Frederica Hill

With the potential for billions and new screens built every day, China's market is coveted by American movie-makers. So far, Hollywood's product seems unbeatable. As regulations on international film lift, Chinese moviegoers are drawn to big-budget…

Last Monday, a Malaysian Court of Appeals ruling banned the word “Allah” from use in a Catholic newspaper, the latest development in a case ongoing since 2007. Widespread outrage from Western media sees the case as an offense against freedom of…

“Think Different,” the late-90s slogan for Apple, might also serve as a slogan for Malcolm Gladwell. His books consistently promise to reveal and upset conventional channels of thought. Like Apple products, the originality of Gladwell’s work has…

A paradox: while a parent might hope for sanity and stability in their child’s life, the best children’s books celebrate lunacy and mischief. Their authors are often dubious role models — cranks and weirdos, for the most part. T.S. Eliot’s…

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust, only published in full after his death, gives dramatic weight to a German fable about a man who sells his soul to the devil. One of the great “modern” myths, Faust has inspired responses in every artistic medium —…

Teenagers struggling to make sense of Arthur Dimmesdale’s conscience while reading The Scarlet Letter rarely consider the political implications of the books they’re assigned. Yet the books we require young Americans to read in school validate and…

Amazon.com, best known for its ruthless price-cutting, enormous volume of merchandise, and bullying of competitors and suppliers alike, may not make the daintiest gallerina. But with the August 7 launch of a new “Fine Arts” section, Amazon ventures…

20 years ago, heading off to teach English in Cyprus or Vietnam might successfully startle your parents and give you a bohemian air. Nowadays, the plan carries no trace of the exotic: it's a conventional next step for the uncertain or idealistic…