Nickel and Dimed

reviewed by Tom Janulewicz

Originally published on December 5, 2001

If you are reading this review, then chances are you do not earn your living in one of the professions that Barbara Ehrenreich assayed while researching Nickel and Dimed. If you are only earning seven dollars and change an hour, then odds are you trade off computer ownership and Internet access in favor of things [...]

The Red Heifer

reviewed by Tom Janulewicz

Originally published on December 1, 2001

What does America mean, and what does it mean to be an American? These are complicated questions with a multitude of possible answers. We can’t open a newspaper or magazine, or turn on the television or radio or browse the Internet without exposing ourselves to the symbols, images, myths and messages of America. Those of [...]

Socrates Café: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy

reviewed by Tom Janulewicz

Originally published on August 1, 2001

There is a popular dictum on the children’s program Sesame Street that “asking questions is a great way to find things out.” Whenever one of public broadcasting’s flagship Muppets or moppets faces a seemingly insoluble conundrum, one of the older, wiser characters invariably exhorts them to question their way to enlightenment. Sure enough, a few [...]

The Well

reviewed by Tom Janulewicz

Originally published on July 1, 2001

In the beginning was The Well… While Katie Hafner doesn’t begin the story of “the seminal online community” this biblically, her tale of The Well is nothing less than a creation myth. Woven into her account of visionary — and not so visionary — businessmen and women, commune refugees, and assorted pioneers of the electronic [...]