Matthew Snider

Some of the Most Maligned Tools of Modern Democracy Are Viewed in a New Light in Saaf’s Reissued ‘A Significant Year’

Some of the Most Maligned Tools of Modern Democracy Are Viewed in a New Light in Saaf’s Reissued ‘A Significant Year’

Part diary, part travelogue, and part social science study, Abdallah Saaf's A Significant Year examines Morocco's 2007 elections with a perspective on all modern democracies.

Male Sexual Fluidity and Undue Complexity in Mostly Straight

Male Sexual Fluidity and Undue Complexity in Mostly Straight

Mostly Straight is a mostly inadequate answer to the question of male sexual fluidity.

Fallen Nations, Eclipsed Colonies, and Other ‘Nowherelands’

Fallen Nations, Eclipsed Colonies, and Other ‘Nowherelands’

Nowherelands is a gentle reminder that history -- told here through stamps -- rolls on and the land will outlast us all.

The Price He Was Willing to Pay: ‘Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years’

The Price He Was Willing to Pay: ‘Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years’

By picking up his subject after the most infamous event in Wilde's life, Frankel is able to rebuild the narrative of Wilde's post-prison life from the detritus of his public undoing.

An Otherworldly Vision: ‘Milton and the Making of Paradise Lost’

An Otherworldly Vision: ‘Milton and the Making of Paradise Lost’

William Poole manages to deliver a spectacularly structured, tightly written, and captivating addition to literary studies.

Though Rich in Subject Matter, ‘Veil’ Has Trouble Finding a Narrative

Though Rich in Subject Matter, ‘Veil’ Has Trouble Finding a Narrative

There's so much to say about the challenges, frustrations, and offenses facing women who veil, that Veil has difficulty sorting it all out in a meaningful way.
Reason on the Cusp of Madness: Anti-Semitism and Mihail Sebastian

Reason on the Cusp of Madness: Anti-Semitism and Mihail Sebastian

The ease with which one can draw a line from the message of For Two Thousand Years to the events of 2017 is almost too terrifying to contemplate.
What Is Brought Back in Michel Leiris’ ‘Phantom Africa’ Is Not Tangible

What Is Brought Back in Michel Leiris’ ‘Phantom Africa’ Is Not Tangible

Phantom Africa represents a poignant and beautiful window into something more universal.
A Weak Case for the Important Issue of ‘Muslims and the Making of America’

A Weak Case for the Important Issue of ‘Muslims and the Making of America’

A book like Muslims and the Making of America is necessary in these times, and it's for that very reason that Hussain's effort is so disappointing.
Summer Turns to Fall: Revisiting the ‘Summer of Love’ 50 Years Later

Summer Turns to Fall: Revisiting the ‘Summer of Love’ 50 Years Later

Summer of Love simultaneously demonstrates why that moment in the cultural timeline is worth commemorating, what its legacy is, and what was lost as summer turned to fall.

Poetry and Imagery in Abdellah Taïa’s ‘Another Morocco’

‘The Cross’: A History of One of the World’s Most Iconic Symbols

‘The Cross’: A History of One of the World’s Most Iconic Symbols

The Cross manages to re-tell an old story comfortably and enjoyably, without getting dragged down into pedantry or the dry distractions of academic writing.