Articles of Note

Isaiah Berlin called Toscanini “the most morally dignified and inspiring hero of our time.” Now he’s seen as the false messiah of middlebrow music appreciation. What gives?... more »


New Books

What can we learn from memoirs of the terminally ill? Universal truths, if they exist at all, are elusive. We die the way we live: idiosyncratically.... more »


Essays & Opinions

Thoreau’s philosophy was based on rivers as well as on Walden. What, then, to make of his siding with industrialists over local farmers when it came to water levels?... more »