Things Ancient & Modern

Vincent Crapanzano,"How to fake science, history and religion," TLS, 5 August, reviews Ronald H. Fritze's Invented Knowledge: False history, fake science and pseudo-religions.

David Arnold,"Beheading Hindus," TLS, 29 July, reviews Wendy Doniger's The Hindus.

A. E. Harvey,"The real Mary Magdalene," TLS, 5 August, reviews Robin Griffith-Jones's Mary Magdelene: The woman whom Jesus loved.

Peter Berkowitz,"Conserving," Policy Review, August/ September, reviews Patrick Allitt's The Conservatives: Ideas and Personalities Throughout American History.

Ronald Fraser,"Doing business with Franco," TLS, 29 July, reviews Hugh Thomas's Eduardo Barreiros and the Recovery of Spain.

Richard Vinen,"How Orwellian was Orwell?" TLS, 5 August, reviews Paul Anderson, ed., Orwell in"Tribune,""As I Please" and other writings, 1943–7 and Philip Bounds's Orwell and Marxism: The political and cultural thinking of George Orwell.

Roger Cohen,"Into the Eye of a Storm," NYT, 5 August, reviews Ray Takeyh's Guardians of the Revolution: Iran and the World in the Age of the Ayatollahs.

John Horgan,"Does Peace Have a Chance?" Slate, 4 August, argues that war is becoming both less deadly and less common.