Customer Reviews

Witness to a Century: Encounters with the Noted, the Notorious, and the Three SOBs

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The author George Seldes is a name unknown to the vast majority of Americans, including those who read newspapers. Yet his pioneering newsletter In Fact, along with a supreme dedication to jounalistic integrity and Jeffersonian ideals, qualify him as one of the key journalists of the 20th century. He set the standards that many liberal muckrakers of today work to emulate, including, for example, the late and more widely known I.F. Stone.

The book's title Witness to a Century is an apt one. As a foreign correspondent, he had an uncanny knack for being at the right places at the right time while history was being made. His recollections of such key figures as Mussolini, Lenin, Tito, Mc Carthy, Roosevelt, and others are priceless. It's doubtful that any one person non-head of state met with as many shapers of history as Seldes, even as the book profiles his many encounters with cultural figures of the day: Picasso, Sinclair Lewis, Ford Maddox Ford, and the Paris literary scene of the 1920's. With this stellar background, readers could expect an exceptional reminiscence on the century past. However, I was somewhat disappointed in the result. Fellow reviewer Goldberg points out how the last two chapters tend to fade, and he is correct. In fact, the book as a whole seems rather loose and disjointed, with little segue from one chapter to the next other than a rough timeline. And while many of the personal portraits remain vivid and edifying--von Hindenburg weeping over Germany's defeat by fresh American troops--the work as a whole is the result of a distinguished journalist past his prime. Still and all, his observations on the press reporting of his day may surprise some readers. Managed news accounts, the result of kowtowing to wealth and power, was even more flagrant in his day than now, suggesting, I suppose, some refinement of method. There is material here for several volumes, and I suspect that were he 20 years younger, such would have been the result. As it stands, the work is more a compilation of loose snapshots, than in-depth portraits.

Nonetheless, no historian of the 20th century, amateur or professional, can afford to pass up such primary material. Seldes was not only an outstanding jounalist, but as the record shows, an outstanding American as well. Regretably, his like seems to have faded from the scene, leaving mainstream journalism to generation after generation of pack-following pygmies.

Seldes primarily describes his years as a foreign correspondent in this solid memoir. Seldes began as a cub reporter for the Pittsburgh Leader in 1909, but was soon overseas covering World War One, and then Weimar Germany, Bolshevik Russia, Fascist Italy, and the Spanish Civil War. I liked the author's analysis, not to mention his portraits of such figures as Generals Pershing and Hindenburg, Mussolini, Lenin, Trotsky, etc. Seldes scorns the era's conservative publishers for failing to cover many important issues, a problem he combated with his newsletter IN FACT from 1940-50. Sadly, today's corporate media barons also avoid certain issues. I gave the book four stars because the last chapters tend to fade - Seldes wrote them while in his mid-90's. Still, WITNESS TO A CENTURY provides an excellent look at many events that helped shape today's world.

George Seldes (1890-1995) was an outstanding journalist, one who respected truth until the day he passed at age 104. As his obituary noted, nearly until the end he was still discussing world events with admirers who phoned or visited his home in rural Vermont.

Seldes, as usual,gives a clear,no holds barred account of the events that formed our world as it is presently constituted. He discusses forces that,usually unmentioned, have molded our world outlook. His historical anecdotes are gems, and to anyone reading this book many landmark events in history will never look the same.

For all those screaming about the liberal press, I say Thank God. If you don't agree, you don't know the facts, or don't want to acknowledge the facts. Read this book and you will never again complain about liberal reporters all of whom work for conservative publishers. Thank God for GeorgeSeldes and his courage to tell the truth about a Century of fighting against the takeover of our democracy by fascism.

I don't know how I missed this guy. He is great. I would say that he is in the I.F. Stone category. He has been around forever and has written volumes, but I only found out about him via a volume that I picked up at a yard sale. The book was called "The Great Thoughts.Great Thoughts, Revised and Updated" And it is exactly what the title implies. I have had it on my bed stand for years. Finally I decided to look up the name on the cover - Compiled By Geroge Seldes. So I then sent for this book. It is great and when I finish it I will probably order another by Mr. Seldes. He was obviously a "cool" old man.

Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - author of:

"Hobo-ing America: A Workingman's Tour of the U.S.A.."

Like other reviewers I found this book somewhat lacking, I thought maybe he did not write it at first.I don't think the fire was burning low I think he can be a bit humbled writing only about himself. That said I have nothing but praise for the man I consider the greatest journalist of all time, in breadth of experience and certainly in lifetime achievement no other man of our time even comes close. This book is an overview with some great moments caught in finer detail, to really understand Seldes, read Seldes! As in his works from the 30's,or his Magazine "IN FACT" (if you can find it) His recording of history is clear and I can only fault him once for being so against Franco that he printed a story predicting victory in a certain battle which was not to be. His predictions for the future are almost perfect in their accuracy (esp Hitler and the fall of the modern press into corporate mouthpiece)making for exciting reading even if you do know the final outcome. Start with this account if you do not know Seldes then dive headlong into what journalism should have been and the great man who set the standard that is rarely followed today.

How can George Seldes be so unknown? He is not only the greatest jounralist ever, he is one of the greatest Americans. All he wrote about, fought for and nearly died for are all American principles. He interviewed everyone from Von Hindenberg, Lenin, Trotsky, Mussolini, Roosevelt, Hemingway and all shades of humanity between. He covered WWI, WWII, was involved with the Lost Generation in Paris, was one of the first critics of the media and to top things off he was hounded by McCarthy as a red baiter. What more could you do for encore? He is a must read and his adventures should have been made into a movie decades ago. Read Seldes and I have seen it just once but there is a documentry about him, entitled "Tell The Truth and Run." The world owes so much to him and very few know of him.

A must read for all. Gives a great perspective on the 20th century and tells the most important news story never published - America beat the Germans fair & square in WWI and destroys Hitler's lie. But again this admission by Von Hindenburg was never published.