Renting an apartment in Paris was not a simple matter in 1947, but a good friend of mine, Nicolaus, had found one for us on the right bank, in a fussy building. I had brought a new Remington portable typewriter, which the landlady had absolutely demanded as a gift. She had to have the rent in…

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On a sweltering July day at Jefferson High School in Bloomington , a lanky twentysomething walks out of the packed school auditorium with her friend. She hugs a book close to her chest and clutches a small blue trinket with the words "Police Box" inscribed on it. Her voice quivers, "Oh my gaaahhhd.…

Phillip Bryant has only one memory of his mother and it feels like a dream. It is the morning and he is 4 years old and he is standing next to her bed. He is wearing pajamas and he is shaking her hand trying to wake her up but he cannot. Her hand is so cold. Phillip is 17 now, and it is the start of…

I've already documented my brief, youthful dalliance with the illegal side of computing as it existed in the late 1980s. But was it crime? Was I truly a criminal? I don't think so. To be perfectly blunt, I wasn't talented enough to be any kind of threat. I'm still not. There are two classic books…

Four years after the 2008 financial crisis, banks are behaving more recklessly than ever Photo by Josh Hallett In 1989, the CEOs of our seven largest banks earned an average of $2.6 million. In 2007, the average CEO income had risen to $26 million. The ordinary citizen might believe that this is…