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Part of Our Time: Some Ruins and Monuments of the Thirties (New York Review Books Classics) Paperback – May 31, 2004
- Print length360 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherNYRB Classics
- Publication dateMay 31, 2004
- Dimensions5.16 x 0.8 x 7.97 inches
- ISBN-101590170873
- ISBN-13978-1590170878
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Editorial Reviews
Review
— Russell Baker
"He was free of the woeful predictability of ideologues of both the left and the right."
— Elizabeth Hardwick
"In presenting his segments of history Kempton uses the technique of the novelist—and it comes off brilliantly. He succeeds in evoking the characters of the men and women he writes about, and he does what only the good novelist can do: he re-creates the atmosphere of the time in which they functioned and so forces the reader to inhabit a world which may be alien, dimly recalled, or long forgotten."
— The Nation
"Kempton’s book is exceedingly well written. It holds us in some places with a pathos of futility and in others with a drama of achievement….He does much to set in perspective an episode and a period that has been long distorted. The richness and pungency of his style make him easy to read."
— The New York Times
One of our finest journalists, Kempton was always something of a cult writer, revered by his peers but lacking the profile of a Jimmy Breslin or Garry Wills. A tabloid columnist who looked like a classics professor (he was rarely without his pipe), Kempton—first at the New York Post, then at Newsday—forged one of the most distinct, if not eccentric, styles in American journalism….His column always promised a strange, pleasurable experience: Pungent yet decorous, invariably teeming with rogues and scoundrels, corrupt pols and indicted capos, Kempton’s pieces often read like a Damon Runyon sketch rewritten by a Victorian man of letters.
— Bookforum
About the Author
David Remnick is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lenin’s Tomb, The Devil Problem and Other True Stories, and Resurrection. He is the editor of The New Yorker.
Product details
- Publisher : NYRB Classics; Reprint edition (May 31, 2004)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 360 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1590170873
- ISBN-13 : 978-1590170878
- Item Weight : 13.1 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.16 x 0.8 x 7.97 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,650,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,026 in Historical Essays (Books)
- #1,889 in Labor & Industrial Economic Relations (Books)
- #3,952 in Communism & Socialism (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Mr. Kempton does not approach the issue from a philosophical or principle orinted point of view. He doesn't discuss Communism and its ideals or compare and contrast various belief systems. He approaches it from a personal standpoint. He takes several peripheral characters, for the most part, and unfolds their lives. Apparently, he himself was involved in ascending into the Communist camp for a time.
Rather than deal with the major players, he deals with minor players (minor, to me anyhow, as I'd never heard of many of them). This is what makes it interesting. By delving into the lives of these characters, he puts the times into a greater context by which we come to understand the appeal of Communism and its part in the broader scope of the 1920s and 1930s.
Labor unrest, the Communist thread, the radicalism during this period and the economic devastation is something we seem to be one step removed from these days and the impact this period of time had on people is often lost. It's amazing how much what is said in this book rings true today. Truly history repeats itself.
Not only do we begin to understand the times but we begin to see how diverse and different those who decided to take up its banner really were and how Communism was not necessarily the direct appeal but it was a means to an end, a reaction rather than proaction.
He is sympathetic towards his characters and you feel the pathos as you read about their lives. They become very human and very real, something often lacking in history books. There is a tinge of sadness surrounding all the individuals in the book. His writing style is quite fresh and dramatic with a flair for the metaphor.
If you wish to understand what was going on during this period of time and what the appeal of Communism was and why these individuals jumped on the bandwagon, this book is a must read.
