MusicnThe Delicate Giant of the ClarinetnTom Bethell: George Lewis: A Jazzmannfrom New Orleans; Universitynof California Press; Berkeley, California,nNew York, London.nby Craig WyattnThis is not the first biography ofnNew Orleans clarinetist George Lewisn(1900-68), surpassed perhaps only bynLouis Armstrong in prominence as anfocus of interest in the great endemicnmusic which evolved in New Orleans.nAuthor Bethell defers to...

came to be built upon improvisation,nnot because of a “primitive” ideal, butnbecause the players could not read musicnand had no formal training. Lewis nevernlearned to read a score, although interestinglynin some of the quoted materialnhe uses such expressions as “playing innthe staff.” And the “liberation” idea isnrevealingly borne out by the musicians’nconscious and unconscious aversion...

perhaps even Soviet agents—came tonthe ingenious conclusion that insteadnof penetrating the agency to render itnineffectual and transfer its secrets tonMoscow, it would be more useful tondestroy it in full public view throughnlies, fashionable accusations, fantasmagoricnvilification, in other words, bynlaunching an anti-CIA witch-huntnwhich would destroy the very idea ofnintelligence and counterespionage innAmerica. Both ilks have succeeded...

horror and suffering, vows to eradicatenthe very notion of progress from thenhuman soul. This forefather has children,ngrandchildren and great-grandchildren,nand when he is about to expire,nhis most beloved offspring—annexceptionally bright lad—sketches fornhim, with a stick in the sand, an ideanof a wheel. The patriarch tries to singlehandedlynstrangle his bewildered descendant,nbut is too old and weak fornany...

cans is no match for the tragedy of thensnail darter.nWhat’s most ominous is the behaviornof the Institutionahzed Hyenas—thenAmerican media. Immediately afternProfessor George Wald pronounced thenThree Mile Island accident a holocaust,nWalter Cronkite, on the six o’clocknnews, embraced the superannuated hippiesnin their musty gear fetched fromnthe attic, and the Vietnam-style dansenmacabre avec le.s placards had begun.nThiisotto voce...

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Editor’s Commentn”It’s most frequently in thenname of man’s natural goodnessnthat people have been slaughtered.”n—Anatole FrancenThe oldest conflict never abates. It never gets better ornworse, only more bizarre with each passing decade. It isnupdated in form and sound, never in essence. The AmericannCivil Liberties Union, a noble institution in name and intention,nthese days defends the Nazis’...

ian, while the conflict is old and will last long. They can callnus names; invectives cannot dissipate the smell ofntotalitarianism.nIn fact, what most trenchantly divides us from tbem todaynis their bigotry. We believe, with the Founding Fathers, thatncourteous pluralism graces society and remains our mostncherished tradition, that there’s valor and common good innrespect for the...

Opimons & ViewsnDispersing the FognGuenter Lewy: America in Vietnam;nOxford University Press; NewnYork.nby Alan J. Levinen1 his is an inspiring book, evennthough it deals with a very gloomy subject.nFor Guenter Lewy has shown thatnit is possible to uncover essential truthsnabout an event of recent history thatnhas been obscured by more controversy,nconfusion and deliberate lies, thannalmost any...

by men like Father Drinan turn out tonbe without substance. So does the somewhatncontradictory charge that thenPhoenix program, actually an intelligencenoperation, existed to summarilyndispose of the South Vietnamese government’snopponents. As Lewy observes,nmany opponents of the war were readynto believe the wildest allegations againstnthe Americans and South Vietnamese,nbut swallowed the worst sort of liesnfrom the Vietnamese...

Why Did They Die in Vietnam?nJames Webb: fie Wi of Fire; Prentice-nHall; Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.nby Joseph Schwartznrields of Fire offers the reader andifferent perspective on the Vietnamnwar than most other fiction dealing withnthat war. The distinctive tension of thisnnovel is generated by the contrast betweennwhat the narrative directs thenreader to and the response one...

policies they make. Like it or lump it.”nMitsuko, knowing better, would smilenat such naive pragmatism. Surely thencommon good is defined by somethingnmore than the counting of heads. Thenargument is a serious flaw caused, Inbelieve, by angry impatience, which lednto the special pleading that urged Webbnto include this weak idea as evidencenfor his case.nJames Webb makes...

on the level of: “Near the end of hisnlife he will be able to do whatever henwants with his time, civilization andnnature having lost interest in him.”nThese we are expected to swallow as thenwisdom of a man who has led a rich,nfull life. But Simmons’ character leadsna life utterly banal and unoriginal, andnhis trite soliloquies...

ride to critical success.nThe acclaim has been his, the formulanstill works. It calls for explicit agnosticism,nin varying doses, or at least anfastidious distaste for organized religion,nespecially Catholicism. Adventures withnhomosexuals are also necessary, andnthey must be genteel and educationalnexperiences, since homosexuals arendeemed tolerant and enlightened beings.nSimmons cites a telling example: hisnprotagonist’s doctor, a homosexual, informsnhim that...

