The Diplomatic Round CONFRONTATION by John Newhouse. THE DIPLOMATIC ROUND about Qaddafi, Libya, and the United States' recent air attacks. In most capitals, Qaddafi is seen as a loose cannon that may go off in any direction at any time. Neighboring countries, Egypt, Tunisia and Chad, all loathe and fear him... In the major western capitals, Qaddafi's...

The Talk of the Town More Kim Williams by Ian Frazier. Two-part talk story about Kim Williams of Missoula, Montana, a naturalist & National Public Radio commentator, as well as author of "Kim Williams' Book of Uncommon Sense: A Practical Guide with 10 Rules for Nearly Everything." Late last summer, writer picked chokecherries in Missoula with Williams. "At this time...

Comment by Jonathan Schell. We're in a war," Robert H. Michel, the House Republican leader, declared, speaking of the recent bombing raid on Libya, and, the way things are going, he seems to be right... The terrorist does not embrace the rules of conventional war-not even theoretically--because they would exclude his basic...

Fiction A House of Women by David Plante. Joseph is on a train to Chippenham. Across from him are 2 women, one who has her son on her lap. Joseph imagines they live in a house of women. Adele greets Joseph at the station and he explains he almost missed the train. He suggests they get a phone...

Books by John Updike.

The Talk of the Town Books-Part II by Mark Singer. Second part of a 2-part talk story about the newest bookstore in the city, University Press Books/New York, which is on Fourteenth Street just east of Fifth Avenue. Fourteenth Street resists gentrification; there are many furniture stores that specialize in "Easy Credit" and "Free Layaway" and sell not...

Fiction Whoever Was Using This Bed by Raymond Carver. Jack and his wife, Iris, are awakened at 3 a.m. by a drunk woman asking for Bud. Although they usually take the phone off the hook--because when they first started living together, his first wife or his children used to wake them--tonight he forgot. Iris can't fall back...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

The Theatre by Edith Oliver.

Around City Hall Lawyers, Guns, and Money by Andy Logan. AROUND CITY HALL about the current city hall scandal & whe ther Mayor Edward Koch will survive. U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani recently compared the climate of corruption here with that of Watergate, but few New Yorkers are seriously suggesting that Koch is in that much trouble. Bob Herbert, the former...

Profiles by Jervis Anderson. PROFILE of the Right Rev. Paul Moore, Jr., Episcopal Bishop of N.Y. He was born, the privileged son & grandson of Episcopal millionaires near Morristown, N.J. in 1919. Hardly anyone would have predicted the kind of career he has had as a clergyman, one which has immersed him deeply in...

Poetry Unwilling Suspension by John Ash. The cab should take off at this point...