The Spanish Civil war is long over, but a new law in the country seems to unearth the past and at the same time attempt to erase it
By Michael Kimmelman
Last month Spain passed a law that doesn't make much sense on its face but says quite a lot about Europe in the new century.

[ FULL STORY ]

Bertrand Delanoe has won over critics and supporters alike with bold ideas - including a beach on the Seine - and a steady financial hand. His next step will almost certainly be on the road to the presidential palace
By Jason Burke
Bertrand Delanoe's favorite dish is, apparently, a blanquette de veau, the creamy stew that is a staple of old-style French bistro cooking. It is the sort of dish that is served for cheap lunches in the cheaper cafes or occasionally, with some irony, in a good restaurant. The gastronomic historians who proliferate in France say the dish is associated with mothers placing steaming pots on checkered tablecloths, traditional family values, farmers returning from fields, a mythic vision of France of yesteryear. It is not necessarily what you would expect the solidly socialist gay mayor of France's capital, since 2001, to tuck into on his days off.

[ FULL STORY ]

BY NEW YORK TIMES
FICTION [ FULL STORY ]

'Well-dying' - having a mock funeral after a set of seminars - is touted as a tool to promote well-being
After solemnly reading their wills, seven perfectly healthy university students climb into caskets in a dimly lit hall.

[ FULL STORY ]

'Taiwan's Security: History and Prospects' looks at how Taiwanese land, air and sea defenses and offensive strategies stack up against the competition
By J. Michael Cole
In Taiwan's Security: History and Prospects, US Navy veteran Bernard Cole (unrelated to this reviewer) offers an unusually in-depth assessment of the many facets of Taiwan's defense establishment. While many publications have approached the subject from a quantitative perspective - how many tanks, aircraft, missiles and men Beijing would be capable of deploying against Taiwan in a symmetrical warfare scenario - Cole's book bores deep into Taiwanese society and highlights a series of social and institutional factors that would influence the outcome of a war with China.

[ FULL STORY ]

Edited by novelist Zadie Smith, 'The Book of Other People' is a collection of a wide variety of stories that will make readers alternately laugh, cry and yawn
By Michiko Kakutani
All the stories in this lively collection are portraits, mainly of human beings, though a monster with an identity crisis, a giant in search of love and a puppy in need of a home put in appearances as well. While the stories vary widely in quality - a few are dazzling, many are simply well crafted, a handful are embarrassingly slight or contrived - they come together to provide a kind of lesson in fiction writing.

[ FULL STORY ]