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The New York Times Book Review – August 27, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (August 27, 2023) The new issue features: James McBride’s Latest Is a Murder Mystery Inside a Great American Novel; The First Chinese American Movie Star and the Cost of Glittering Fame, and more…

James McBride’s Latest Is a Murder Mystery Inside a Great American Novel

“The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” opens with the discovery of a skeleton in a well, and then flashes back to explore its connection to a town’s Black, Jewish and immigrant history.

By Danez Smith

A few weeks ago, around the same time I was working on this review, I visited the Guggenheim with my fiancé. The exhibition on display as we trekked up the museum’s famous spiral was “Measuring Infinity,” a marvelous retrospective on the work of the great Venezuelan artist Gego. A German Jew who fled Nazi persecution in Europe, Gego arrived in Venezuela in 1939 and went on to become one of the most important artists to emerge from Latin America in the 20th century. Her work speaks to a deep curiosity about the interrelation of shapes, things and the dimensions created by those relationships.

The First Chinese American Movie Star and the Cost of Glittering Fame

This is a black-and-white photograph of the actress Anna May Wong. She is wearing a heavily embroidered dress and looking down, with her chin resting on one of her hands. She has blunt-cut bangs, and the rest of her hair is hidden by a giant scarf wrapped over her head.

A new biography of Anna May Wong, “Daughter of the Dragon,” is intended as a form of reclamation and subversion.

By Jennifer Szalai

It was, according to the film historian Kevin Brownlow, “one of the most racist films ever made in America.” “Old San Francisco” (1927) featured a white actor playing a Chinese villain passing as a white man (got that?) who plans to sell an innocent white girl into white slavery until he is conveniently crushed by an earthquake. Before his grisly end he is aided in his nefarious scheme by an Asian character identified only as “a flower of the Orient,” played by an ingénue named Anna May Wong.

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Views: The New York Times Magazine – August 27, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (August 27, 2023) – In this week’s cover story, Jen Percy reports on what people misunderstand about rape. Plus, the case that could unravel an art dynasty and a Harvard professor who is also an alien hunter.

What People Misunderstand About Rape

A photo illustration of a woman in a black-and-white collage.

Sexual assault often goes unpunished when victims fail to fight back. But investigators, psychologists and biologists all describe freezing as an involuntary response to trauma.

By Jen Percy

There’s a lingua franca that women use, a repeated vocabulary to describe what they experience and think during a sexual assault. Variations of “freezing” are often part of that vocabulary. But the word has so many referents in its colloquial usage that it’s hard to know precisely what it means to each person saying it.

“I just absolutely froze,” Brooke Shields said in the documentary “Pretty Baby,” describing how she felt when being raped. “And I just thought, Stay alive and get out.”

The Inheritance Case That Could Unravel an Art Dynasty

How a widow’s legal fight against the Wildenstein family of France has threatened their storied collection — and revealed the underbelly of the global art market.

By Rachel Corbett

Twenty years ago, a glamorous platinum-blond widow arrived at the Paris law office of Claude Dumont Beghi in tears. Someone was trying to take her horses — her “babies” — away, and she needed a lawyer to stop them.

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The New York Times — Friday, August 25, 2023

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Trump Surrenders at Atlanta Jail in Georgia Election Interference Case

Former President Donald J. Trump as he arrived in Atlanta on Thursday.

Mr. Trump spent about 20 minutes at the jail, getting fingerprinted and having his mug shot taken for the first time in the four criminal cases he has faced this year.

Blast Likely Downed Jet and Killed Prigozhin, U.S. Officials Say

Part of a crashed private jet near the village of Kuzhenkino, Russia, on Thursday.

The officials stressed that multiple theories about what brought down a plane in Russia were still being explored. President Putin acknowledged the incident and spoke about Yevgeny Prigozhin in the past tense.

At First Debate, a Glimpse of Trumpism Without Trump

At times onstage, Republican rivals could imagine the primary race was about issues, ideology and biography. Then reality set in.

