LA Review of Books

SAT’s right answers are all wrong

Retaking the test alongside my daughters, I learned (the hard way) that testmakers devalue critical thinking

Monica Cohen, LA Review of Books Monday, May 20, 2013 9:11 PM UTC 119
Life LA Review of Books, SAT

James Franco: “I really felt I was in conversation with Faulkner”

The writer, actor and filmmaker discusses the challenges and subtle pleasures of adapting "As I Lay Dying"

Michael Bibler, LA Review of Books Sunday, May 19, 2013 4:00 PM UTC
Entertainment LA Review of Books

Waiting for Terrence Malick

The celebrated director is notoriously private. Does it matter that we know so little about him?

Michael Nordine, LA Review of Books Tuesday, May 14, 2013 8:21 PM UTC
Entertainment LA Review of Books

Self-help hits rock Botton

Philosopher Alain De Botton's new how-to series isn't just shallow, it's downright unhelpful

Lisa Levy, LA Review of Books Monday, May 13, 2013 7:58 PM UTC
Life LA Review of Books

Does H.P. Lovecraft belong in the canon?

A new introduction to "The Classic Horror Stories" reexamines the novelist's racism, nihilism and pulp brilliance

Jess Nevins, LA Review of Books Wednesday, May 8, 2013 10:07 PM UTC 25
Life LA Review of Books

Richard Nixon, hero of the American Left

He's justifiably reviled by historians, but Nixon's politics were far more progressive than we give him credit

Emmett Rensin, LA Review of Books Sunday, May 5, 2013 1:00 PM UTC 44
Politics LA Review of Books

William Friedkin: Directing is like jazz improvisation

The director of "The French Connection" reflects on Gene Hackman, Wang Chung and 50 years in Hollywood

Casey Burchby, LA Review of Books Saturday, May 4, 2013 8:00 PM UTC
Entertainment LA Review of Books, Interviews

California’s disappearing health care reform

The single payer health care bill has passed both of the state's legislative branches -- twice. Why is it now dead?

Tom Gallagher, LA Review of Books Thursday, May 2, 2013 6:54 PM UTC
Politics LA Review of Books, California

Salman Rushdie: Artists are more vulnerable than ever

The celebrated author and founder of the PEN World Voices Festival reflects on the perils of the Internet age

Shaun Randol, LA Review of Books Wednesday, May 1, 2013 9:02 PM UTC
Entertainment LA Review of Books

Julian Assange: The Internet threatens civilization

However disappointing, the Wikileaks founder's new book offers a fascinating -- and discomfiting -- thesis

Adam Morris, LA Review of Books Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 8:48 PM UTC 39
Life LA Review of Books

“Out of Order”: Why SCOTUS matters

Sandra Day O’Connor explains the High Court

Jim Lafferty, LA Review of Books Monday, Apr 29, 2013 3:59 PM UTC
Politics sandra day o'connor, SCOTUS

How “Life of Pi” anticipated 9/11

Published the same month as the attacks, Yann Martel's novel offers a prescription for life post-catastrophe

Arne de Boever, LA Review of Books Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 7:00 PM UTC
Oscars LA Review of Books, Life of Pi

When Derrida discovered Marx

Revisiting the post-structuralist's legendary lecture "Specters of Marx"

Peggy Kamuf, LA Review of Books Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 3:00 PM UTC 34
Social LA Review of Books, Books

Owen King’s sparkling debut

"Double Feature" offers a heartbreaking and poignant meditation on the vagaries of art

William Boyle, LA Review of Books Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 11:30 PM UTC
Entertainment LA Review of Books, Books

“Parks and Recreation”: TV’s most progressive show

The NBC sitcom is just as ardent in its defense of government as it is fearless in its skewering of conservatives

Matthew Gannon, LA Review of Books Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 8:38 PM UTC 18
Social LA Review of Books, essays, NBC

Andy Griffith, America’s surrogate father

A trip to the Andy Griffith Museum in North Carolina helps explain the actor's enduring legacy

Evan Smith Rakoff, LA Review of Books Monday, Apr 22, 2013 9:14 PM UTC
Entertainment LA Review of Books

Does “Downton Abbey” perpetuate gay stereotypes?

However complex, Thomas Barrow is like most gay characters on TV: The odd man out

Richard Kramer, LA Review of Books Sunday, Apr 21, 2013 5:00 PM UTC
Social LA Review of Books, TV

William H. Gass, post-post-everything author

For the beloved American fiction writer, conventional narrative kills the life inside language

Benjamin Weissman, LA Review of Books Sunday, Apr 14, 2013 9:00 PM UTC
Entertainment LA Review of Books, Fiction

Is the small nonprofit in big trouble?

In "With Charity for All," former NPR president Ken Stern sheds light on the dark side of NPOs

Jack Shakely, LA Review of Books Thursday, Apr 11, 2013 9:01 PM UTC
Social LA Review of Books, Books

HP Lovecraft, pulp philosopher

Graham Harman's "Weird Realism" examines the metaphysical underpinnings of the cult author's bizarre oeuvre

Brian Kim Stefans, LA Review of Books Thursday, Apr 11, 2013 8:22 PM UTC 13
Life LA Review of Books, Books

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