It was fast, easy reading; the dialoguenwas realistic but not coarse, it containednhumor and built toward an agonizingnclimax in the form of a court-martialnfor the mutineers. At the very end ofnthe novel the author turned the tables,nin a nearly O. Henry manner, by havingna genuinely mature officer tell the youthfulnmutineers what they—and their liken—had been...

comprises only ten percent of their newntitles. A smaller number of fiction writersnmake larger amounts of money thannever before, however, so the situationnbedazzles even as it contracts the numbersnof those who furnish the nationalnchambers of imagination. The freedomsnof fictions have been dissected into categories:ngothic, mystery, spy, historical,nscience-fiction and general.nThis bureaucratic regimentation, stiflingnthe freedom of creativity...

and a physical cessation, is a large swatchnto select. World War II, with its global,nmulti-ringed circuses of struggle andndeath, was so sprawling and kaleidoscopicnthat few writers have dared tondepict more than one sector, one aspect,nor one arena of its activity. Wouk hasntaken the entire spectacle and it isnastonishing that he uses only a barendozen of...

arms of young Byron Henry, then sendsnhim away while she is menaced by thenNazis in Italy and her uncle Aaronnblandly refuses to worry over such civilizednpeople. Meanwhile Pamela Tudsbury,nthe uninhibited English daughternof the famous correspondent, falls innlove with hero Victor Henry, whosenwife mistreats him. The reader is introducednto Berel Jastrow, a Polish Jewnwho is able...

of decent men in the arts, and HermannWouk is among the more honorablenand admirable of our native writers.nBut the world has well rewarded Mr.nWouk for his efforts, and althoughnthese are decent and readable and evennvirtuous, they do not stir the depthsnthat are needed in art, to aerate ournsouls and to lift our hearts. In the...

ily] occupied in the Karshorst residentialnarea [the ‘East Zone’] wasnanything but palatial, but the rentnwas cheap.”nHow can one flee to freedom if thenrent is cheaper in a Soviet colony? True,nin the Soviet colony an apartment rentnis no rent. No one can rent a dwelling.nA dwelling is “issued” to one, as innmedieval serfdom, one sticks to...

The Noble DestitutenGeorge Gilder: Visible Man; BasicnBooks; New York.nby Kenneth KolsonnWhen my generation was in collegen—back in the days before America wasn”greened”—one of the “in” writers wasnOscar Lewis, author of, most notably.nThe Children of Sanchez (New York:nRandom House, 1961), as well as annumber of celebrated articles about povertynthat appeared in Harper’s duringnthe early- and mid-1960s....

gation case turned not so much on thenquestion of whether blacks had beenndenied the equal protection of the lawsnas on the “fact”—presumed to be empiricallyndemonstrable—that segregationnresulted in irreparable psychologicalndamage for black children (a holdingnthat created untold mischief for AllennBakke’s attorneys: Bakke, after all, hadnnever claimed that his right to equalneducational opportunity depended uponnthe condition of...

shows how ‘these people’ think inndifferent forms, act in different patterns,ncling to different values, seekndifferent goals, and learn differentntruths. Which is to say that they arenstrangers, barbarians, savages.”nBecause of his audacity Ryan was ablento transcend the cant of both left andnright and to announce boldly the hypocrisynof the culture-of-poverty writersnwho “dismiss with self-righteous contemptnany claims...

The Drooling Darling of the NYC CognoscentinJerome Charyn: Secret Isaac; ArbornHouse; New York.nby Louis EhrenkrantznR ichard Kostelanetz wrote thatnJerome Charyn’s fiction “. . . has establishedna solidly developing body ofnachievement.” Saul Maloff has decreednthat Charyn is “a greatly gifted writer.”nThe New York Times promulgated thatn”Charyn’s gifts are the important ones.”nStripped of all extraneous theorizing,none evaluates...

the hotel and bash them on the skull.”nCharyn’s writing is here and there sonbad that one is uncertain whether it is andeliberate satire, an intended sendup.n”He tapped them once on the skull tongive the lads something to dream about,”nor: “The waiters at the restaurant sawnthe bum get into that big car. They werenwise men. They...