‘Let Them Work’: N.Y. Governor Pushes Biden to Speed Up Migrant Permits

In a shift in tone, Gov. Kathy Hochul criticized the White House for failing to help the state deal with the continuing influx of migrants into New York.

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The New York Times — Thursday, August 24, 2023

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Wagner Leader Believed to Be Aboard Plane That Crashed in Russia

A photograph released by the Russian government on Wednesday shows first responders at the site of a plane crash near the village of Kuzhenkino, in Russia’s Tver region.

All 10 people on a jet linked to Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the mercenary group, were killed on Wednesday, Russian officials said.

Greece Battles Its Most Widespread Wildfires on Record

Firefighters in Chasia, on the outskirts of Athens, on Tuesday. Of the many fires, the fronts in the north and near Athens were considered the most dangerous.

Extreme heat has turned much of the country into a tinderbox. More than 350 fires have broken out in the past five days, the government said.

‘India Is on the Moon’: Lander’s Success Moves Nation to Next Space Chapter

The Chandrayaan-3 mission makes India the first country to reach the lunar south polar region in one piece and adds to the achievements of the country’s homegrown space program.

A Stroke Stole Her Ability to Speak at 30. A.I. Is Helping to Restore It Years Later.

The brain activity of a paralyzed woman is being translated into words spoken by an avatar. This milestone could help others who have lost speech.

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The New York Times — Wednesday, Aug 23, 2023

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Airline Close Calls Happen Far More Often Than Previously Known

Near misses involving U.S. commercial airlines happen on average multiple times a week, a New York Times investigation found.

Ukraine’s Forces and Firepower Are Misallocated, U.S. Officials Say

Ukrainian marines training in the Zaporizhzhia region before heading to the frontline. American officials say more Ukrainian forces should be near Zaporizhzhia and in the south of the country.

American strategists say Ukraine’s troops are too spread out and need to concentrate along the counteroffensive’s main front in the south.

Extreme August Arrives With a Warning: Expect More

A mix of devastating wildfires, tropical storms, mudslides and heat waves foreshadows a future of intensified extremes as the world warms.

How Mark Meadows Pursued a High-Wire Legal Strategy in Trump Inquiries

The former White House chief of staff, a key witness to Donald J. Trump’s efforts to remain in power after his 2020 election loss, maneuvered to provide federal prosecutors only what he had to.

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The New York Times — Tuesday, August 22, 2023

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How Ron DeSantis Joined the ‘Ruling Class’ — and Turned Against It

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida spoke in June to Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that has fought against teaching liberal ideas about race and gender in public schools.

Over the years, Mr. DeSantis embraced and exploited his Ivy League credentials. Now he is reframing his experiences at Yale and Harvard to wage a vengeful political war.

California Evades Catastrophic Damage From Rare Tropical Storm

Kenny Hearms was stuck in his car on a flooded block in Cathedral City, Calif., on Monday.

After bracing for the worst, the state so far has recorded no deaths from Tropical Storm Hilary, officials said. Some desert and mountain communities are digging out from a deluge of mud.

For Hawaii’s Governor, a Balancing Act With No Margin for Error

Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii sees lessons far beyond the islands in the disaster that has unfolded on Maui.

Bail for Trump Set at $200,000 in Georgia Election Interference Case

Mr. Trump, who said he would turn himself in on Thursday, was told not to intimidate or threaten any witnesses or co-defendants in the case.

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The New York Times — Monday, August 21, 2023

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On the Front Line, Ukrainian Commanders Are Buoyed to Be on the Offensive

The Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade prepared for an evening assault against Russian forces near Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, on Aug. 14.

Despite tough fighting and heavy casualties, Ukrainian commanders say their forces are in better shape now than just months ago, while Russian troops appear worse off.

Storm That Killed at Least One in Mexico Drenches Southern California

Sand from a beach in San Diego were being used for sandbags before the arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary.

