Saturday Notes

Rashomon (1950) is in the public domain and available via Internet Archive and Google video.

A rape and murder in medieval Japan are recounted in four flashback sequences, as seen through the eyes of the three people involved and a witness to the incident.
Each version differs from the others, leaving viewers to draw their own conclusions on what actually transpired.

Thanks to Dave Davisson at Patahistory, who says Rashomon is"mandatory viewing for every would-be historian", for the tip.

Susan Eisenhower,"Scientist in Chief," Moscow Times, 9 February, reviews Ethan Pollock, Stalin and the Soviet Science Wars.

Russell Baker,"Reconstructing Ronald Reagan," NYRB, 1 March, reviews John Patrick Diggins, Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History.

Mukul Kesavan,"Christopher and His Kind – The Thrill of Saying Something Vile," The Telegraph [Calcutta], 8 February, takes on what Christopher Hitchens has become since 9/11.