The one must-read article is “Taken,” Sarah Stillman’s shocking article on the outrageous misuse of civil forfeiture laws to strip American citizens of their belongings without charging them with any crime. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, along comes another insane way for police departments to harass poor and non-white Americans.
I haven’t gotten around to reading Zadie Smith’s story, “Meet the President!” But I will.
Former editor-in-chief Robert Gottlieb, as plugged-in a publishing insider as there is, in his review gently spanks Boris Kachka for “Hothouse,” his somewhat credulous, gossipy history of the famed Farrar Straus & Giroux. And in “Compositions in Black and White,” Paige Williams profiles Bill Arnett, a collector of outsider art by black Southerners, in such a way as to manifest both his good-hearted championing of artists who would otherwise never be seen AND his obnoxious grandstanding.
My favorite cartoon:
another eye opens 
August 24, 2013 at 7:02 pm
“Former editor-in-chief Robert Gottlieb, as plugged-in a publishing insider as there is, in his review gently spanks Boris Kachka for “Hothouse,” his somewhat credulous, gossipy history of the famed Farrar Straus & Giroux.”
I’m not sure I’d characterize it as a gentle spanking, more a slap on the wrist for B.K.’s breathless, wide-eyed and gossipy style. A spanking to me implies a more general disapproval. In the end, Gottlieb recognizes this as a valuable work. Gottlieb is the perfect person to review this book, and I thank you for linking to his fascinating piece, which otherwise I’d have missed.