Letters

WILD ABOUT HARRY

It was a delight to see TIME's cover bearing a portrait of fantasy fiction's latest "wiz" kid, Harry Potter [BOOKS, Sept. 20]. As an author, I have despaired of the future of both writing and reading, given the plummeting literary standards and increasing indifference to learning in our era. In so dark an hour, it is nothing short of magical that what J.R.R. Tolkien called the "Tree of Tales" could put forth a green and growing shoot like the Harry books--a branch that can serve as a broomstick to bear us "lands away" and, better still, worlds within. Congratulations, J.K. Rowling, on constructing a real, working transPotter! ANDRE NORTON, GRAND MASTER Science Fiction Writers of America Murfreesboro, Tenn.

All I can say about J.K. Rowling is she can't be a Muggle to have spun such a feast for the imagination as her Harry Potter books! I am in awe of Rowling's ability to create such a magical world of wizardry that seemingly sprang into her head (although I have a theory that she herself is a Hogwarts graduate!). I hope each of her future fabulous books brings her even greater success than the last. And long life, Harry Potter! MARYKATHRYN GIELISSE, AGE 13 Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

For the life of me, I can't understand why the Harry Potter books are such a huge craze. They're all right, I suppose, but they seem to me to be a watered-down version of Diane Duane's far superior juvenile Wizard series. STEVE VANDEN-EYKEL New Westminster, B.C.

Wonderful! Our children are reading Harry Potter's adventures in his fantasy world, not hypnotized in front of the boob tube. As encouraged as I am by kids' reading and enjoying these books, along with gaining an appreciation and love of reading, I have one major concern. Since Tinky Winky is supposedly gay (according to Jerry Falwell), and a church in my city has accused Pokemon of representing Satan and hacked apart several Pokemon dolls during its services, I just have to wonder what the wacky religious right has in store for Harry and his friends! PAUL G. BRIZAL JR. Colorado Springs

Preposterous is a good descriptor of the notion that children's books should be excluded from the New York Times best-seller list. What differentiates children's books from others? Is it the lack of a good story, worthy characters or beautiful writing? Of course not. Within the pages of "children's literature" you can find humor, adventure, philosophy and romance, all elegantly expressed. The sole difference is the age of the protagonist. Perhaps the success of the Harry Potter series will awaken many to the treasures to be found on the shelves in the children's section. DIANE MASLA Gainesville, Fla.

It is not until nearly the end of "Wild About Harry" that we are informed that Warner Bros. has licensed the film rights--and I assume the lucrative merchandising rights--to the best-selling Harry Potter books. This cover story is a shameless self-promotion and evidence of the kind of conflict of interest we will see more of as respected, independent news organizations like TIME become publicity tools for their corporate entertainment shtickmeisters. RICHARD C. LEVY Bethesda, Md.

I have a quibble with your identifying the moral of the Harry Potter stories as "the most important magic comes from inside each of us." An equally strong message in these books is that we "get by with a little help from our friends." Children (and many adults) would love to sneak around under the cloak of invisibility, ride hippogriffs and fly around town on a broomstick. However, many of us may be more envious of Harry's friendship with Ron, Hermione and Hagrid. Such friendships are the stuff of magic, a kind of magic that even we Muggles can hope to experience. KEVIN CONLEY New Haven, Conn.

IN THE REIGN OF PIUS XII

David Van Biema praises John Cornwell's Hitler's Pope as "painstaking revisionism." He offers as a prime example Cornwell's attempt to debunk the story that Pius XII burned his statement of protest against the Nazis after reading that the Dutch bishops' protest had cost 40,000 lives [RELIGION, Sept. 20]. Cornwell, Van Biema reports, argues that this was more than twice the number of Jews in Holland at the time. That's true, but the newspaper accounts given to the Pope were not limited to Dutch Jews, but referred to the deportation of "40,000 Jews of the lowlands." The Dutch bishops' statement precipitated a Nazi acceleration of the roundup of all Jews of the region, not just Jewish Catholics of Holland, so the figure of 40,000 is not at all exaggerated. One can criticize papal policies during the complex and chaotic years of World War II, of course. But one should not, as Cornwell appears to have done in this instance, play shell games with the facts in order to bolster one's thesis. EUGENE J. FISHER, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs National Conference of Catholic Bishops Washington

Your article "The Pope and der Fuhrer" puts the antics of the Roman Catholic hierarchy into perspective. With only a few exceptions, Popes and their henchmen Cardinals have always kept control over the masses by threatening eternal damnation for Catholics who dared to question them. People like Cornwell deserve much support in their effort to put Christ, not the power-hungry Popes, at the head of the church. JOHN FAIRBROTHER Cashel, Ireland

VIACOM AND CBS COMBINE

The Viacom-CBS merger is bad news for consumers [BUSINESS, Sept. 20]. Viacom has long monopolized the music-video business in defiance of the supposedly immutable laws of free enterprise, the information superhighway, etc. Viacom takes advantage of consumers with the monopolistic tools of higher price (more commercials) and less product (fewer videos). Do we really want TV in the next millennium to consist entirely of reruns of Beavis and Butt-head? JOHN CLARK Englewood, N.J.

