Plain People Thomas Fleming - OCTOBER 01, 1986 The Century of the Common Man. That was the phrase Henry Wallace used to describe the world emerging out of the Second World War. Wars do have a way of leveling society into the great democracy of the dead and dying, and it is certainly the case... Read More
REVIEWS Wild Parlor Games John W. Aldridge - OCTOBER 01, 1986 From the beginning of his literary career, Robert Coover has been driven by the quite commendable ambition to make radical innovations in the forms and styles of contemporary fiction. Read More
REVIEWS Misprints and Misprision E. Christian Kopff - OCTOBER 01, 1986 "When I hear the word 'theory,' I loosen the safety latch on my revolver," remarked one disgruntled language teacher recently. He had an excuse, after all. He had just listened to an hour-long exposition of a Lacanian interpretation of a debate... Read More
REVIEWS Pulling the Plugs Walter Beale - OCTOBER 01, 1986 A generation ago, the strongest voice raised against materialism, scientism, and the depredations of technology and mass communication was that of rhetorician and second generation agrarian Richard Weaver. Read More
REVIEWS Voice From the Brier Patch David Hallman - OCTOBER 01, 1986 Brooks still has the capacity to surprise and delight. The doyen of the New Criticism and one who has been called "our best reader," he has now turned his talents—as an "enthusiastic amateur"—to the relationship be tween linguistic study and... Read More
REVIEWS Bad, Bad Boy Tommy W. Rogers - OCTOBER 01, 1986 "Big Jim" Folsom (1908- ), governor of Alabama (1946-1950, 1954-1958), was said to have entered office on a collision course with the state's two major economic estates, big business and big agriculture. Read More
REVIEWS Ski Poles and Baby Doctors Carl C. Curtis - OCTOBER 01, 1986 As essayists go, John McPhee has be come something of a celebrity. He has been praised in places as diverse as National Review and National Public Radio; he has written 18 books and no telling how many articles; moreover, he is said to be the... Read More