Michiko Kakutani, New York Times' Powerful Book Critic, Calls It Quits
Michiko Kakutani, the chief New York Times book critic once placed by Esquire magazine at “the red hot center of the literary universe” and “the only one who serious people take at all seriously,” is the latest iconic Times culture department byline to take a buyout and call it quits. She’s been a key figure in the pantheon of young critics brought to the paper by legendary managing edit…