In this issue:

David Abraham Brigid CohenStanley CorngoldRivka GalchenDavid GelernterTodd GitlinMartin Indyk Martin Jay H.C. Erik MidelfortCamilo José VergaraJames Wood

 A Magazine from the American Academy in Berlin

 | Number Nineteen | Fall 2010

 THE BERLIN JOURNAL

 

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Fall 2010 | Number Nineteen |

The Berlin Journal

 

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 CONTENTS

The Berlin Journal | Number Nineteen | Fall 2010

Logos Absconditus

04

Notes On The New Atheism

james wood

 takes stock of the new nonbelievers and finds them lacking in the theological subtlety of the modern novel.

08

“The Worst Book In The World”

h.c. erik midelfort

 reveals the culture of censorship in early modern Germany and how a despised little text lived for centuries underground.

14

Bad News For The News

todd gitlin

 reviews three major crises facing journalism today – and foretells of more trouble on the horizon.

18

The E-Book Plague

david gelernter

 sings the praises of that oldest of hand-held technologies: the book.

The Office

22

The Midterm Fix

martin indyk

 reviews Barack Obama’s first year in foreign policy and proffers a preview of the Middle East challenge.

26

The Organization Man

stanley corngold

 upturns Franz Kafka’s office writings to explore how the culture of risk insurance unaccidentally flowed through the Prague master’s pen.

N1

 

On the Waterfront

 The American Academy’s newsletter, with the latest on fellows, alumni, and trustees, as well as recent events at the Hans Arnhold Center.

Closed Encounters

33

Uncanny Rema

rivka galchen

 shares an unpublished and

unheimlich

 outtake from her novel

Atmospheric Disturbances

.

36

These Labyrinths Of Terrible Differences

brigid cohen

 recounts the efforts of German-Jewish composer Stefan Wolpe to make music beyond the nation.

40

The Price Of Entry

david abraham

 deliberates the bifurcated paths to citizenship in Germany and the United States.

44

Outcast Eyes

martin jay

 focuses in on a caesura in late medieval philosophy to draw out its influence on modern art and the very birth of photography.

HARALD HAUSWALD,

HANS-OTTO-STRASSE, BERLIN-PRENZLAUER BERG, 1983, DDR