Witold Rybczynski, author of Last Harvest : How a Cornfield Became New Daleville: Real Estate Development in America from George Washington to the Builders of the Twenty-first Century, and Why We Live In Houses Anyway and subject of a post here last month, was on NPR earlier this week.

China's largest bookstore, the state-owned Xinhua chain, celebrated its 70th anniversary today. The bookstore is older than (Communist) China itself, having been founded in 1937, twelve years before the People's Republic was declared in 1949. But all may not be well for the stores. The official Chinese newsagency (confusingly also called "Xinhua") reports this remark … Continue reading Another Great Leap?

Ever wonder how it has come to pass that Minneapolis--hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean--can have sushi-quality fish on the tables of two dozen restaurants every night? Or why Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market has become a tourist attraction? Or why tuna ranches have become large enough that you can see them on Google Maps?Well, … Continue reading Maguro, Kudasai