Sometimes subject matter and writerly abililty conspire to create the kind of journalism that resonates on many levels and becomes something far more affecting than a mere piece of reporting. Chris Jones, writing in Esquire about Roger Ebert and his cancer-related travails, does just that, reporting the facts in a straightforward way, but creating something larger than the sum of the parts.

It's a long read, but it's a credit to the form. Check it out.

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Taliban representatives held peace talks with Afghan government envoys at the end of January on a resort island in the Maldives, a spokesman for the president of the Indian Ocean nation said Wednesday.

The three-day talks were aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the ongoing Afghan war, but the Maldivian government was not directly involved with them, spokesman Mohamed Zuhair said.

Each side was represented by about a dozen people, Zuhair said, adding that there were "unconfirmed reports" that a U.N. official was also present.