Malcolm X, etc.

My review of Manning Marable’s biography Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention is up at the Christian Science Monitor.

In other news, io9 has published an interesting list of ”25 Great Books by Legendary Scientists.” The page title indicates that this began life as “15 books by legendary scientists that make great holiday gifts,” so it must have been in the works for a while (unless the holiday they were referring to was Memorial Day). I’m pleased to see one of my favorites, Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table, on the list.

Also, the government has eliminated the color-coded system of terror alerts. I’m sure it’s a relief to all of us New Yorkers to be freed from the burden of living for a decade under an orange alert. I feel safer already.