Latest

  • Claustropolis: 1984

    “Claustropolis: 1984” is excerpted from a forthcoming novel. In Bhopal, I could lie low. In Bhopal, there would be instructions for me. Because I had been told not to take the express, I traveled on a local, in an unreserved bogie. The whiskey was Director’s Special, a parting gift from Gupta’s people. I didn’t even…

    Read more

ALL Posts

  • “A Socialist Defector” (Grossman reviewed in Socialism and Democracy)

    Filed: East Germany  Soviet era  Surveillance A Socialist Defector:From Harvard to Karl-Marx-AlleeBy Victor Grossman352 pages / $23 / 978-1-58367-738-4 Reviewed by Renate Bridenthal for Socialism and Democracy Victor Grossman, born Stephen Wechsler in 1928 in New York City, has written his second book about his defection to East Germany in 1952. The first, Crossing the River, described his escape from the US Army…

  • How the War in Gaza Mobilized the American Left

    The New York Times -June 2 ,2024 As the death toll in Gaza climbed, the pro-Palestinian movement grew into a powerful, if disjointed, political force in the United States. Democrats are feeling the pressure. Activists have urged voters to “vote uncommitted” to protest President Biden’s support of Israel.Credit…Emily Elconin for The New York Times By Katie…

  • 70 years of Dien Bien Phu Victory: Decisive battle of Him Lam, winning the opening battle

    News 19/03/2024 At exactly 17:13 p.m. on March 3, 1954, our troops opened fire to attack Him Lam base, opening the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign. After 5 hours of fighting, our army completely took control of the Him Lam resistance center of the French army. This victory dealt a strong blow to the arrogance…

  • Maya Angelou on How a Library Saved Her Life

    BY MARIA POPOVA “You never know what troubled little girl needs a book,” Nikki Giovanni wrote in one of her poems celebrating libraries and librarians. “Knowledge sets us free, art sets us free. A great library is freedom,” Ursula K. Le Guin asserted in her beautiful essay on the sacredness of public libraries. “When a library is open, no matter its…

  • How Mendeleev Invented His Periodic Table in a Dream

    BY MARIA POPOVA Trailblazing chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (February 8, 1834–February 2, 1907) came to scientific greatness via an unlikely path, overcoming towering odds to create the periodic table foundational to our understanding of chemistry. Born in Siberia as one of anywhere between 11 and 17 children — biographical accounts differ, as infant mortality rate in the era…

Search