Customer Reviews

The Autobiography of Lincoln Steffens (California Legacy Book)

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This book holds the premier position in my book collection. It is a book that looks at how a man's environment and passion for life forces him to separate the right from the wrong, sometimes at personal peril. From the quintessential muckraker to one of the original socialists, Steffens was an independent thinker who shares his mistakes, his disappointments, and his fundamental beliefs in rich and passionate prose. Thought by many to be the greatest autobiography ever written this book, as well as his famous "Shame of the Cities", are considered two of the New York Times' greatest 100 books of the 20th century. And rightfully so. Don't expect dry historical narrative. Rather, be ready to be given insight into turn of the twentieth century life and to be inspired by a man's struggles while exposing and understanding truth and power in every form.

I've spent so much time with THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY over the years that my duct taped old copy needed to be replaced. Lincoln Steffens serves as my Virgil through the lambrythian political, economic, and social history of the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many of his observations hold as true today as when he made them over a century ago. His cheer and humor shine through. His accounts of boyhood are unequaled. His subtle (and not so subtle) criticisms are revelatory. I often say, with only a little hyperbole, that THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY is the best book ever written in the American Language.