The little corporal’s loot

by Jeremy Black

A review of Plunder by Cynthia Saltzman.

The Critic’s Notebook

by the Editors

On Joseph P. Kennedy, Brenda Goodman, Baroque music & more from the world of culture.

Music for a While #49: Sparks

Jay Nordlinger, The New Criterion’s music critic, talks music—but, more important, plays music.

Storytime

by Jay Nordlinger

Some tales about two composers and other musicians.

The sound of silence

by Andrew Stuttaford

A review of A Demon-Haunted Land by Monica Black.

Waking up from wokeness

On America’s “First Great Awokening.”

A note of thanks

Thank you for another year of loyal support.

Features

The triumph of Thomas Sowell

by John Steele Gordon

On Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell, by Jason L. Riley.

Ideologists amok

by David Guaspari

On Kenneth Minogue’s political philosophy.

Full of insight, full of fun

by James F. Penrose

On Critique musicale, volume 10, by Hector Berlioz.

All is Orwell

by Gerald Frost

On George Orwell in Spain.

A stroll in the rain

by George Bradley

Sightings: northern flicker

by Jacqueline Osherow

The cooling of John le Carré

by Michael J. Lewis

On the British spy novelist.

The right angle

by James Panero

On Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler.

Society vanishes

by Gerald J. Russello

On the novels of Louis Auchincloss.

The poet as memoirist

by Richard Tillinghast

On W. B. Yeats’s Autobiographies.

The best book on theater

by Kyle Smith

On The Season, by William Goldman.

Soutine & de Kooning at the Barnes

by Karen Wilkin

On “Soutine / de Kooning: Conversations in Paint,” at the Barnes Foundation.

The real Neel

by Mario Naves

On “Alice Neel: People Come First,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Exhibition note

by Andrew L. Shea

On “Julie Mehretu,” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Livestream chronicle

by Jay Nordlinger

On recent livestreams by the New York Philharmonic, Joshua Bell, Richard Goode, Arlen Hlusko & Paul Jacobs.

Sanity clause

by James Bowman

On the partisan rhetoric of “insanity.”

History lessons

by William Logan

A review of “The Historians,” by Eavan Boland, “American Melancholy,” by Joyce Carol Oates, “Now We’re Getting Somewhere,” by Kim Addonizio, “The Caiplie Caves,” by Karen Solie, “Beethoven Variations,” by Ruth Padel & “The Hill We Climb,” by Amanda Gorman.

Notebook

On the hero trail

by Timothy Jacobson

On Robert Penn Warren & Dixon Wecter.

Denis Donoghue, 1928–2021

by Adam Kirsch

On the Irish literary critic.

The Critic’s Notebook

by The Editors

August 03, 2021

On Joseph P. Kennedy, Brenda Goodman, Baroque music & more from the world of culture.

Week in review

by Jane Coombs

July 30, 2021

On Belfiore Palace, The Anatomy of Melancholy & millionaire composers.

Storytime

by Jay Nordlinger

July 27, 2021

Some tales about two composers and other musicians.

The Critic’s Notebook

by The Editors

July 27, 2021

On Roger Scruton, contemporary art at the Met, Teatro Nuovo & more from the world of culture.

Week in review

by Jane Coombs

July 23, 2021

On Edward Daniel Clarke, antiquarians & Gustave Moreau.

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Books

The sweets of Pymlico

by D. J. Taylor

A review of The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne

Self-help yourself

by Anthony Daniels

A review of The Quick Fix by Jesse Singal

Paradise in Dorset

by David Platzer

A review of The Crichel Boys by Simon Fenwick

The sound of silence

by Andrew Stuttaford

A review of A Demon-Haunted Land by Monica Black

The little corporal’s loot

by Jeremy Black

A review of Plunder by Cynthia Saltzman

Why should we dance?

by Claire Catenaccio

A review of Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Translated By David Kovacs

Bookstore

The little corporal’s loot

by Jeremy Black

The Critic’s Notebook

by the Editors

Music for a While #49: Sparks

Storytime

by Jay Nordlinger

The sound of silence

by Andrew Stuttaford

Notes & Comments

Waking up from wokeness

A note of thanks

Features

The triumph of Thomas Sowell

Ideologists amok

Full of insight, full of fun

All is Orwell

A stroll in the rain

Sightings: northern flicker

The cooling of John le Carré

The right angle

Society vanishes

The poet as memoirist

The best book on theater

Soutine & de Kooning at the Barnes

The real Neel

Exhibition note

Livestream chronicle

Sanity clause

History lessons

On the hero trail

Denis Donoghue, 1928–2021

The Critic’s Notebook

by The Editors

August 03, 2021

Week in review

by Jane Coombs

July 30, 2021

Storytime

by Jay Nordlinger

July 27, 2021

The Critic’s Notebook

by The Editors

July 27, 2021

Week in review

by Jane Coombs

July 23, 2021

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Critic's Notebook

1
The White Queen? by Brooke Allen

2
The sound of silence by Andrew Stuttaford

3
The sound of silence by Anthony Daniels

4
The treason of the intellectuals & “The Undoing of Thought” by Roger Kimball

5
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

6
Bronzino at Cosimo’s court by Marco Grassi

7
Waking up from wokeness

8
Verrocchio: the master’s master by James Hankins

9
The hypocrisy of Noam Chomsky by Keith Windschuttle

10
The triumph of Thomas Sowell by John Steele Gordon

1
Waking up from wokeness

2
Leninthink by Gary Saul Morson

3
The triumph of Thomas Sowell by John Steele Gordon

4
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

5
The cooling of John le Carré by Michael J. Lewis

6
All is Orwell by Gerald Frost

7
The hypocrisy of Noam Chomsky by Keith Windschuttle

8
Self-help yourself by Anthony Daniels

9
The sound of silence by Anthony Daniels

10
The sound of silence by Andrew Stuttaford

1
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

2
The triumph of Thomas Sowell by John Steele Gordon

3
Fyodor Dostoevsky: philosopher of freedom by Gary Saul Morson

4
Keywords: hoist, petard

5
Leninthink by Gary Saul Morson

6
Hypocrite hector by Anthony Daniels

7
Knights & their ladies fair by Bruce Bawer

8
The Spartan way of war by Victor Davis Hanson

9
All is Orwell by Gerald Frost

10
The cooling of John le Carré by Michael J. Lewis

1
The scab & the wound beneath by Victor Davis Hanson

2
How the great truth dawned by Gary Saul Morson

3
The triumph of Thomas Sowell by John Steele Gordon

4
Leninthink by Gary Saul Morson

5
The hypocrisy of Noam Chomsky by Keith Windschuttle

6
Fyodor Dostoevsky: philosopher of freedom by Gary Saul Morson

7
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

8
George Will’s “conservatism” by James Piereson

9
Keywords: hoist, petard