"The Seven Golden Rules of the Favor Economy" | August 1999 | View archived Web Pages (60 KB)
A feature describing the workings of Chicago's power structure. Rules include: "Never demand repayment for a favor,"
and "Always try to offer a favor before it is requested." One reader suggested it should be assigned reading
for all Chicago schoolchildren. Others called the piece - and its subjects - an outrage.

"Examining The Dreams That Shaped America: Zachary Karabell sees a nation of visionaries"
August 19, 2001  | View PDF (20 KB)
A review of Karabell's "Visionary America," which breaks American history into periods driven by visions
such as Individualism, Expansion, and The Market. An interesting but failed bid at popularized historical theory.

"Empire's End"  | September 11, 2001 | View archived Web Page (12 KB)
When the World Trade Center dematerialized, my former editors at NewCity in Chicago asked me to contribute a reflection
on how the attack looked from overseas. Three hours later, here's what ran. And yes, I got a bunch of hate mail.

"Attitude Wellness" | June 2000 | View PDF (13 KB)
My look into the odd medical world of Appenzell, an otherwise conservative Swiss canton whose
tolerant laws have made it a nexus for alternative healers. Or, as some might call them, quacks.

"Gallic-graphy" | December 1999 | View Large PDF (1 MB) | View text-only PDF (14 KB)
Examining the odd role that graphology plays in the French business world. Fun fact: 80 percent
of all French companies use graphologists in the hiring process.

"Poetry and fiction" | August 1999 | View Large PDF (448 KB) | View text-only PDF (12 KB)
A look at why the good citizens of Weimar decided to build an exact replica of Goethe's Gartenhaus,
only a minute's walk away from the original, only to tear it apart after a year.