Scholar Peter Stanfield Brings ‘Hate’ to the Who’s Pop Art Period
Peter Stanfield’s ‘A Band With Built-In Hate’ highlights redundancy, aggression, obsolescence, and ambiguity in Townshend’s lyrical stance and the Who’s performing methods.
John L. Murphy
Medievalist turned humanities professor; overconfident accumulator of books & music; overcurious seeker of trivia, quadrivia, esoterica. Despite an incessant teaching load, I manage to devote free time to reading, listening, pondering big ideas while nagged by small ones. I'm at:"Blogtrotter".
Music and Mind-Bending in David Mitchell’s ‘Utopia Avenue’
Woven into Utopia Avenue David Mitchell stitches a subtle critique of the impacts of the pot-heavy, lysergic-immersed, and heady music’s ambitions on pop culture, moral choices, and even tripping itself.
The Kinks and Their Bad-Mannered English Decency
Mark Doyles biography of the Kinks might complement a seminar in British culture. Its tone and research prove its intent to articulate social critique through music for the masses.
New Translation of Balzac’s ‘Lost Illusions’ Captivates
More than just a tale of one man's fall, Balzac's Lost Illusions charts how literature becomes another commodity in a system that demands backroom deals, moral compromise, and connections.
‘The Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories’
Jhumpa Lahiri's picks for The Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories may betray her sympathies. She has no problem with this.
‘Out of Our Minds’ Considers Freedom and Force, Coercion and Custom
In Out of Our Minds, Fernández-Armesto encourages readers to distrust visionaries who promise perfection.
Could Marion Turner’s Book on Chaucer Alter Future Scholarly Work?
From Marion Turner's work, Chaucer: A European Life, Chaucer emerges as a man who lived through intrigue, rebellions, a peasant's rising, and above all, a determination to translate.
When Rationalism Tangled with Magic: ‘A Supernatural War’
Exploring the charms and rituals believed to safeguard WWI soldiers makes A Supernatural War a fascinating read.
‘Aquinas and the Market’ and the Possibility of a “Truly Humane Economic System”
With Aquinas and the Market, economist and theologian Mary L. Hirschfeld begins a necessary conversation between economic and theological sectors, in the academy and, one hopes, outside the ivory towers and seminaries, to calculate our ultimate worth.
Stand-up, Scandal, and Satire: On Iain Ellis’s ‘Humorists vs. Religion’
Is a "theology of humor" viable?
An Appeal for Balance: ‘Action Versus Contemplation’
Billions grapple with a frenetic paradigm shift which scuffs lines between a carefree ant's and a diligent grasshopper's domains.
The Annotated Prison Writings of Oscar Wilde, ed. Nicholas Frankel
As an activist, Wilde persists as a necessary voice "from the depths" of these stark texts.