Under discussion: The East, the West, and Sex: A History of Erotic Encounters, Richard Bernstein, Knopf (2009), 336 pages. It’s no secret that Asian women and white men seem to have a good deal of mutual attraction to one another. Richard Bernstein, a Jewish man married to an Asian woman, tries to put this into a historical context. Reading his book … [Read More]

It has to be said that it’s getting a little difficult to keep up with just how many girlfriends David Letterman has had from the show. As I write, the count is up to four. Holly Hester has just appeared out of the woodwork, saying she dated him for a year back in the ‘90s. There’s some other as-yet-unnamed lady alleged … [Read More]

Kirsten Powers, the photogenic FOX News regular and New York Post syndicated columnist (who says neocon favorites can’t have it all?) has been fuming lately about the evil chauvinists who have been going after Sarah Palin. Like several other FOX regulars, Kirsten wants a “summit on sexism” to deal with attacks on the sometime Alaska governor. Powers explains: “I’m no fan … [Read More]

People often ask me how I can write about Thomas Jefferson or James Madison, Abraham Lincoln or the American Revolution, the U.S. Constitution or the South.  Hasn’t it all been said?  Isn’t there already a mountain of books about them? They are right to think that a great amount of ink has been spilled on these topics.  Where a layman’s intuition … [Read More]