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Benjamin Espen

The Long View 2006-08-21: Shabby News; Shabby Editing: Shabby, Shabby, Shabby

I keep meaning to read Eamon Duffy's Stripping of the Altars. I've also got his one-volume history of the papacy, but I haven't got around to that one yet either. Shabby News; Shabby Editing: Shabby, Shabby, Shabby Something snapped when I was listening to

House of Blades Book Review

House of Blades by Will Wight Hidden Gnome Publishing (June 1, 2013) 294 pages ASIN: B00D52X58Y Another gem from Will Wight, whose book Unsouled I was pointed toward by a friend earlier this year. House of Blades is another juvenile novel, by which I mean a story about a boy

Linkfest 2018-05-19: Revenge of the Stats

It has been a long since I did one of these, but they were always popular, so I'm bringing it back. In particular, it was an article by Megan McArdle in the Washington Post, "Democrats are about to have to pay up", that sent me down

The Long View 2006-08-18: The Endings of Various Epochs

I learned a lot reading Matti Friedman's Pumpkinflowers, once I finally got around to it [it sat in my to-read pile for two years]. The suicide bombings started shortly after the Lebanese occupation was over, and then the security checkpoints installed to stop the bombers led to missile

The Long View 2006-08-15: Spelling, Genealogy, Lebanon, Tradition, Ham

In the mid 2000s, John Reilly often defended President George W. Bush, for partisan reasons. I have to hold him to account for this. However, I do try to balance it out with things like his assessment of the capacity of Islamic transnational movements to found a state: Transnationalism has

The Long View 2006-08-09: Qinshihuangdi; Republican versus Conservative; Bernard Lewis; Mark Steyn

When I was younger, I was much taken with the wild, Indiana Jones-style tales of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Alas, they are likely fables, but a young man can dream. Also, the zingers just keep coming. Anyone who has ever had a run-in with an overzealous HOA can

The Long View 2006-08-07: From the End of History to the Restoration of Art

Two great lines today: And as for the long term? You can argue with God about the merits of a system of family law that is neutral or hostile toward reproduction, but Darwin will have none of it. Love is too much to ask for. An informed respect for order