(Originally written for the EPFL campus newspaper, the Flash).

Al Gore’s new book, The Assault on Reason, is out: I’m buying it immediately if only to vote with my wallet for a non-fiction book without a colon and a subtitle. Last week’s New York Times Book Review was riddled with colons like a kid with the chicken pox. The Atomic Bazaar: the Rise of the Nuclear Poor; or how about Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years; or Reclaiming History: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy; and perhaps the best, Ralph Ellison: A biography. What, it’s not Ralph Ellison:the Cookbook?

Am I the only one with colon fatigue? Continue reading →