Category: Books
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Never offend a Muslim
Is there anything more sickening than puny intellectuals who bow to extremist demands instead of defending free speech? Cambridge University Press has just agreed to pull all unsold copies of the 2006 book, "Alms for Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World" after being threatened with legal repercussions. According to the Chronicle of Higher […]
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The first annual Ethan Hawke Award for dubious achievement in the field of literature
The first chapter begins with Diana’s final hectic evening in Paris on August 30/31 1997, then darts back through a welter of Fayeds to the author’s last sight of Diana at lunch in the Four Seasons in New York, in July: “The gently flushed skin of her face wasn’t just peachy; it was softer than […]
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Reclaiming the “L word”
Two days ago I argued that the left should cleave to the epithet ‘liberal’, on account of the importance of the values liberalism has stood for historically. I did not then enter the reservation that I will enter now: which is that if the word is sometimes held in low esteem, part of the reason […]
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An unapologetic apology I can defend
I despise the pseudo-mea culpa, the forced public apology that usually begins with, “I’m sorry if anyone was offended …” In other words, go fuck yourself. But this is an exception I can tolerate: “Obviously we are sorry if there are people who have taken very much to heart this honour, which is after all […]
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An open letter to the Muslim world
Please, grow up and mind your own business. The UK wants to honor an accomplished author who, 18 years ago, wrote a book you didn’t like. So you respond with threats of violence, promising bloodshed unless the queen rescinds Salman Rushdie’s knighthood. Where do you come off making demands? We look the other way (regrettably) […]
ATL Contrarian 