Monday, January 9, 2006
Volume 26, Issue 6

Dartmouth's Chosen Sons: A History of Admission and Exclusion

Did Dartmouth become an elite institution by instilling values and qualities that made her graduates succeed after they left Hanover, or did they succeed because these students came to Dartmouth smarter, more hardworking, and better-connected than their counterparts at other schools?

The Greatness of Samuel Johnson

If you were transported back to 1776 and met Johnson in London, would he be the same man you meet in Boswell?

Cartoon by Gregory Pence

Iran's President Mahound Ahmadinejad

Shakespeare Entombed

"Shakspeare is the only biographer of Shakspeare." For a greater glimpse into the bottomless soul of the great bard, you need not look further than his first folio. I'd spend some time with Hamlet…a lot of time.

TDR 25: Dinesh D'Souza: Lincoln's Statesmanship

In my view, Lincoln was the true "philosophical statesman," one who was truly good and truly wise.

Team of Rivals: Lincoln's Genius

Above all, Team of Rivals is not a recounting of the Civil War in a view-from-the-battlefield sense, but rather a portrait of the political climate in Washington during the time.

We're All Hipsters Now

Conservatism—once so refreshingly straightforward and compact—has metastasized into a circus of quirky groups, each of which claims to possess the "true" conservative élan. There are neocons, theocons, paleocons—I forget already which one is supposed to make up the Radical Right.

Narnian Tales: The Life of C.S. Lewis

As a noted scholar of literature, a prolific writer, and perhaps the leading Christian apologist of the 20th century, the late C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) left ample material for a biography, and many books have been written about his varied and interesting life. The latest, by Wheaton College English professor Alan Jacobs, is well-timed to take advantage of renewed interest in Lewis spurred by the release of his Chronicles of Narnia as a major motion picture.

Hanson's Unique War

Hanson's A War Like No Other serves not as a translation of Thucydides or as a history of the Peloponnesian War, rather it is a companion piece to Thucydides' work that explores the methods in which the war was fought.

Statism By Any Other Name?

If one had to choose the central building block of American society, the simplest level of interpersonal organization, it would undoubtedly be the family.

On Beauty and Zadie Smith

Beauty is a dumb thing, arbitrarily meted out, and capable of reducing the most engaged intellectuals to lust or awe or silence.

Indian Sports Round-Up

Indian Icers Look to Turn Corner in New Year; Football Ends Season On Sour Note; Soccer Falls in Tourney; Rugby Heads To Nationals

Letters to the Editor

Kella's Kwazy Kwanzaa Kwandry; Divestment: The Right Decision; He's No Do-Gooder; Oh Henry!; And We're Better-Looking, Too; We'll Pass It On

Shorter Notices

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell; Green River Running Red; He's Just Not That Into You; Why Do Men Have Nipples?; The Ten Books You Won't See Anywhere in These Pages

The Last Word

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
—Mark Twain

Barrett's Mixology

French "75"

1 1/2 oz. gin
2 tsp. superfine sugar
1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
4 oz. chilled champagne

Combine the gin, sugar, and lemon juice in a shaker, shake well. Pour into a collins glass. Top with the Champagne.