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Writing On The Sly, Nathaniel Rich's Secret Debut
It took over five years for Nathaniel Rich to finish his first novel — maybe because he was writing The Mayor's Tongue secretly, first as a college student, and then while writing film criticism during the day.
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Categories: Book Reviews
Wachovia Settles Money Laundering Case
Wachovia Bank has agreed to pay $160 million to settle a federal investigation into laundering of South American drug money. The deal, announced by the U.S. Attorney in Miami, said the bank had laundered the money since at least 2003 using Mexican exchange houses.
'So Much' For Paradise: Battered By Bad Insurance
Lionel Shriver's novel So Much for That tells the story of Shep Knacker, who is about to retire to a tropical island when his wife gets diagnosed with cancer. To keep his insurance, Shep has to keep his hated job, but he soon discovers that even the full coverage of the fully employed may not be enough to keep him afloat.
Categories: Book Reviews
Global Reality Challenges IMF's Free Market Gospel
In a notable turnaround, the International Monetary Fund recently acknowledged that some developing countries might benefit from controls on capital inflows. IMF research found that countries with such regulations were better equipped to weather recent global economic crises.
Dogs Likely Descended From Middle Eastern Wolf
Scientists have known that modern dogs are descended from wolves, but the specific ancestry hasn't been clear. Now, after analyzing DNA from 85 dog breeds, researchers say that Middle Eastern gray wolves are the likely predecessor of today's pooch.
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Boomerang Kids Drive Rise Of Extended Family Living
A new study finds that the number of people in multigenerational households grew by 2.5 million between 2007 and 2008. The trend is fueled by young adults, but older adults are also slightly more likely to share households. Another big factor is the increasingly large share of immigrants living in the U.S.
A Village Clings To Hope Amid Dagestan's Dangers
Dagestan is one of the most violent regions of Russia, squeezed in between Chechyna and the Caspian Sea. It is known mostly for negative things: economic deprivation, violent politics and a simmering Islamist insurgency. But the people of Sulak are trying to stay out of the conflict.
Ad Wars Ramp Up As Health Bill Draws Near
As a health care overhaul bill winds its way towards the finish line, both sides are working to get their opinions heard. As usual, many of them use fear and exaggeration to make their claims. Here's a look at some particularly egregious examples.
Scholar Says 'Lost' Shakespeare Play Is No Hoax
Performed in 1727, Double Falsehood was purported to be a "lost" play by Shakespeare. Critics dismissed it as a fake, and it was quickly forgotten. But professor Brean Hammond says the "rattling good yarn" has Shakespearean roots.
Seven Days In Seven Lives: 'A Week In December'
Sebastian Faulks' satirical novel is a weeklong tour of modern London, woven together in Dickensian style. Dickens' 19th century characters dealt with class conflict, wealth, poverty and true love. Faulks' contemporary characters deal with terrorism, greed, the Internet and — because some things never change — true love.
Categories: Book Reviews
Alex Chilton, Musician And Producer, Dies At 59
Some sad news in the midst of South by Southwest's opening night: Big Star frontman Alex Chilton has died. Chilton, 59, died at a New Orleans hospital Wednesday after collapsing earlier in the day.
Drone Strikes Kill 9 Militants In Pakistan, Officials Say
The suspected U.S. missiles were fired at vehicles and a militant hide-out in a tribal region. The U.S. has stepped up attacks in Pakistan's tribal regions since December, when a suicide bomber killed seven CIA employees in neighboring Afghanistan.
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Experts See U.S.-Israel Crisis As Wake-Up Call
Officials in the U.S. and Israel on Wednesday continued efforts to publicly downplay the most serious rift between the two allies in nearly two decades. The controversy has laid bare the allies' deteriorating relationship and cloudy prospects for peace in the Middle East, analysts say.
Pakistan Indicts Americans On Terrorism Charges
Pakistan indicted five American Muslims on Wednesday on terrorism charges. The young men from the Washington, D.C., area say they were on their way to Afghanistan on a humanitarian mission when they were arrested in Pakistan.
Idaho To Sue If Health Care Overhaul Passes
Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed a measure requiring his attorney general to sue Congress if federal legislation requiring residents to buy insurance goes through. Similar measures, which experts say are mostly symbolic, are pending in 37 other states.
Wachovia Settles Money Laundering Case For $160M
Banking giant Wachovia Corp. will pay $160 million to settle a federal investigation into laundering of illegal drug profits through Mexican exchange houses in the largest case of its kind ever brought against a U.S. bank, prosecutors said.
Forget Taxing Marijuana; The Real Money's In Cocaine
A Harvard economist estimates how much revenue each state would raise by legalizing and taxing illicit drugs.
Goal Still To Capture Bin Laden, McChrystal Says
The comment by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan was in contrast to remarks made a day earlier by Attorney General Eric Holder, who said the al-Qaida leader would be killed before he was brought to justice. If bin Laden enters Afghanistan, McChrystal told reporters from Kabul, the military "would certainly go after trying to capture him alive."
Elif Shafak's New Book Reviewed
Turkish novelist Elif Shafak's new novel, The Forty Rules of Love, takes us into the life of a middle-aged Jewish woman from central Massachusetts, who as a reader for a literary agent, has just picked up a copy of a novel by a modern Sufi mystic.
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Categories: Book Reviews
Businesses Claim Yelp Tilts Scales For Cash
Yelp is being accused of using its user-review system as leverage to get companies to advertise on its site. Complaining businesses say they refused a Yelp salesperson's offer to buy an ad slot — and then some of their positive ratings went missing. The company says the claims stem from a misunderstanding.
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