Arts and Culture

Kagan Tells Top Military Brass to Read Thucydides to Prevent Athens Fiasco As the desperate remnants of the Athenian force struggled to reach the Assinarus river, enemy missiles rained down from above. Some were impaled on their own spears, others drowned, entangled in their own equipment, and any survivors were butchered.

Stephen King Pins Town Under Huge Dome, Folks Get Smashed Like Bugs: Books “Under the Dome,” Stephen King’s vast new novel, chronicles the events after small-town Chester’s Mill, Maine, becomes trapped beneath a giant, impassable force field.

Iron Chef Symon Serves Hanger Steak for Hunger Charity, Writes Cookbook While chef Michael Symon ran two restaurants, Lola Bistro and Lolita, in his native Cleveland this past decade, he also found time for charity work.

TV Star Gosselaar Falls for Kafka in N.Y. Broadway Satire `The Understudy' Playwright Theresa Rebeck has described her off-Broadway dark comedy “The Understudy” as a love letter to the theater. Mark-Paul Gosselaar, a television actor with no prior stage experience, is an unlikely messenger.

Beyonce Tops MTV Europe Awards; Eminem, U2, Jay-Z Victorious in Berlin Beyonce Knowles was the biggest winner at the 2009 MTV Europe Awards in Berlin last night.

Bon Jovi, Barenboim Celebrate Fall of Berlin Wall With Dominos, Fireworks Daniel Barenboim, who was in town the night the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, is joining Bon Jovi, Mikhail Gorbachev, Lech Walesa and Hillary Clinton to celebrate the 20th anniversary.

Girls Aloud's Harding Backs Exotic City Bar; Squirrel for Lunch: Food Buzz Sarah Harding of the pop group Girls Aloud is backing a Polynesian bar in the City of London that promises to transport visitors to an exotic paradise. Kanaloa is the project of Nick House and Piers Adam, the team behind clubs including Mahiki, Whisky Mist and the Punch Bowl.

Fellini's Curvy Heroines, Raucous Clowns Strut in Paris Exhibition: Review Fellini, once viewed by some as a mere farceur, has become a classic. The Jeu de Paume in Paris is honoring the Italian film director with a vast exhibition, aptly named “La Grande Parade.”

Cameron Diaz Weighs $1 Million Execution; Aliens in Alaska: Rick Warner Would you kill for $1 million?

Top Five Business Books From Daniel Ammann to David Wessel: The Muse List Given the glut of business books, we’re often asked for recommendations. Here are five of our favorites from the past three months, arranged by the authors’ surnames.