The First Dissident: The Book of Job in Today's Politics [Paperback]

William Safire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 1993

One of America's foremost political columnists ties the Book of Job to the news of the day in a provacative exploration of how we can reshape politics by following Job's empowering example.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the biblical Book of Job, an upright man suffers for no apparent reason and later reconciles himself with the God whose fairness he questioned. A paean to patience? Hardly, maintains Safire, who interprets Job's central lesson to be that we are morally obligated to defy unjust authority and to hold those in power accountable. The New York Times columnist celebrates Malcolm X, Andrei Sakharov and Menachem Begin as dissenters of Joban stature. With mixed success, he draws on the lessons of the biblical tale in order to critique President Bush's failure to topple Saddam Hussein, Bill Clinton's political career and the doings of Pat Buchanan, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy and others. Safire movingly portrays Abraham Lincoln as "our most Joban president," one who refused to compromise his principles. His conversationally written gloss sets forth guidelines for how to pursue a "Joban life" by refusing to accept injustice from any quarter. An appendix reprints the Book of Job. Illustrated with William Blake engravings. Author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Safire has written a stimulating book that uses the Bible's Book of Job to illustrate the relationship between authority and dissent. He finds in Job a justification for "defiance of unjust authority." Even readers who do not agree with Safire's interpretation can appreciate the insights he offers into fundamental questions of political philosophy and practical politics. Because of Safire's considerable writing skills, the book can be profitably read by both general readers and scholars. Highly recommended for the religion and politics collections of both public and academic libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/92.
- Thomas H. Ferrell, Univ. of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Random House (September 28, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067974858X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679748588
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,325,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Safire began his writing career as a reporter, became a speechwriter in the Nixon White House, and re-crossed the street to write an Op-Ed column in the New York Times for the next three decades. He also wrote the weekly "On Language" column in the New York Times Magazine. He was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary and the Medal of Freedom.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Dissident, November 22, 2008

By 

Deane R. Paulson "Deane of The Villages" (The Villages, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The First Dissident: The Book of Job in Today's Politics (Hardcover)

With the end of the election process still fresh, the poet Job story give you a viewpoint to continue watching our political system at work.
William Safire, wordsmith, has fine tuned our thoughts and perspective as we watch our democratic government accept its responsibility.
God, Job, and friends take their lumps as we the governed will with our recent choices.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not completely useless, July 27, 2003

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The First Dissident: The Book of Job in Today's Politics (Hardcover)

A variety of disconnected insights that have something to do with the Book of Job- some fairly interesting, others that went out of my head as quickly as they passed in. But having buried Safire, let me praised him: he does describe the Job story in a reasonably entertaining way, and he does coherently address the key issue raised by the book: how people respond to the world's injustice, and how (according to the book of Job) God responds to humanity's response. This could have been an excellent 30 page magazine article instead of a so-so 200 page book. But Safire writes well enough, and is fair-minded enough, to make even a so-so book readable.