The economic and social upheavals that rocked France and its Jewish prime minister 75 years ago bear an uncanny resemblance to Occupy Wall Street

Alfred Kazin brought out the Jew in Emerson, the mystic in sex, and the terrible beauty in community. There’s no better guide for the “social me” age.

As the great French intellectual Simone Weil understood, modern life is all about work and war. Memorial Day and Labor Day, then, are perfect opportunities to take stock of our modern condition.