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Benjamin Espen

The Long View 2006-01-03: The Perennial Stones; the Implosion of the NYT; A Critique of Steyn

John felt in 2006 that new ownership was needed for the New York Times. In 2008, Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico, and occasionally the world, bought an 8% stake, later increased to 17.4%, making him the largest shareholder at present of the most influential newspaper in the

The End of the Affair Book Review

by Graham Greene Penguin Books, 1975 192 pages ISBN 0140184953 I fully intend to spoil this book, but since it was published sixty-six years ago, I don't feel too bad about it. Also, the priest spoiled the ending in his homily, so I'm just paying it

The Long View 2006-01-01: Notes on 2006

John makes some predictions for 2006 here, which makes it easy to assess his track record: * John completely missed Barack Obama's rising star in 2006. President Obama's 2004 keynote address didn't impress John, but it sure did wonders for everyone else. * This isn'

The Long View 2005-12-29: Generations, Thermodynamics, Defeatism

I took a long break from the blog for Thanksgiving, but I'm back refreshed. Here we are at the end of another calendar year of John's blog. John's book reviews tend to be the most popular, but sometimes a blog post or two will

The Long View 2005-12-27: Boxing Day, ID, & Discreditable Enthusiasms

This year, we've made a batch of Alton Brown's aged eggnog. It is quietly mellowing in the back of my fridge as we speak. Boxing Day, ID, & Discreditable Enthusiasms Ever have mulled wine? A retired English couple in exile from Blairistan were kind enough to

The Long View 2005-12-22: Europe and Its Discontents

In this blog post, John Reilly points to a sublime essay written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the height of his powers: Europe and Its Discontents. Published in English by First Things magazine, Benedict analyzes the idea of Europe through a grand sweep of history, religion, and politics. You

The Long View 2005-12-20: Domestication; Wiretaps; Scandals Past

Earlier this week, I said that Greg Cochran's the 10,000 Year Explosion was one of the five books that have influenced me most. I've probably given different answers to this kind of question in the past, but right now this is pretty accurate. In this