From the Stacks: June 8, 2007

Article Tools

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Utne Reader's library is abuzz with a steady flow of 1,500 magazines, newsletters, journals, weeklies, zines, and other lively dispatches from the cultural front that are rarely found at big-box bookstores, newsstands, or even online. So we share the highlights (and occasional lowlights) of what's landing in our library each week in 'From the Stacks.' Check in every Friday for the latest edition.

New to the Utne Reader library this week is the Dubliner, self-described as 'Ireland's best city magazine.' The June issue opens with a 'New Rich/New Poor' package, which includes an interesting piece on how the country's young bourgeois are incurring rising debts due to loose spending habits. Also in the cluster is the provocative and funny 'Ten Reasons Why Money Has Been Good For Ireland.' In it, writer Conn Corrigan argues that an influx of money has brought more than just wealth to the island; it also has made the Irish people healthier, more tolerant, and even better looking. The Dubliner is a grab-all lifestyle magazine with articles ranging from opinion pieces on what those waging the 'war on terror' can learn from Ireland's Sinn Fein, to photo essays and entertainment reviews. The magazine's biting sense of humor -- as evidenced by the 'Bonologue,' an irreverent fake diary of the U2 superstar-turned-humanitarian -- keeps the heavier pieces from weighing it down. -- Eric Kelsey

An illustration of an obstreperous drill sergeant trampling sunning coeds underfoot runs across the cover of the June issue of the Progressive. The accompanying story travels to the spring break mecca of Panama City Beach, Florida, where Army recruiters are trying to enlist some of America's finest beer-guzzling students. In relaying several conversations with often-drunk collegians, author Kirk Nielsen makes it clear that the Army is trying to tap the wrong crowd. 'Are we going to get shot?' one partier responds to entreaties. 'Because I'm kind of tipsy.' The more sober-minded spring breakers balk at a $20,000 sign-on bonus and tuition compensation as an unequal trade for the possibility of being shipped off to fight. The issue also features an obituary for Kurt Vonnegut written by historian, friend, and columnist Howard Zinn. And in the 'Progressive Interview,' managing editor Amitabh Pal sits down with Germany's former foreign minister Joschka Fischer, the 60s radical who ascended to the leadership spot as the head of the German Greens. -- Eric Kelsey

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print