Volume 19, No. 4: Winter 2024
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In this issue:
From the Editor
Features
‘Make it Something that Enhances Life’: The Architectural Philosophy of John C. Portman
Whatever I do, it’s mine. —John C. Portman Jr.
Ayn Rand and the Future of Freedom
As Rand said, “Reason and Morality are the only weapons that determine the course of history. The collectivists dropped them, because they had no right to carry them. Pick them up; you have.”
Shorts
The Obscenity of Banning Books
Granting governments the ability to violate intellectual freedom by banning books from schools doesn’t help or protect anyone. It is an obscene way of stunting developing minds at a crucial juncture of life and handing the state yet another tool for controlling us.
Dreaming of America: The Art of Hiroshi Nagai
Palm trees, beautiful beaches, vintage cars, sparkling pools, and skyscrapers reaching for an ultramarine, cloudless twilight sky. These all feature in the works of Japanese artist Hiroshi Nagai, whose evocative paintings were used for the covers of many 1980s Japanese pop albums.
Mark Knopfler: Sultan of Song
Among the greatest musical innovators are those who have seen that there’s a whole world out there beyond the changing weather of one’s heart. Undoubtedly at the top of that list, in terms of both artistic and commercial achievement, is Mark Knopfler, whose Billboard chart-topping hits, funny enough, have all been about musicians—or about people talking about musicians.
Reviews
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
None of the millions of people who witnessed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, will ever forget the wave of shock and grief that swept over the United States, and the world, on that day.
Star Trek: Prodigy, created by Kevin and Dan Hageman
One effective way to keep kids’ passion for science alive is through exciting children’s TV shows that celebrate curiosity and scientific thinking, along with other life-serving values. A number do this for young children, but there is a dearth of such series for older children and teenagers who are ready for more challenging material. Star Trek: Prodigy helps fill this void with a captivating story about the values of curiosity, responsibility, courage, and leadership.