by Amos Oz, Los Angeles TimesI believe in literature as a bridge between peoples. I believe curiosity can be a moral quality. I believe imagining the other can be an antidote to fanaticism. Imagining the other will make you not only a better busnessperson or a better lover but even a better person.
by Josh Levin, SlateAn avid sports fan can now read Sports Illustrated without learning anything new.
by Jennifer Finney Boylan, New York TimesThe house in which I grew up was haunted by a cloud of cold mist, a mysterious woman in white, and an entity we called "the conductor," since he walked around wearing a mourning coat and carrying a baton in one hand.
by Regina Schrambling, Los Angeles TimesCooking up a delicious blog is much easier than you might think.
by Marc Kaufman, Washington PostWith many promising areas to research, the supermassives are drawing astronomers and astrophysicists back into the black hole research.
by Daniel Seidel, SlateHow the web revived a storied tradition of expletive-laced tirades.
by Greg Ruffing, NewsweekThere was a time when food allergies were of little concern to the medical community. Today about 11 million Americans suffer from them, and many scientists agree the numbers are climbing.
by William J. Broad, New York TimesBy nature, code names and cover stories are meant to give no indication of the secrets concealed. Many people assume that the same holds true for the Manhattan Project, in which thousands of experts gathered in the mountains of New Mexico to make the world's first atom bomb.Robert S. Norris, a historian of the atomic age, wants to shatter that myth.
by Michael Dirda, Washington PostTolstoy's unflinching "War and Peace," in a new translation, takes us inside historic battles and contradictory hearts.
by Maggie Jones, New York TimesAdoptive parents are increasingly trying to pry open international adoptions by searching for the biological mothers of their children. But finding them can turn out to be the easy part.
by Caryl Rivers and Rosalind C. Barnett, Boston GlobeWe shouldn't believe the increasingly popular claims that boys and girls think differently, learn differently, and need to be treated differently.
by Bryan Burrough, Washington PostTwo books pose off-beat questions and provide clever answers.
by Nora Zelevansky, SalonCouples are commemorating shattered vows with the same kind of fanfare accorded their marriage — complete with announcements, parties and even vacation funds.
by Po Bronson, New York MagazineOverstimlated, overscheduled kids are getting at least an hour's less sleep than they need, a deficiency that, new research reveals, has the power to set their cognitive abilities back years.
by Lawrence Downes, New York TimesAmerica has a big problem with illegal immigration, but a big part of it stems from the word "illegal." It pollutes the debate. It blocks solutions.