I enjoy this collection of biographical essays by the noted critic Joseph Epstein. The author sometimes writes al a carte and sometimes in review of biogrphies. He has a way of finding an angle or angles on each person.
The book opens with a good piece on George Washington. Good old George. It's hard to say anything bad about our first President and the author can't of anything negative.
There is a strong essay on Adlai Stevenson. Despite my best effots at understanding why liberals in the 50's adored Adlai, to this day I don't understand it. He was smart. He was aticulate. He said the right things for progressive ears. But what did he actually accomplish? Not much.
Dwight McDonald was the consummate public intellectual. He did not have a personal specialized knowledge, but he seemed to be able to comment on everything. That is a trick to be admired.
Say what you will about T.S. Eliot: it's his poetic words that still ring in our years 50 + years after his death. We still measure out our lives in coffee cups.
The author takes it easy on Joe DiMaggio. My attitude is different. Joltin' Joe is the most overrated baseball player of all time. And have I ever said he was a King Sized Jerk?
The chapter on W.C. Fields is delightful. Fields was the funniest person of his time.
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