Robert Skidelsky,"A Chinese Homecoming," Prospect, January 2006, tells a fascinating story of the author's return to Harbin, Manchuria, 110 years after his family had moved and 66 years after his birth there. Thanks to Arts and Letters Daily for the tip.

Kevin Sullivan,"Declassified Notes Illuminate World War II-Era Churchill," Washington Post, 1 January, points to new information about Churchill's positions on important wartime issues.

Grant Wacker,"Among the Believers," Washington Post, 25 December, reviews James P. Moore, Jr., One Nation Under God: The History of Prayer in America. From a book more richly diverse than its title might suggest, Wacker catches an anecdote everyone could appreciate:

President Lyndon B. Johnson asked one of his key aides, Bill Moyers, an ordained Baptist minister, to say grace before a dinner with the White House press corps at LBJ's Texas ranch. Soon after Moyers started, Johnson interrupted,"Louder, Bill, we can't hear you." Moyers retorted,"I wasn't talking to you, Mr. President."

James Lang,"A Vote for Tenure," Boston Globe, 1 January, restates the case for tenure. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.