So Einstein went back to the blackboard. And on Nov. 25, 1915, he set down the equation that rules the universe. As compact and mysterious as a Viking rune, it describes space-time as a kind of sagging mattress where matter and energy, like a heavy sleeper, distort the geometry of the cosmos to produce the effect we call gravity, obliging light beams as well as marbles and falling apples to follow curved paths through space.

The agricultural revolution was one of the most profound events in human history, leading to the rise of modern civilization. Now, in the first study of its kind, an international team of scientists has found that after agriculture arrived in Europe 8,500 years ago, people’s DNA underwent widespread changes, altering their height, digestion, immune system and skin color.

This book explores the origins of civilization in the Red River Delta of Vietnam and how related studies can inform our understanding of ancient societies, generally, and of the foundations of ancient Vietnam, specifically. Long believed to be the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, this area has been referenced by writers for centuries, with many recording colorful tales and legends about the region’s early history. One of the most enduring accounts relates the story of the Au Lac Kingdom and its capital of Co Loa. Recent archaeological fieldwork has provided new perspectives about this important settlement, revealing indigenous trajectories of cultural change and the emergence of a politically sophisticated society. This volume places Co Loa within a wider, global setting of emergent cities, states, and civilizations. It also highlights the ways in which the material past is intimately linked to present-day notions of cultural heritage preservation and national identity.

Sau khi sang Mỹ, ông học nghề in ở Virginia. Gần 20 năm làm nghề in ở hải ngoại, ông quyết định về hưu non trước hai năm, để chuẩn bị trở về nghề báo. Và Khởi Hành hải ngoại ra mắt số 1 vào Tháng Mười Một, 1996, tồn tại cho đến hiện nay. Nhân dịp tạp chí Khởi Hành bước vào tuổi 20, nhà thơ Viên Linh dành cho nhật báo Người Việt cuộc phỏng vấn sau đây.

The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review.

“My Life on the Road,” Ms. Steinem’s first book in more than 20 years, is a warmly companionable look back at nearly five decades as itinerant feminist organizer and standard-bearer. If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to sit down with Ms. Steinem for a casual dinner, this disarmingly intimate book gives a pretty good idea, mixing hard-won pragmatic lessons with more inspirational insights.

No figure associated with the Vietnam War better captures the tension between the precision of numbers and the messiness of battlefield gore than Daniel Ellsberg. Ellsberg had a doctorate in economics from Harvard and helped pioneer game theory, which sought to reduce the diversity of social experience to a simple mathematical formula, then use that to set public policy, including military strategy.

PARIS — France’s top literary award, the Goncourt Prize, was awarded on Tuesday to the novelist Mathias Énard for “La Boussole,” or “The Compass.” Set during a long night of opium-fueled conversation, it is one of several books on this year’s short list to tackle the often fraught interactions between the Western and Islamic worlds.

Organized by the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN)
A few Vietnamese films:
Indochina - Traces of a Mother (2011)
In this documentary, a Beninese-Vietnamese orphan returns to Vietnam to look for his long-lost mother. Directed by Idrissou Mora-Kpai
Big Gay Love (2013)
Includes Q&A with director Ringo Le
Finding Phong (2015)
The documentary follows the story of a young Vietnamese man from a small village who decides he wants to follow through with surgery to become a woman. Directed by Swann Dubus and Tran Phuong Thao

The subject of “Madam Phung’s Last Journey” describes herself and the carnival family in orbit around her as neither male nor female but half and half — citizens who have no place within the strictures of Vietnam’s official society and few opportunities for legitimate employment.