Featured
Recently ranked number one on the "The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century" by "The New York Times Book Review," Elena Ferrante’s My [...]
Until last year, I never thought Colombians and Italians had much in common. Then I met an Italian for the first time, in February [...]
I was bitten by the blacksmithing bug late in my twenties. It was during a visit to a lovingly restored blacksmith shop in [...]
Every time I go to the doctor and have to fill out my medical history, one question gives me pause: Have you ever been [...]
Then&Now
Essays by Christopher Winner
Cloud cuckoo land
My father had a favorite phrase when coming upon people and situations that defied all common sense. “Cloud cuckoo land,” he’d say, nostrils arched [...]
Won’t get fooled again
The lame-duck Biden administration’s position toward embattled Ukraine is now cynically clear: provide that country with as much authorized military hardware as possible, so [...]
The red button
In the eleventh hour of his presidency, Joe Biden has given Ukraine the green light to use American short-range missiles (ATACMS) against Russia. Biden's [...]
Hungry man
In the modern dialect of sportswriting, the concept of desire has come to play a critical role. An upset, whether in head-to-head competition or [...]
In Case You Missed It
Film: “Kinds of Kindness”
Name a film “Kindness” and some might expect episodes of compassion, generosity, and altruism. But call it “Kinds of Kindness,” [...]
Wordplay in academe
Gosh, but aren't we humans dazzling apes sometimes! This paragon among animals, with snappy synapses aplenty. And sometimes these brainy [...]
Ships and shipping
Christopher Winner’s recent “Boyhood Empire” series includes many tales of ocean liners. As San Franciscans, ships resonate with us, as [...]
An original thought?
It’s that time of year again. Where I sit in new classes with new people, and I’m supposed to be [...]
To know and to hurt
Some people, comfortable as they are in their moral straitjackets, believe they know all there is to know about escort [...]
A pair of red shoes
It was an August afternoon, almost twilight, in the mid-nineties, and I was sitting on a veranda overlooking the Adriatic [...]
Gaza rebuttal: vengeance defined
My name is David Levenstein Amory, and I am a Jew. I don’t usually begin my writing with AA-style introductions, [...]
Lend me your ears
Now, I'm not opposed to grandmas (or grandpas) on principle. I am, however, allergic to ageism and stereotyping, especially as [...]