The Book We're Talking About

September 11, 2013 Subscribe · Forward The Book We're Talking About "Dissident Gardens" by Jonathan Lethem Doubleday, $27.95 Published on September 10, 2013 What is it about? Three generations of failed activists (albeit often apathetic ones) are chronicled in Jonathan Lethem's first attempt at realism, set primarily in Queens, New York. Rose Zimmer's relationship with a black cop gets her booted from the Communist Party; Her lover's son, Cicero Lookins, is a lazy college professor; Rose's biological daughter, Miriam, runs away to a commune in Greenwich Village before joining a poet's revolution in Nicaragua. Lethem fuses the personal and political lives of each character, weaving a compelling tapestry of failed revolutionaries.  Continue reading... 9 Acronyms You Need To Stop Using Immediately Teenage Exorcists Believe 'Harry Potter' Is Satanic 9 Stellar Books To Read With Kids 9 Most Sympathetic Villains In Books 2013 Man Booker Prize Shortlist Announced Best New Books Out This Week This Fall's Most Anticipated Debuts 9 Most Sympathetic Villains In Books 11 Most Common Stereotypes About Poets JEFFREY SACHS To Move the World: JFK's Quest for Peace (Part Two) "Peace," he emphasized, "is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on." Continue reading... GWEN COOPER Remembering Homer on 9/11 Probably no part of Homer's Odyssey has provoked more outraged response than the chapters dealing with 9/11 and my attempts to rescue my three cats who were trapped in my apartment mere blocks from Ground Zero. Continue reading... DAN DENNETT On Wieseltier v. Pinker in The New Republic, Let's Start With A Respect For Truth Leon Wieseltier sees that the humanities are in a deep crisis, but his essay, "Crimes against the Humanities," is not a helpful contribution to its resolution. Name-calling and sarcasm are typically the last refuge of somebody who can't think of anything else to say to fend off a challenge he doesn't understand and can't abide. Continue reading... TERENCE CLARKE Alan Rinzler on Publishing Past, Present and Future: Part 2 "I think this is the best time ever for an author," Rinzler says. "The balance of power has shifted from the gatekeepers to the artists." Continue reading... CHRISTOPHER MICHAELSON, PH.D. Meaningful Work in The Pale King: In Memory of David Foster Wallace, Five Years On That point is the solace the author left behind for us, as we mourn the fifth anniversary of Wallace's untimely passing with the recognition that no more new words from him are forthcoming. Continue reading... Received this from a friend? Sign up for alerts from The Huffington Post here. Unsubscribe here. Huffington Post, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003