Wednesday's Notes

Mary Beard is at UC, Berkeley, this semester to give its Sather Lectures, but she flew back to England for the release of her new book, Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. In"10 things you need to know about Pompeii," A Don's Life, 16 September, she beards some hoary myths about the ancient city.

Todd M. Endelman,"The Making of Benjamin Disraeli," NY Sun, 17 September, reviews Adam Kirsch's Benjamin Disraeli.

Adam Gopnik,"Freeing the Elephants," New Yorker, 22 September, previews"Drawing Babar: Early Drafts and Watercolors," an exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City.

Adam Kirsch,"Against Oblivion," NY Sun, 17 September, reviews The Terezin Album of Marianka Zadikow.

Michiko Kakutani,"How First Mate Shifted the Ship of State's Course," NYT, 15 September, reviews Barton Gellman's Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency.

Finally, Scott McLemee's"D.F.W., R.I.P.," IHE, 17 September, remembers David Foster Wallace. See also: Caleb Crain's"Approaching infinity," Boston Globe, 26 October 2003; and Crain,"‘The great postmodern uncertainty that we live in'," Steamboats Are Ruining Everything, 14 September. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.