ConunendablesnHoffer’snTimelessnessnEric Hoffer: Before the Sabbath;nHarper & Row; New York.nby David PietruszanIt has been over a quarter of a centurynsince San Francisco longshoreman EricnHoffer surprised academia and learnednsociety in general with his insightfulnThe True Believer, the classic study ofnthe psychology of mass movements.nSince then he has turned out eight othernvolumes of iconoclastic wisdom. Hisnninth, Before the...

Mr. Heller, whatever his achievements,nis a sort of unfinished writer:nmuch of his glory is well-earned, hisnlasting contribution to colloquial English,nfor example; there is detectable,nenduring finesse in his prose; but there’snalso a lack of a larger moral or cognitivenpurpose in his work, which is an ingredientnthat can make writers of even lessntalented people. Good Soldier Svejk,nthe...

the delinquent juvenile civilization andnaesthetics. The alleged humans whichnpopulate the screen have the intelligencenof a protozoan, a two-dimensionalncreature. They do not sense danger;ndanger is detected by their cognitivenapparatus only when the shot is firednat them, or when the club makes contactnwith the skull. Even the dumbest Hollywoodnmovies of the ’30s, when picturingna group fighting for...

tone-poem saga of the Republic fromnits earliest years to the present and invokingnthe spirit (as it was dedicated tonthe memory) of Walt Whitman andnAbraham Lincoln, “America” is an unapologeticallynemotional tribute to what,nfor Bloch, was the essential greatnessnof a democratic nation. It closes withnan anthem, the theme of which is progressivelyndeveloped throughout thencourse of the work,...

composer want? Not the sterile professional/musicologicalningrainment thatncan only be creative incest; not acceptancensolely by a sequestered elitistncoterie. He wants to be heard and respondednto by an enlightened public;nto be recognized as a viable, creativenforce; to be a communicative voice. Towardnthis end he is urged to give thenmost serious consideration to the following:n(1) A thoughtful reading...

refused to meet Mr. Solzhenitsyn, butnhobnobbed with Andy Warhol and MicknJagger’s wife—eminent representativesnof Manhattan’s jet-set dregs. Thisnplayed a role in his rejection by thenAmerican people. Tolerance, even thenliberal insouciance of companionship,nis one thing, but chumminess withncanaille is another. One may discussnworldviews with a communist in Russia,nbut one does not fraternize with thenGulag henchmen. The High...

Half-Truths and Social ConsciencenThe Nation has published an excerptnfrom a book by a certain Nora Sayrenentitled Cold-War Cinema. In it, thenauthoress derides the grotesque crudenness and vulgarity of the Hollywoodnanticommunist movies of the ’50s.nNow, everybody knows that most ofnthose movies were hopelessly simplisticnand trivial, often to the point of idiocy.nThe question is, however—taking intonaccount our...

poet’s sense of the real life around himnrather than in a firmly airy metaphysics.nThis habit of thought made him,nduring the 1930s, the ideal critic ofnthe killing contradictions of Marxistntheory, just as it made him, duringnthe 1950s and ’60s, a classic victimnof capitalism’s more vulgar claims tonTightness. And O’Neill’s book finallynis revealing not only about the...

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Editor’s Commentn”Conscience, however. ;^ not innate, i^utnacquired; and vanes with eeoaraphv . . . ‘n— SpinozanTo Dostoyevski. and to the Russians in lotn. consciencenmeans aoodness and sinlessness. Someone ‘,vho lust killednsomebody is accused of lack ot conscience. It we acceptnSpinozas aeographic theory, the American varietv ‘.vouldnbe rather socially oriented. Pragmatism and pracncalitv seemnto have been...

ism. but It certainly becomes a victim ot elitism. The LiberalnCulture, which for so long has claimed a monopolv on conscience,nobviously turns into its most destructive wrecker.nTo the “relativists.” as Rabbi Schiller calls the libculturalnactivists and gurus in his book (reviewed in this issue),nconscience is a matter of stimulating incoherence, whichnin itself is the yeast...

opinions & ViewsnThe Reviewer as Cultural CriticnDiana Trilling: Reviewing the Forties;nHarcourt Brace Jovanovich;nNew York.nby Charles MosernIf this compilation were nothingnmore than a collection of reviews, onenmight feel uncomfortable in discussingnit. rather as if one were writing aboutnwriting about writing. Although mechanicallynit is a gathering of some ofnthe regular columns which iV’Irs. Trillingnwrote as a working...

as an individual. But srv’le must be genuine,nand no imitation: in the coursenof assessing Herman Wouk’s AuroranDawn Mrs. Trilling properly points outnthat “stylization is never style, and . . .nthere is something wrong with a societynwhich thinks it is.” Moreover, as stylenis to an individual, so is culture to ansociety: as important as the valuesnwhich...

