Flashbacks
February 12, 2007
Terrorist matchmakers; Singaporean makeout sessions; the truth about diamonds; tales from the frontlines of online dating...
In the Mood for Love?
We doubt The Atlantic is your source for commentary on love and relationships. But we do hope you'll enjoy this collection of romance-related Atlantic writings, especially selected in honor of Valentine's Day. Consider this our gift to you in lieu of flowers...
Yasir Arafat, Matchmaker?
Bruce Hoffman described how Yasir Arafat put the Black September terrorist group out of commission by making its members fall in love.
"All You Need Is Love" (December 2001)
Government-mandated Lovemaking
Joshua Kurlantzick reported on Singapore's effort to counter its declining birth rate with an "All-Out Make-Out" campaign.
"Love, Singaporean Style" (July 2001)
The Romance-Obsessed American
French commentator Raoul de Roussy de Sales critiqued Americans' neurotic preoccupation with love and romance: "It is as if the experience of being in love could only be one of two things: a superhuman ecstasy, the way of reaching heaven on earth and in pairs; or a psychopathic condition to be treated by specialists."
"Love in America" (May 1938)
A Diamond is for ... Chumps?
Edward Jay Epstein explained how the diamond industry has been pulling a fast one on consumers for a very long time.
"Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?" (February 1982)
Love Is in the Air (or in the Wireless Connection)
Lori Gottlieb offered a firsthand report from the front lines of online dating.
"How Do I Love Thee?" (March 2006)
(Plus—read the Letter to the Editor from the would-be suitor whose Match.com profile she quoted in the piece.)
Shakespeare in Love
Hear four poets—Linda Gregerson, Mark Doty, W. S. Merwin, and Lloyd Schwartz—read Shakespeare's famous Sonnet 116 aloud. Plus—read an introductory essay by Gregerson: is it really a love poem?...
Soundings: "Sonnet 116" (October 27, 1999)
