What Everybody Gets Wrong About Nancy Pelosi (Review #2)
Molly Ball’s biography of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi explores the pride the San Francisco Democrat takes in her profession and achievements without reckoning with its downsides. Read more
An Unjustly Neglected Book About the Jonestown Cult Massacre (Review #1)
Pretty much every journalist and historian has asked, Who was Jim Jones? and How did he orchestrate the mass death of more than 900 Americans? John Peer Nugent’s “White Night” is the rare work that asks, Why didn’t the State Department or the Guyanese stop Jones? Read more
How to Convey Sensory Experience like Better Call Saul
The AMC series “Better Call Saul” combined sight and sound better than any I can recall. Take, for instance, the scene that commentators and analyzers have been extolling since it aired—the Howard Hamlin beach scene. Read more
Interviewing the Little People is Underrated
Many journalists act as if access to the Great Man or Woman is everything. This is a mistake. Reporters can write great stuff by talking with ordinary people. Just ask Gay Talese, who wrote one of the most celebrated articles in American history. Read more
A Modest Proposal to Renew the Nonfiction World
The nonfiction world has become stale and tired; decadent you might say. Here is a modest proposal to reinvigorate and renew it. Read more
How to Write about a Trump-like Leader
Writing about a divisive political leader like former President Trump is possible. Witness David Brinkley’s under-recognized essay on the infamous labor leader Jimmy Hoffa. Read more
The Orwell Essay that Americans Should Read Now
While lesser known than “Animal Farm” and “1984,” George Orwell’s 1936 story “Shooting An Elephant” is the clearest, most relevant expression of Orwell’s warning about the perils of dehumanization at the hands of political ideologies and systems other than Soviet Communism. Read more
How to Develop a Genius Writing Skill: Using Objects as Symbols
The TV show “Better Call Saul” uses a powerful literary technique: presenting objects as not only things in themselves but also as symbols. While rarely discussed, this novelistic device can make your writing stand out. Read more
Reversing Roe v. Wade Would Be More Popular than You Think
Any fair-minded parsing of poll results and statistics shows support for overturning Roe v. Wade would be a lot more popular than media outlets would have us believe. Read more
The Only 30 Pages You Should Read in “Getting Things Done”
Give credit to business consultant David Allen for devising an ingenious method for regaining attention and concentration in a digital age. Just don’t leap to the conclusion his other four principles for personal productivity are trailblazing. Read more