BUSH AND BUCHANAN

Maybe more issues of TIME like your latest will prove to the American people just how empty a suit George W. Bush is [NATION, Sept. 20]. Bush claims to have told insiders that "he admires Buchanan's common touch and thinks of him as the rival he would most like to go fishing with." Any candidate who even faintly admires Pat Buchanan is not worthy of the office of President of the U.S. Bush and Buchanan--what a disgusting thought! ED O'DONNELL Sarasota, Fla.

DEVALUING DIANA

Sally Bedell Smith's book, Diana in Search of Herself, is nothing short of cannibalism, gnawing away at the last decomposing bone of Diana's dignity [BOOKS, Sept. 13]. Let us not confuse mental illness with severe mental duress. Diana herself once said she wasn't crazy until she entered the House of Windsor. She was the victim of our insatiable interest, greedy journalists and photographers and a royal establishment that values appearance over substance. To accept this book is to devalue every precious memory we have of Diana. Let's instead give Diana her due by accepting her humanness, understanding the immense pressure she lived under, honoring her contributions, recognizing her value and allowing her, with dignity, to rest in peace. It's time to tell the authors that there is a line and they have now crossed it! THERESA M. GARRISON Helena, Mont.

STAGE FATHER OF TENNIS

How we adore Roger Rosenblatt--usually. We can only hope he speaks of "The Proudest Papa," Richard Williams, with tongue firmly planted in cheek [ESSAY, Sept. 20]. As Mary Carillo so eloquently put it on CBS Sunday Morning, after Williams spewed the outrageous in saying his daughters were conceived to make the family rich, "his daughters have to clean up after him." We can only imagine the humiliation felt by his elder three, presumably unproductive daughters. We can't recall his ever even mentioning their names. Daughters Venus and Serena will probably be just fine, as long as they look up to and emulate the role models who have been the true champions of their sport--and not the stage father of the decade. JACK AND BONNIE RIDDLE South Portland, Maine

THE SEAL OF CONFESSION

In his article on religious freedom and pending federal legislation to protect it further [NATION, Sept. 13], John Cloud's highlight of the confession scandal here in Oregon needs clarification. The defendant Wayne Hale was not "charged" with the triple murder until May 1996. My visit with him occurred before he was charged. Even though the tape of his bugged confession was never played in court, the threat was constant, and the tape still has not been destroyed, a continuing violation of the sacrament. The lawsuit I initiated was settled for $45,000 (not $25,000) by state and local officials. We fought all the way to the federal appeals court. Religion and its free expression must be further protected. (THE REV.) TIMOTHY MOCKAITIS Portland, Ore.

THE AD SIGNAL

I enjoyed reading the "Bad Seeds" article concerning the battle over genetically engineered crops [TRADE, Sept. 13]. However, I am concerned by the lack of enthusiasm for genetically modified (GM) food in advertisements. Where are the labels that brag GENETICALLY IMPROVED? Where are the advertisements that say "Even better thanks to GM"? The fact that GM is not used in advertisements is a sure sign that producers consider it potentially dangerous. BENOIT MARCHAL Namur, Belgium

CORDLESS, WITH GREEN HAIR?

Richard "Cordless" needs to plug in. I suppose the critics are the experts, but I liked the movie Love of the Game [CINEMA, Sept. 20]. Kevin Costner pitched an enjoyable film, and the jock stuff, even to true fans, was not loony. GARY P. THOMAS Encino, Calif.

I want Kevin Costner to know this. I was working in the box office on the night of the sneak preview of For the Love of the Game. The doorman quizzed all the viewers as they exited, and they were all in high spirits, very satisfied and well entertained. The only one who didn't like it was a kid with green hair--and he's entitled to his opinion. KAREN MCKINNEY Oakland, Calif.

DESCENT INTO CHAOS

The massacre of the innocents in East Timor is a tragedy equivalent to what happened in Bosnia and Kosovo [WORLD, Sept. 20]. The carnage by the militias and rogue elements of the Indonesian army is despicable. The situation is still volatile, and it would be wise for the international peacekeeping force to obtain the full cooperation of Indonesian armed-forces personnel familiar with the terrain and ground situation. Humanitarian assistance from all nations must be forthcoming to ensure that East Timor will once again become the "Land of the Living." The world must give these people hope for the future. ADRIAN VILLANUEVA Singapore

VIDEO-GAME NIGHTMARE

My family would be a lot more impressed with the Dreamcast if Sega's customer support lived up to the capabilities of the game console [TECHNOLOGY, Sept. 20]. Four inoperable copies of Sonic Adventure later, and with a Web browser that doesn't work, I find myself cast into the middle of a bad dream. Couple that with a lack of meaningful response from Sega, and it is rapidly turning into a video-game nightmare. ROY SAYLORS Wyoming, Ohio

WHITHER THE IQ GENE?

Your articles relating to the IQ gene were very interesting [THE IQ GENE, Sept. 13]. I can see how this information might be useful in helping to correct the disadvantaged with certain diseases. But I abhorred the idea that "every parent is going to want this." As a parent of children ages 10 and 12, I wouldn't want to do anything that might alter their wonderful humor and sensitivity. That is what makes them human. SYDNEY SOBOTKA Zurich, Switzerland

So researchers have discovered drugs to improve your memory. Why do you presume this to be an unquestionably good thing? One of the comforting things about the human mind is its ability to forget. The irony is that while the drug companies will make billions selling memory drugs, the distillers will continue to make billions selling liquor to people who drink to forget. DANIEL J. SALOMON Winnipeg, Man.