Random Notes

■ Last January Titles: In Defenses of the Imagination: Jewish Writers and the Modern Historical Crisis (Jewish Publication Society, $8.50), Robert Alter—a critic whose work appears regularly in Commentary—discusses the anti-apocalyptic theme in contemporary Jewish fiction which gives the lie to the apocalyptic visions of the goyische literati. . . . Stephen E. Harris, an associate management analyst for the City of New York, argues in The Death of Capital (Pantheon, $8.95) that monopoly, resource scarcity, and the willingness of business to accept all it can get from the government spell the end of capital as a productive force in modern economics.

■ More February Titles: Reports of Herbert Marcuse’s death have been only slightly exaggerated. His new book, The Aesthetic Dimension (Beacon, $6.95), argues that art is more than an arm of the Marxian propaganda machine, that its real importance lies in its ability to transcend capitalistic realities. . . . Reynolds Price, the celebrated Southern novelist, has taken a vacation from fiction to write a book about religion—at least, about his relationship to the Old and New Testaments. It is called A Palpable God (Atheneum, $8.95). … In a book titled Are We All Nazis? (Lyle Stuart, $8.95), Hans Askenasy offers clinical evidence of man’s willingness to torture other members of his species. . . . Denison Kitchel puts forward a respectable case—in his book The Truth about the Panama Canal (Arlington House, $8.95) — for the need for the United States to continue to control the Canal and to maintain a military presence in the Canal Zone. . . . There is an interesting biography of James Garfield available, by Margaret Leech and Harry J. Brown: The Garfield Orbit (Harper, $15). . . . Penelope Gilliatt, who alternates with Pauline Kael as The New Yorker’s film critic, is publishing a book of nine short stories entitled Splendid Lives (Coward McCann, $7.95). . . . The late Agatha Christie’s husband, the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, has written Mallowan’s Memoirs (Dodd, Mead, $10.95), which demonstrates that Sir Max is more than an artifact among the foundations of his wife’s monumental career.

Featured Tags

■ Last January Titles: In Defenses of the Imagination: Jewish Writers and the Modern Historical Crisis (Jewish Publication Society, $8.50), Robert Alter—a critic whose work appears regularly in Commentary—discusses the anti-apocalyptic theme in contemporary Jewish fiction which gives the lie to the apocalyptic visions of the goyische literati. . . . Stephen E. Harris, an associate management analyst for the City of New York, argues in The Death of Capital (Pantheon, $8.95) that monopoly, resource scarcity, and the willingness of business to accept all it can get from the government spell the end of capital as a productive force in modern economics.

■ More February Titles: Reports of Herbert Marcuse’s death have been only slightly exaggerated. His new book, The Aesthetic Dimension (Beacon, $6.95), argues that art is more than an arm of the Marxian propaganda machine, that its real importance lies in its ability to transcend capitalistic realities. . . . Reynolds Price, the celebrated Southern novelist, has taken a vacation from fiction to write a book about religion—at least, about his relationship to the Old and New Testaments. It is called A Palpable God (Atheneum, $8.95). … In a book titled Are We All Nazis? (Lyle Stuart, $8.95), Hans Askenasy offers clinical evidence of man’s willingness to torture other members of his species. . . . Denison Kitchel puts forward a respectable case—in his book The Truth about the Panama Canal (Arlington House, $8.95) — for the need for the United States to continue to control the Canal and to maintain a military presence in the Canal Zone. . . . There is an interesting biography of James Garfield available, by Margaret Leech and Harry J. Brown: The Garfield Orbit (Harper, $15). . . . Penelope Gilliatt, who alternates with Pauline Kael as The New Yorker’s film critic, is publishing a book of nine short stories entitled Splendid Lives (Coward McCann, $7.95). . . . The late Agatha Christie’s husband, the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, has written Mallowan’s Memoirs (Dodd, Mead, $10.95), which demonstrates that Sir Max is more than an artifact among the foundations of his wife’s monumental career.