The Monthly Digest: March 2019

In February LARB ran a number of essays, reviews, and interviews that explored the intersections of politics, religion, and morality. Below you will find reassessments of Ulysses S. Grant and John Stuart Mill, reports on religious persecution in the aftermath of war, and deep examinations of psychopaths in positions of power. — LARB Editorial

Humanizing the Headlines: On Olivier Kugler’s “Escaping Wars and Waves”
Megan N. Liberty reviews Olivier Kugler's "Escaping Wars and Waves: Encounters with Syrian Refugees."
Megan N. LibertyFeb 22, 2019
Winthrop’s “City” Was Exceptional, not Exceptionalist
What John Winthrop’s Puritans can teach us about civic culture and moral authority.
Jim SleeperFeb 19, 2019
- History
- Politics
Kompromat: Or, Revelations from the Unpublished Portions of Andrea Manafort’s Hacked Texts
In 2016 or early 2017, Paul Manafort’s 32-year-old daughter’s cell phone was hacked. What do the texts reveal, and why aren't we talking about them?
Maya GurantzFeb 18, 2019
- Nonfiction
- Politics
Populism, Democracy, and Neofascism: Two Essays
LARB presents two recent essays by Jean-Luc Nancy, translated from the French by Sarah Clift.
Jean-Luc NancyFeb 17, 2019
One Worshipper Is Not Superior to Another
A years-long visual investigation into how Iraq War blowback is playing out in Egypt, the second-largest recipient of US military aid.
Elle Kurancid, Hamada ElrasamFeb 13, 2019
The Limits of Political Morality
"Kennedy and King" reduces morality to obvious indignity, emotion to family life, and everything else to politics. In the end, everything is politics.
Vincent LloydFeb 10, 2019
A Privileged Violence
On how monarchs through history have paved the way for today’s official corruption.
Sam RisakFeb 7, 2019
- History
- Politics
Granted: The Best
Bob Blaisdell pores over “The Annotated Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant” and “My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife.”
Bob BlaisdellFeb 7, 2019
A (Not So) Secular Saint
A new biography details the religious life of a liberal icon.
James K. A. SmithFeb 6, 2019