Filter & Sort
Opinion
The Postemotional Bully
A social theorist's new book considers the darker impulses beneath phony smiles and social media "like" messages. Scott McLemee checks it out.
Opinion
In Defense of the Monkey Mind
A new book challenges the idea that wandering attention is a flaw in our mental machinery. Scott McLemee tries to go with the author's flow.
Opinion
Frye Revived
The pre-eminent literary theorist of the 1960s and '70s went out fashion -- yet never really went away. Scott McLemee looks into the afterlife of an original.
Opinion
Get Well Soon
Put down that chocolate and pick up some broccoli! Improve your attitude and you can do anything! Scott McLemee looks into a new book on the critique of self-improvement.
Opinion
Going Off the Map
A historian's travels can contribute more to her work than archival sources. Scott McLemee reads Dispatches From Dystopia.
Opinion
Decline of the West II: The Dysoning
A prominent African-American professor unleashes a sharp attack on his mentor. Scott McLemee hears echoes amid the buzz.
Opinion
The Professor's Literature of Protest
Thorstein Veblen's The Higher Learning in America is back in a new edition. Scott McLemee revisits a scathing classic.
Opinion
The Elephant Woman
A new book tells stories of politics and psychology among the pachyderms of Africa. Scott McLemee has a look.