Louis Menand's <A HREF="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/07/09/070709crbo_books…; of <I>The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Politics</I> is an interesting read&mdash;possibly more interesting than the book itself. However, back in 2004, Gene Weingarten covered the same questions, getting up close and personal with Ted Prus, a non-voter who "just doesn't give a rat's ass."

The final article of <I>The Oxford American</I>'s Best of the South issue is Hal Crowther's splenetic rant about the region's less savory characteristics.

Everybody knows WWI was in black and white.

Thirty-five years ago this month, the first issue of a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/features/708">new audio magazine</A>&mdash;cover price 50 cents&mdash;cautiously made its way out of a Philadelphia suburb. Its black'n'white cover featured a chessboard adorned with tubes and XLR plugs. Its 20 advertising-free pages included a feature on <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/historical/108">how to write an ad</A> for an audio product, which had been penned by one Lucius Wordburger, a footnote helpfully pointing out that this was the <I>nom de plume</I> for one <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/historical/712">J. Gordon Holt</A>, "who wishes to remain anonymous."

They bend the rules.

Don't pick up that dictionary! You're smart enough to figure out what that new word means.

Jack London's forgotten <I>The Road</I>.