The Talk of the Town Aahhh by William McKibben. Talk story about the fibrescope, a medical instrument four millimetres in diameter that sends back a video picture from the gullet. Writer attended a conference at Lenox Hill Hospital recently, where he met Dr. Robert J. Feder, of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Writer saw a demonstration...

Fiction Overhead in a Balloon by Mavis Gallant. Aymeric is a Parisian artist whose commissions never amounted to much. He signs his work A. Regis. Walter, a Swiss assistant manager of the gallery where Aymeric tries to sell his work, likes him immediately. Walter's boss turns him away, but Walter makes an appointment to meet him in a...

The Talk of the Town Exiles by Emily Hahn. Talk story about a reception at the Asia Society, on Park Avenue, in honor of a new book, "In Exile from the Land of Snows," by John F. Avedon, published by Knopf. Writer spoke to W. D. Shakabpa, who was the Finance Minister in Lhasa before the invasion, and later...

The Talk of the Town Healthy, Balanced by William McKibben. Talk story about a party held at the Hotel Plaza by the company that imports Tia Maria, a coffee liqueur from Jamaica. Writer spoke with Donna Lynn, a public-relations woman, who said that people are asking for something different to drink at bars now. She introduced writer to Bert...

Annals of Law THE INSANITY DEFENSE by Lincoln Caplan. ANNALS OF LAW about the insanity defense and the trial of John W. Hinckley, Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan and three others in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981. The trial opened in Washington in May, 1982. The government's senior prosecutor was Roger Adelman. The senior attorney for the...

Comment by William McKibben. Right at the moment, swaddled in scaffolding, the Statue of Liberty holds high the torch of Aging Infrastructure Repair. It is an uncomfortable symbol for Americans. As Congress debated immigration policy, more than one commentator noted that we are a nation of immigrants and therefore are of two minds about...

Books by Naomi Bliven.

Fiction Man, Bytes, Dog by James Gorman. Writer had many options before he made his purchase but in the end he decided on the Cairn Terrier. Writer makes a detailed comparison of the Cairn Terrier and the Macintosh Computer. The Cairn is lighter and cheaper than the Macintosh. It comes in one unit; no printer is required...

The Theatre SAVAGE PLAYMATES by Brendan Gill.

Dancing by Arlene Croce.

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

The Diplomatic Round THE DIPLOMATIC ROUND Signs of Dispair by John Newhouse. The Reagan Administration has been jolted by the second world figures--Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Hussein--whom it regards as the key agents of moderation and good sense in the Middle East. Within a month, they both vented their exasperation with American policy. On Feb. 14th, Mubarak...

Poetry The Olive Groves of Thasos by Amy Clampitt. Thronging the warped treadmill...

Poetry A Gesture by Molly Peacock. Something kind done, something kind said in spite of everything done and...