February 2013 | Standpoint Magazine

Patrick Heron

For a literary grandee with striking features-all angled nose, chin and eyebrows-T.S. Eliot was much photographed but surprisingly little painted. Wyndham Lewis painted him twice, including one portrait that was rejected by

February 26, 2013

Uncategorized

Hitler’s Superman

Martin Heidegger's apparent denazification after the — with the help of Jewish lover Hannah Arendt — requires further examination

February 25, 2013

Culture & Anarchy·Philosophy

Magnus Magnetism

London's forthcoming Candidates tournament features the world's best, including the highest-ranked player in history, Magnus Carlsen

February 25, 2013

Chess

The Genius Who Beat Einstein To It

The French polymath Henri Pointcaré excelled in astronomy, physics mathematics and a lot more

February 25, 2013

Cosmos·Science

No Mickey Mouse Artist

Roy Lichtenstein based his work on comic strips but his approach to painting was intellectual

February 25, 2013

Art

The Poet To Whom Fascism Owed It All

Lucy Hughes-Hallett's Life of Gabriele D'Annunzio paints a picture of a compelling and anarchic poet-statesman

February 25, 2013

Books·History·Italy·Literature

Not Hitler’s Pope, But No Saint Either

Robert A. Ventresca's attempt to dispassionately assess the divisive Pope Pius XVII's pontificate is well-meaning but a penance to read

February 25, 2013

Books·The Catholic Church

Privileged Outsider

The cult of Benjamin Britten lives on in Paul Kildea's new biography, painting the composer as a perennial victim

February 25, 2013

Books·Music

Israel’s Tragic Hero-Victim

Unapologetic terrorist or revolutionary? Menachem Begin is rightly de-demonised, but not whitewashed, in Avi Shilon's new biography

February 25, 2013

Books·Israel·Middle East

The Philosopher and His Scholar

Noel Malcolm's magisterial new edition of Hobbes's Leviathan is a fine example of why, in the 21st century, scholarship still matters

February 25, 2013

Books·Philosophy·Politics

Boffins and other Backroom Boys

Highlighting the importance of scientists and engineers in defeating Germany is the noble aim of Paul Kennedy's new book, but ultimately he goes too far

February 25, 2013

Books·Military

Thomas and the Fat Controllers

Many in the 1970s predicted the demise of the railway. A new book by Richard Faulkner and Chris Austin tells how the foresight of a select few saved the trains

February 25, 2013

Books·Transport·UK Politics