The New Yorker - Issue: 32; October 22 - 2007

TALK OF THE TOWN Lawrence Wright on what Iraqis want; James Surowiecki on the culture business. SHELF LIFE The Corrections Adam Gopnik Of abridgments, commentaries, and art. . A CRITIC AT LARGE The Well-Tempered Web Alex Ross Why the Internet is good for classical music.. ONWARD & UPWARD WITH THE ARTS Voice of the Veil Lauren Collins Shirin Neshat's video art.. .. ANNALS OF LETTERS Age of Reason Arthur Krystal Jacques Barzun at one hundred. DEPT. OF POPULAR CULTURE Fallen Idols David Denby Have movie stars lost their magic?. OUR LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS Man Behind the Curtain Rebecca Mead Peter Gelb at the Met. PROFILES Stealing Life Margaret Talbot David Simon and "The Wire." FICTION "Among Animals and Plants" Andrei Platonov.. THE CRITICS: BOOKS David Michaelis's "Schulz and Peanuts." John Updike Michael J. Neufeld's "Von Braun." Thomas Mallon CURRENT CINEMA "We Own the Night," "Lust, Caution." Anthony Lane THE THEATRE "The Ritz," "None of the Above." John Lahr POEMS "Marriage" Louise Glüc "Wheeling Motel" Franz Wright "The Spell Cast Over" Jack Gilbert COVER "Unmasked Beauty" Lorenzo Mattotti DRAWINGS Tom Cheney, Ariel Molvig, Jack Ziegler, Harry Bliss, Charles Barsotti, Robert Leighton, Robert Mankoff, P. C. Vey, Matthew Diffee, Sam Gross, Paul Noth, David Sipress, Ward Sutton, Edward Koren, Michael Crawford, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Danny Shanahan, William Haefeli, Roz Chast, Alex Gregory, Mick Stevens, William Hamilton, Gahan Wilson, Zachary Kanin SPOTS Pascal Lemaitre