Things Noted Here and There

History Carnival XL is"lurching around the bend" at Rob MacDougall's Old is the New New and will be up later today or later. In the meantime, there are pictures of a little Cliopatrician!

Robert Harris,"Pirates of the Mediterranean," NY Times, 29 September, takes another look at events in Roman history for light on contemporary American history. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.

M. E. Yapp,"Beyond the Nuclear," TLS, 27 September, looks at American/Iranian relations in the 20th century.

Paul Berman,"The Watchdog," NY Times, 1 October, reviews Myra MacPherson's ‘All Governments Lie': The Life and Times of Rebel Journalist I. F. Stone and Karl Weber, ed., The Best of I. F. Stone.

A. O. Scott,"The Hunger Artists," NY Times, 1 October, reviews David Kamp, The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation and might be read with Bill Buford,"TV Dinners: The Rise of Food Television," New Yorker, 2 October.

Bob Woodward,"Secret Reports Dispute White House Optimism," Washington Post, 1 October, is an excerpt from Woodward's most recent book, which is reviewed by Michiko Kakutani in"A Portrait of Bush as a Victim of his own Certitude," NY Times, 30 September.