To Flush or Not to Flush
Penn Reading Project’s The Big Necessity makes excrement interesting.
Speak Softly, and Carry a Big Bat
A hard-hitting history of horsehide diplomacy.
Après Roland, le Déluge
Beyond Bovary. One Hundred Great French Books.
Briefly Noted
Sept|Oct 2010
Stuart Gibbs C’91 makes his fiction debut with Belly Up
Q&A with the author.
The Unusual Suspects
A new book celebrates the sketchy offspring of Penn’s macabre master.
Separation Anxiety
A new book untangles the legal arguments and unintended consequences of Church v. State.
Briefly Noted
Jul|Aug 2010
Paul Provenza, the Comedian’s Comedian
… on his new book and TV show.
The Beast in the Mirror
Two books examine the ethical issues of our relationship with animals.
Seeking the Many Styles of Philadelphia
Styles of the city. Philadelphia Originals
Briefly Noted
May|Jun 2010
The Power of Choice
Sheena Iyengar W’92 C’92
Architecture of Madness
Chris Payne GAr’96’s photographs evoke the vanished world of state mental hospitals, where inmates could be both “mad and safe.”
Slouching Towards Elegance
In her new book, Trustee Professor of French Joan DeJean counts the many ways—from padded sofas, to “casual” clothing, to flush toilets—that France taught the world how to make itself comfortable.
Not Your Typical Pop-up Book
Works in paper. Pop Up Architecture
Ready, Aim, Speak!
Essays on the challenges of protecting free speech in dangerous times.
Briefly Noted
Mar|Apr 2010
Steeped in Tea
Professor of Chinese Language and Literature Victor Mair spent years immersing himself in tea lore. His new book gives a fresh infusion of history to a venerable subject.
Self Disclosures
A new book explores the well-populated landscape of Memoir.
Pain Without Meaning
Memories of the mother of all headaches.
Indelible
Force of memory.
Negotiating Istanbul
Istanbul to West Philadelphia.
“Now You See”
An accidental family.