Tropical Storm Hilary brings widespread flooding and small landslides, as authorities fear more significant damage could be coming.

Inside the Collapse of Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal

An examination of confidential correspondence and interviews with those close to Mr. Biden and lawyers involved in the case show how the deal ultimately fell apart amid schisms and withering external pressures.

The South Knows a Hot, Sticky Summer. But This? ‘It’s Hell.’

It’s not just the heat, as Southerners have explained for generations. It’s the moist, soupy, suffocating humidity. And this year the punishing conditions have been relentless.

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The New York Times — Sunday, August 20, 2023

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It Was an Oasis for Maui Elders. The Fire Brought Terror and Death.

The town of Lahaina, on Maui, was devastated by a fast-moving wildfire.

A 35-unit, senior-living complex in Lahaina may have been one of the first major buildings to burn down, and at least two residents are among the dead.

Inside Trump’s Decision to Skip the G.O.P. Debate

For months, Donald J. Trump has kept Fox News guessing about whether he would participate in the Republican debate on Wednesday.

Fox News leaned on the former president privately and publicly to join the debate. But all the while he was proceeding with a plan for his own counterprogramming.

Brazil Found the Last Survivors of an Amazon Tribe. Now What?

Pakyi and Tamandua are the final known isolated members of the Piripkura people. They are posing a tricky challenge for Brazil.

Kansas Newspaper Is Talk of Town, and Not Just for Getting Raided

The rare search of a newsroom has uncorked a debate in Marion, Kan.: What is a newspaper’s role, anyway?

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The New York Times — Saturday, August 19, 2023

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Troop Deaths and Injuries in Ukraine War Near 500,000, U.S. Officials Say

U.S. officials said Ukraine had suffered close to 70,000 killed and 100,000 to 120,000 wounded.

Ukraine and Russia have lost a staggering number of troops as Kyiv’s counteroffensive drags on. A lack of rapid medical care has added to the toll.

Looming Over a New Security Pact: China, North Korea and Donald Trump

President Biden hosted President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, left, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan at Camp David on Friday.

While the former president’s name appeared nowhere in the communique issued by three leaders, one of the subtexts was the possibility that he could return to power in next year’s election and disrupt ties with America’s two closest allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

How Many of Trump’s Trials Will Happen Before the Election?

Donald J. Trump is the target of four separate criminal indictments, but the prosecutions could drag on for months or even years.

At World Cup, Will England’s Lionesses Show Men’s Team How It’s Done?

The women play Spain on Sunday, hoping to end a nearly six-decade national wait for a World Cup win — a reminder of the travails of the Three Lions, the country’s long-suffering men’s team.

Arts & Literature, Books, Newspapers, Previews, Reviews

The New York Times Book Review – August 20, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW – August 20, 2023: The issue features “never before told” narrative histories including a tale of the female botanists who surveyed the Grand Canyon in 1938, a recent biography of the 19th-century “abortionist of Fifth Avenue” and the book on this week’s cover: Prudence Peiffer’s “The Slip,” which brings into focus a thriving artistic community that existed at the southernmost tip of Manhattan in the 1950s and ’60s.

They Overcame Hazards — and Doubters — to Make Botanical History

In a black-and-white photograph from 1938, two women and four men sit in a boat looking at the camera. One woman wears a white dress and hat; the other wears slacks and a blouse. Three of the men are shirtless; two wear pith helmets.

In Melissa Sevigny’s “Brave the Wild River,” we meet the two scientists who explored unknown terrain — and broke barriers.

BRAVE THE WILD RIVER: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon, by Melissa L. Sevigny

Let’s start this story on a sun-blistered evening in August 1938. A small band of adventurers had just concluded a 43-day journey from Utah to Nevada — although perhaps “journey” is too tame a description for a trip that had required weeks of small wooden boats tumbling down more than 600 miles of rock-strewn rivers. The goal was twofold. First, to simply survive. And then, to chart the plants building homes along the serrated walls of the Grand Canyon.