that fact bodes ill for the future ofnAmerican and Western culture. “Anarchynno longer has the power to jolt us.”nshe wrote in May of 1949. “whichnmeans that we should perhaps take heednof our condition.” The degradation ofnWestern culture so evident 30 vearsnlater has proved her words prophetic.nixeviewing the Forties, then, is anpartial record of a discriminating,...

teres: and God, convinced that realnUte and a life of faith cannot be livednsimultaneously. “The Church frightensnher.” Love is no solution to the humannproblem: onlv duty can sustain one. Innan age characterized bv the failure oinall “Grand Ideas.” small works ot personalnconscience are the sole alternative.nAll ritual and symbol are false, standingnfor nothing. The good...

the real meaning, the soul of the wordnor phrase or thought, that must be uncoverednor one winds up with . . . jargon.”nSince translation points towardnan infinite goal, “much along the waynis veiled or hidden, as on the wrongnside of a tapestry.” Hence, the translatornlearns humility by seeking obscuritynin the graceful doing of his work.nThe...

is not so indignant with sin ihe knowsnits origins and its wiles) as witl:! errornand foolishness, so he tends to turn hisntexts into catechisms, as a way of rectifyingnsloppy thinking, psychologicalnmisconceptions, vision deflected by appetites,nand erratic behavior.nIn a number of essays, Sayers succumbsnto the catechetic style. In onenof them. “The Dogma is the Drama.”nshe outlines...

American MacArthurnWilliam Manchester: AmericannCaesar: Little, Brown and Co.;nBoston.nby Alan LevinenWilliam Manchester has writtennwhat is probably the best one-volumenbiography of General Douglas MacArthur.nThough not unflawed. it offersnconsiderable insights into MacArthur sncomplex personalitv and relationships.nAmerican Caesar is well-written in spitenof occasional lapses mto a dialect similarnto “Timese,” and attempts to be cutesyn—Manchester frequently refers to thenJapanese as...

the Emperor’s white horse. MacArthurnnever said anything nearly as outrageous.nA possible e.xpianation is that the ordinarynGI (unlike the people at home)nwas acutely conscious that MacArthurnhad suffered a defeat in the Philippinesnfrom which only he and a few othersnhad escaped. The fact that MacArthurnnever visited the front at Bataan ornduring the first campaign in NewnGuinea was...

Theodore and Mrs. Natalie Augden.nclose friends of Lionel’s parents and hisnhosts in Debrakot. live in the shadownof their pan British ancestry and whollynBritish upbringing. The venerable “tornnbetween two cultures” theme is noisilynraised and then allowed to drift awav.n’A short first novel of unusual and exquisite quality.”nent juvenile. For example. Mrs. Xatalien.•ugden’s monotonous girlhood remmiscencesnare rendered...

vertentlv wins the “Miss Rhode Island”ntitle and thus becomes a contender forn”Miss America.”‘ The supposed sensibilitynof a Seven Sisters college girl is tonbe brought down upon the undoubtednvulgarity of the beauty pageant world.nA condescending recent movie aboutna beauty pageant. Smile, now oftennappears in the television listings, alongnwith a few made-for-TV imitations. Forntelevision programmers the appeal...

principles can be expected to triumphnm a nonpartisan political svstem. ThenAmerican Wav has been tor principlesnto become synonvmous with a partv,nand for those principles to be imposednduring that party’s period of dominance.nUnder the present circumstances conservativesnare entitled to wondernwhether their principles have anv futurenin American politics: Republicansnare right to wring their hands over theirnparty’s gloomy...

“From these statistics it becomes apparentnthat the American citizenrv isnstill verv much committed to whatnmay be described as a conser’ativenposition on the so-called social issues.nAmericans believe in God. Judeo-nChristian morality, and traditionalnconcepts of crime control. Thev willnlisten to legitimate calls for justice.nSadlv. due to the leftist dommation ofnthe media, these facts are mostlvnoverlooked.”nThe problem is...

in my heart I suspect Schiller is probablynright. When one considers the swollennranks of middle-class socialists andnGucci liberals, then mavbe there’s noth­nYouth’s Labors LostnDavid Holbrook: A Play of Passion;nW. H. Allen: London.nby Gordon Pradinrlas there ever been an adult whonat first blush did not wax nostalaic overnadolescence.’ We seem to have an endlessncapacity for such...

the relationships with his parents andnwith Annie. This antihuman positionnHolbrook is attaclcine is embodied innRoy Short, an older school-friend ofnPaul’s who IS already up at Cambridgenspouting ail the “correct” left-wingnslogans.n”Short seized the opportunity to persuadenIPauil towards nihilism. A newnorthodoxy took over now his beliefnhadfailed —the metaphysics of chemicalnand physical laws, and the FinalnCause of Ultimate...