Category Archives: Ideas and Opinions

Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster

Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster. By Susan Polgar (Grand Central, March 2025) Susan Polgar’s Rebel Queen is a sparking memoir by the oldest of the famous Polgar sisters, the Hungarian siblings who changed … Continue reading

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What I’m Reading: Sandlin, Stephenson, Šipka, and more

Sweet Vidalia by Lisa Sandlin When Eliza Kratke arrived home one die, she finds her husband, a railroad man, clutching his chest near his car. After a harrowing car ride to the hospital, he dies. Then it turns out that … Continue reading

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An Interview with Michael Erard, author of Bye, Bye, I Love You

For the last five years, writer Michael Erard has been working on a book about the first words of babies and the last words of the dying. His latest book Bye Bye I Love You: The Story of Our First … Continue reading

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Review of The Truth About English Grammar by Geoffrey K. Pullum

The Truth About English Grammar by Geoffrey K. Pullum (Polity Press, 2024) Many years ago, I took a freshman course called English Grammar, taught by the Renaissance scholar Bridget Gellert Lyons. In that class, we read A Short Introduction to … Continue reading

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