In his Salon article “Ayn Rand Could Have Learned from the Arizona Firefighters,” Robert Reich presumes that the nineteen firefighters who lost their lives June 30 while battling a wildfire in Arizona chose their dangerous profession based on “something other than rational self-interest”: Like the first-responders to 9/11 and other…

Did the Miami Heat win the NBA Finals championship against the San Antonio Spurs June 20 because the Heat’s players acted unselfishly, on the premise that “there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’”? That’s the view Magic Johnson—the former pro turned ABC sports analyst—expressed when talking with the Heat’s Dwyane Wade after…

Joseph Kellard reviews The Island at the Center of the World, by Russell Shorto.

In a recent interview with Book Page, novelist Adam Johnson offered observations of North Korea that capture the consequences of collectivist ideals taken seriously. Johnson travelled to the dictatorship while writing his latest book and was struck by the stark conformity and fear he found there: There are four shoe styles…

Joseph Kellard reviews Obit: Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People Who Led Extraordinary Lives, by Jim Sheeler.

When more than 100 million Americans tune in to watch the game, advertisers pay up to $4 million for 30-second commercial spots, and a nation consumes food on a scale rivaling Thanksgiving, Super Bowl Sunday can safely be declared a de facto national holiday. As Evan Weiner, a sports writer…

Joseph Kellard reviews Nomad, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Joseph Kellard reviews That First Season, by John Eisenberg.