cover image The Nation, 1865-1990: Selections from the Independent Magazine of Politics and Culture

The Nation, 1865-1990: Selections from the Independent Magazine of Politics and Culture

Katrina Vanden Heuvel. Thunder's Mouth Press, $21.95 (534pp) ISBN 978-1-56025-001-2

Albert Einstein applauds the 1932 Disarmament Conference as a ``ray of hope''; Emma Goldman, just back from the Soviet Union, laments the tens of thousands of political exiles created by Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini; I. F. Stone exhorts the U.S. government to give sanctuary to European Jews who face death under Hitler. These are among the highlights of an astonishing anthology, rich in ideas and provocations, edited by Nation editor-at-large vanden Heuvel. The liberal-left Nation 's zigzagging politics embraces many shades of opinion, from Chaim Weizmann's plea for Zionism to Edward Said's support for a Palestinian state. Also here are Martin Luther King Jr. on the civil rights movement, Ralph Nader on auto hazards, Arthur Danto on Andy Warhol, Katha Pollitt on the ``Baby M'' surrogate mother case. Poetry standouts include verse by Alice Walker, W. B. Yeats, Marianne Moore, D. H. Lawrence, Margaret Atwood and W. H. Auden, for starters. (Nov.)