Here from the September 26, 2005 issue of America’s premier magazine, a wonderful editorial paragraph from “The Week” section. It’s simply the kind of writing (solid, sharp, insightful – different) that you won’t find in any other journal:

To have a pen, said Voltaire, is to have war, and Orhan Pamuk is learning this truth. He is Turkey’s most famous writer, author of prize-winning novels. Published last year, his novel Snow attacks Islamism, and he has said that fundamentalists like Osama bin Laden are “a danger to the world.” But in an interview with a Swiss paper he pointed out that Turks have killed a million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds, “and nobody but me dares to talk about it.” The response has been to charge him with “insulting the country’s national character,” for which he faces a prison sentence of three years. And here’s a fine irony — in another interview he pauses to swipe at Oriana Fallaci, the renowned Italian journalist who argues with her usual verve that Islamism is turning Europe into Eurabia, a continent in its own image. According to Pamuk, this is a “fanciful construct,” but it has been enough for an Italian judge to indict her for vilipendio, or vilification, of a religion admitted by the state. This carries a two-year sentence. Different perspectives, same legal jackboot. It was that way when they put Voltaire inside for speaking out.

Spanning the globe, bringing the constant variety of … everything from culture and economics to foreign affairs and domestic policy – that’s what National Review does every fortnight for its 170,000 lucky subscribers. If you’re not one of them already, you’re missing out on the best writing, commentary, and analysis anywhere. Why not give NR a look-see on our dime? – we’ll give you four free issues as part of our special introductory subscription offer. What a deal. What a magazine. For more information, go here.