The Week’s Best Longreads for July 6, 2013

How to Win in WashingtonMark Leibovich, The New York Times Magazine

An epic tale of favor-currying, arm-twisting, reputation-wrecking, ego-massaging, confidence-betraying, and rumor-mongering.

Buried SecretsPatrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker

How an Israeli billionaire wrested control of one of Africa’s biggest prizes.

The Call of BattleMatt Cook, Texas Monthly

He got out of the army in 2006, after two long tours in Iraq where he saw civilians killed and friends lose their lives. He struggled through anger and depression, and finally realized he had to go back—this time as a journalist.

Are We Having Fun Yet?John Lanchester, London Review of Books

The barely believable behavior of the world’s banks.

Aaron Hernandez’s Troubled Life Off the FieldChristine Pelisek, The Daily Beast

Less than a year ago, the New England Patriots player became a father and made a promise to “do the right things” for his daughter. Instead, as he sits in jail facing murder charges, a picture has emerged of a hot-tempered young man whose life away from the football field included blowups with his fiancée and friends, ugly bar fights, and regular police encounters.

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