Thursday's Notes

Shadi Bartsch,"The Archaeologist as Minotaur," The Book, 24 February, reviews Cathy Gere's Knossos and the Prophets of Modernism.

Ammon Shea,"Violent but Charming," Humanities, January/February, reviews the Dictionary of Old English.

Patrick O'Connor,"The clown who knew Byron," TLS, 24 February, reviews Andrew McConnell Scott's The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, madness and the story of Britain's greatest comedian.

Richard Rayner for the LA Times, 14 February, Bob Blaisdel for the San Francisco Chronicle, 21 February, Dwight Garner,"Tolstoy & Co. as Objects of Obsession," NYT, 16 February, and Adam Kirsch,"A Comedian in the Academy," Slate, 24 February, review Elif Batuman's The Possessed: Adventures With Russian Books and the People Who Read Them.

Sean Wilentz,"Obama, Fire Your Staff!" Daily Beast, 24 February, calls for changes in the White House staff.