Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Weekend reading: The future of “broken windows” policing in New York, the horrors of H.P. Lovecraft, an exchange about climate change, reading with pen in hand, and new exhibitions of Goya and Picasso.   THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY THE KNOPF DOUBLEDAY PUBLISHING GROUP

‘Broken Windows’ and the NYPD Michael Greenberg The death of Eric Garner at the hands of his arresting officers in New York on July 17 has provoked a public debate about the so-called broken windows style of policing that has been, in various incarnations, the New York Police Department’s guiding tactic since 1994.   ADVERTISEMENT   The Hideous Unknown of H.P. Lovecraft Charles Baxter For adolescents, something about horror never goes out of style. They often feel an excited disgust upon learning how things really are, and their disgust is merely a notch away from the more thoroughgoing pleasures of horror. It is the closest they can come to the sublime.   ‘This Changes Everything’: An Exchange Naomi Klein and Elizabeth Kolbert Klein: Kolbert’s grim conclusions are based on several mischaracterizations of the most current research on emissions reduction, as well as of the contents of my book. Kolbert: I wrote that the book glossed over the really significant—and politically unpopular—changes in American life that meaningful climate action requires. Klein’s letter only confirms this assessment.   ADVERTISEMENT   A Weapon for Readers Tim Parks Imagine you are asked what single alteration in people’s behavior might best improve the lot of mankind. How foolish would you have to be to reply: have them learn to read with a pen in their hands? But I firmly believe such a simple development would bring huge benefits.   The Dark & Light of Goya Colm Tóibín There is a great tired guardedness and sadness in the face; the expression is raw, unchallenging, suggesting a vast vulnerability with much kept in reserve; there are no illusions or self-delusions.   You Can’t Catch Picasso Jed Perl Wherever Picasso turned, he brought deep insights and dazzling aplomb. He discovered in the pluralism of modern society a crazy-quilt theatricality that he could turn inward.   How the US Created the Islamic State VICE News An interview with Mark Danner about his 2003 article “Iraq: The New War” and how American policy during the Iraq War helped incite an emerging insurgency.