A Magazine of American Culture | Chronicles Magazine

Acts of God and Others

The collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa on the motorway that links Italy to Monte Carlo and the French Riviera reminds me of one of the great American novels: The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

According to the Washington Post, McAllen, Texas is an “all-American city,” albeit one “that speaks Spanish.” So it’s small wonder that “immigration isn’t a problem for this Texas town—it’s a way of life.”

The Establishment

Ralph Berry

We need a word for the forces that govern our lives. Establishment, a term popularized by Henry Fairlie in the 1950’s, is common currency. He meant by it “the whole matrix of official and social relationships within which power is exercised.”

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Dirty, Dirty Dirt
William Murchison | September 20, 2018
"Dirt is dirtier than clean is clean," observes one of John O'Hara's characters—a history professor, I think—remarking on the human race's observed partiality for darkness and grime in their news diet, rather than sweetness and light.
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A Question of Dots
Gerald Russello | September 19, 2018
The Watchers is a well-written and gripping account of the emergence of the “surveillance state,” seen primarily through the prism of John Poindexter’s career.
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The Late Hit on Judge Kavanaugh
Pat Buchanan | September 18, 2018
What is being done here stinks. It is a transparently late hit, a kill shot to assassinate a nominee who, before the weekend, was all but certain to be confirmed and whose elevation to the Supreme Court is a result of victories in free elections by President Trump and the Republican Party.
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Cowboy Heroes
Roger McGrath | September 17, 2018
The cowboys were our heroes. There were dozens to choose from. My favorite among the B Western stars was William Boyd, who made 66 films as Hopalong Cassidy beginning in 1935 and ending in 1948.
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