John Derbyshire

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John Derbyshire is a novelist, pop-math author, reviewer, and opinion journalist, living with his wife and children on Long Island, New York.


Derbtown

Ridding Myself of the Day

Ridding Myself of the Day

I read a novel over the weekend. It was Émile Zola’s 1880 bestseller Nana. A few days

Modernity Watch

The Chinese Advantage

The Chinese Advantage

Which nation will own the 21st century? The leading candidates are the USA and China.

Multiculturalism

The Basis of a Real Conversation

The Basis of a Real Conversation

Of all the comments I read during the brouhaha over my April 5th Taki’s Mag column,

Derbtown

The Endless Pursuit of Happiness

The Endless Pursuit of Happiness

There is a story, very likely apocryphal, that shortly after Charles de Gaulle resigned

Derbtown

Talking Back

Talking Back

Goodness, what a fuss! The topic here is of course my Taki’s Mag column of last week,

Racial Politics

The Talk: Nonblack Version

The Talk: Nonblack Version

There is much talk about “the talk.” “Sean O’Reilly was 16 when his mother gave

Takimag Classic

Multiculturalism: When Will the Sleeper Wake?

Multiculturalism: When Will the Sleeper Wake?

London Mayor Boris Johnson spoke the other day about the riots that devastated London

Healthcare

My Mother the Nurse

My Mother the Nurse

Obamacare, Romneycare, Ryancare…are you up to speed on this stuff? Don’t look at me.

Cultural Caviar

When Sci-Fi Dared to Dream

When Sci-Fi Dared to Dream

Here’s a cultural artifact of the minor sort: Issue Number 82 (July 1957) of Authentic

Vile Bodies

Life at Half-Speed

Life at Half-Speed

I’ll admit it: I was apprehensive about the chemo. Some decades ago a female relative

Media

Firing My Own Bu-cannon

Firing My Own Bu-cannon

Having recently enthused about Pat Buchanan’s latest book and then about the man

Conspiracy

Something’s Rotten in the Republic

Something’s Rotten in the Republic

If you hang out at dissident-right websites you surely know the Berthold Brecht quote:

The Stupid Party

Facing Down the Thugs

Facing Down the Thugs

Call me naïve, but the left’s coarse brutishness still shocks me. The only thing

Lit Crit

Pat Buchanan: The Noble Relic

Pat Buchanan: The Noble Relic

Has Pat Buchanan been fired from MSNBC, or hasn’t he? He hasn’t been seen on the

Tech Overload

Over the Hill at 35

Over the Hill at 35

A lady recently asked Barack Obama why the government is issuing and extending H-1B

Pathetic Politicians

They Don’t Have a Clue

They Don’t Have a Clue

Watching President Obama deliver his State of the Union Address, I got to thinking of

Immigration

The Right Not to Commit Suicide

The Right Not to Commit Suicide

The other evening one of my dinner clubs had a meeting. I’m getting addicted to these

Idiocracy

Killing the West With Kindness

Killing the West With Kindness

A couple of hard-luck stories: First story: Randy Johnson of Marion, Indiana was laid

PC World

Revulsion Transference

Revulsion Transference

I was reading Eric Dondero’s revelations about the time he spent working as personal

Notes From the Edge

The Year in the Rear-View

The Year in the Rear-View

A week is proverbially a long time in politics. A year is 52.14 times longer than that.

Semantics

Ron Paul Drops the H-Bomb

Ron Paul Drops the H-Bomb

My dream of a Bachmann-Paul Republican ticket in 2012 is fading fast. Vain are the

Race

Preserving the Arctic Alliance

Preserving the Arctic Alliance

A couple of years ago I floated the notion of an Arctic Alliance wherein people of

World

Down, But Still Russian

Down, But Still Russian

Walking around central Moscow, the thing you notice is the Russians—I mean, the

Life at the Bottom

Life at the Bottom

I’ve read few things more depressing than this GQ piece about the gang rape of an

Zeitgeist

Silver Linings

Silver Linings

I am a pessimist, for reasons I have expatiated upon at book length. In that book’s

Travel

Warming Up to the Sunshine State

Warming Up to the Sunshine State

It really is possible to change your attitudes, even in…well, let’s say late middle

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