1. shiftingbaselines
  2. From Randy Olson: Tragic Loss: A Truly Great American Writer, David Halberstam

From Randy Olson: Tragic Loss: A Truly Great American Writer, David Halberstam

By jjacquet on April 24, 2007.

Two of my favorite writers of all time, Kurt Vonnegut and now David Halberstam, have died in the past month. In the spring of 1985, as I was a postdoc studying starfish larval ecology in Australia, I read The Powers That Be and it changed my whole perception of the American media world. David Halberstam was a powerful writer and a truly masterful storyteller--able to take the mundane facts of our world, find the drama, and weave them into stories that revealed the depth of human character. Are there many storytellers left these days who can do such things so skillfully? If you have an interest in the media, I urge you to read The Powers That Be. Among the many fascinating tales, it tells the deeper, sadder story of the life of Edward R. Murrow than what you saw in George Clooney's (albeit excellent) film.

Tags
Communicating

More like this

Shifting Baselines, Increasing Profits
Two seafood companies in Britain were listed yesterday among the top 100 private firms with the fastest growing profits. Increase in seafood demand may lead to decline for wild fisheries stocks but not necessarily for revenue, which is what happened on the East Coast when overfishing of cod and…
Sustainable Seafood: Here Are Your Options
I recently came across the 2005 Greenpeace report A Recipe for Disaster, which aims to improve seafood buying behavior by supermarkets in the UK. The report makes a few points worth noting here. First off, in regards to shifting baselines: nearly 90% of seafood sold in the UK is done so through…
The Shifting Baseline of American Money
This weekend, the New York Times Magazine focused on the income gap, which included Lauren Greenfield's latest documentary pieces on Kids and Money. They're nothing magical--just a straightforward look at L.A.'s teenagers, who represent the demographic with the largest spending power in the U.S…
Review: The Naturalist
Last week I attended the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and had the chance to see a sneak preview of the film about E.O. Wilson titled The Naturalist. Though the film had a few technical issues (I thought the sound mixing and camera work was at times poor), it was overall a wonderful…

I think people differ greatly on this issue. For example, if it were completely unidentifiable as my own, I would have no problem with a picture of my naked ass being posted on the Internet. Others would be absolutely horrified by the prospect.

I think people differ greatly on this issue. For example, if it were completely unidentifiable as my own, I would have no problem with a picture of my naked ass being posted on the Internet. Others would be absolutely horrified by the prospect.

I think people differ greatly on this issue. For example, if it were completely unidentifiable as my own, I would have no problem with a picture of my naked ass being posted on the Internet. Others would be absolutely horrified by the prospect.