolerance A TYPICAL Protestant view of European religious history might go like this. In medieval times, the Roman Catholic church grew increasingly corrupt and impervious to criticism. Then came the Reformation, with its new breath of freedom and tolerance. [Read More]

———————Girls——- —————-are like apples——- ———-on trees. The best ones————-are at the top of the tree.———-The boys don’t want to reach—- —for the good ones because they— -r afraid of falling and getting hurt.- -Instead, they get the rotten apples- from the ground that aren’t as good, but easy. So the apples up top think something’s wrong [Read More]

David Brooks articulates the intellectual conservatism that will give any Democrat and Republican food for thought: The Republican Collapse Modern conservatism begins with Edmund Burke. What Burke articulated was not an ideology or a creed, but a disposition, a reverence for tradition, a suspicion of radical change. When conservatism came to America, it became creedal. Free market [Read More]

It was always clear that me that with a lot of money New York City would be even a more spectacular place to live. I accepted with buddhist equanimity my low position in the money hierarchy until I read this review of the new building at 15 Central Park West. Should I have tried to [Read More]

The Atlantic Monthly came up with this list: 1 Abraham Lincoln He saved the Union, freed the slaves, and presided over America’s second founding. 2 George Washington He made the United States possible—not only by defeating a king, but by declining to become one himself. 3 Thomas Jefferson The author of the five most important words in American history: [Read More]

This comic musical is a lot of fun! It is not the history lesson about the struggle to integrate black people into mainstream America that captured my heart. I also did not laugh much. The film is not particularly funny. But the music and dancing is so infectious that many a times I wanted to [Read More]