Morning Views: Mont-Saint-Michel, France

MYGEMPICTURES (June 29, 2023) – Mont-Saint-Michel, rocky islet and famous sanctuary in Manche  départementNormandy  régionFrance, off the coast of Normandy.

Around its base are medieval walls and towers above which rise the clustered buildings of the village with the ancient  abbey  crowning the mount. One of the more popular tourist attractions in France, Mont-Saint-Michel was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

The New York Review Of Books – July 20, 2023

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The New York Review of Books – July 20, 2023 issue: The Fiction Issue features Adam Thirlwell on Emmanuel Carrère, Carolina Miranda on contemporary Caribbean art, Darryl Pinckney on a new reissue of a classic of American vernacular literature, Fintan O’Toole on Mike Pence’s pallid pomp, Daniel Mendelsohn on Bob Gottlieb, and more.

The Trouble with Truth

Emmanuel Carrère

Adam Thirlwell

Emmanuel Carrère’s new book, Yoga, has been the subject of gossipy debate about its veracity, but it is seductively open about its own anxiety as a work of fiction.

Life Made Light

Ruth Bernard Yeazell

Johannes Vermeer, one of the most intimate and quiet of artists, who is celebrated for the silence and light of his paintings, has become, paradoxically, a crowd-pleaser.

Johannes Vermeer: Faith, Light and Reflection by Gregor J.M. Weber

Vermeer and the Art of Love by Aneta Georgievska-Shine

Previews: The Economist Magazine – July 1, 2023

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The Economist Magazine- June 24, 2023 issue: The humbling of Vladimir Putin; The Wagner mutiny has left Vladimir Putin looking dangerously exposed; Can Ukraine capitalise on chaos in Russia?

The humbling of Vladimir Putin

The Wagner mutiny exposes the Russian tyrant’s growing weakness. But don’t count him out yet

Can Ukraine capitalise on chaos in Russia?

Ukrainian militaries supervise as a M142 HIMARS launches a rocket towards Bakhmut Ukraine

Ukraine’s counter-offensive is going slowly

The Wagner mutiny has left Putin dangerously exposed

Factions close to the Russian president are thinking about life after him

Books: The Top Ten Best Reviews – June 2023

Wall Street Journal Books & Art (June 28, 2023) – A country music outsider’s journey, the uprising that tested a young America, the true story of a psychotherapy cult and more standouts from the month in books.

Animal Spirits: The American Pursuit of Vitality From Camp Meeting to Wall Street

By Jackson Lears 

Shaw’s life force, Freud’s libido, Bergson’s ‘élan vital’—all are expressions of a spark that eludes the control of civilized modernity. Review by Jeremy McCarter.

“All history is the history of longing,” Jackson Lears has written.

Read the review


Empire, Incorporated: The Corporations That Built British Colonialism

By Philip J. Stern 

The history of the British empire is really the history of ‘venture colonialism,’ developed by bold entrepreneurs, savvy investors—and some shady characters too. Review by Tunku Varadarajan.

Read the review


Hands of Time: A Watchmaker’s History

By Rebecca Struthers 

The craft requires ingenious engineering at a miniature scale and an appreciation for timeless beauty. Review by Michael O’Donnell.

Read the review



Mozart in Motion: His Work and His World in Pieces

By Patrick Mackie 

The continuing appeal of Mozart’s music may lie in the contradictory nature of the composer, balancing elegance with challenging originality. Review by Lloyd Schwartz.

Read the review


Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature

By Sarah Hart

Are great writers and brilliant mathematicians really so far apart? Within the structures of literary works of all kinds, numbers are hiding. Review by Timothy Farrington.

Read the review


READ MORE

News: Wagner Camps In Belarus, ‘Bidenomics’ Plan

The Globalist Podcast, Thursday, June 29, 2023: Wagner sets up camp in Belarus – but what will they do next and who will they be fighting for? Why do so many people not like the way Joe Biden is handling the economy?

Plus: Japan prepares to release wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific and the latest headlines from the UAE.

The New York Times – Thursday, June 29, 2023

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Smoky Skies Menace U.S. Cities, Driving Residents Indoors

Haze from Canadian wildfires blanketed the Pittsburgh skyline, as seen from West End Overlook in the Elliott neighborhood.

Across the nation’s middle, unhealthy air from Canadian wildfires sent summer campers home and left residents coughing, and asking when this would end.

Putin Moves to Punish Prigozhin Allies

A man in a dark suit sitting at a desk, holding papers and pointing forward. Behind him is a Russian flag.

Russia’s president indicates that associates of the Wagner group’s leader in government and the military will face punishment.

Something Was Messing With Earth’s Axis. The Answer Has to Do With Us.

Though you can’t feel it, Earth’s rotation is nowhere near as smooth as that of the globe on your desk.

Scientists knew the planet’s centerline could move. But it took a sharp turn sometime around the start of the 2000s.

A Night Out for Dinner Ends in Destruction and Death

A Russian missile strike on a popular restaurant in Kramatorsk, Ukraine killed at least 11 people, wounded dozens more, and showed the peril of trying to claim pieces of ordinary life during war.