to curb a political-military disasternlargely of our own making. “Perhapsnif many of us in Saigon,” he replied,n”had had that same vision of the futurenas you, things might have turned out anlot different than they did.”nWicker writes of Halberstam andnSheehan as colleagues with clean hearts,nhands and consciences when it comes tona war which is the basis...

Wicker wants liberty for the press, butnnot for others. This is why he is guilty,nalong with most of the liberal newsnmedia, of moral and intellectual treason.nOut of ignorance and an arrogancenof power unchecked by any modesty ofnmind and heart, the Wickers of thenworld are the gravediggers of our freensociety, all the while believing in thenbalderdash...

runaway inflation and worthless money.nBut until that happens, the real irresponsibilitynand almost certain bankruptcynare shielded behind the flood ofndollars.nMr. Simon declares that his greatestnconcern is with the loss of individualnfreedom and the economic despotismnthat now prevails in the United States.nHe pulls no punches in describing thenimpact on the ubiquitous regulationsnand bureaucratic controls by which theynare...

of the historical scene exchange insightsnwith Mr. White — has thendepth of a bowl of soup. Even journalsnexceedingly friendly to Mr.nWhite, in which he’s considered a contributor,ndid not hesitate to term hisnideas about history commonplace. Tonus, Mr. White and his creative-intellectualnprofile was best epitomized bynan interview in Women’s Wear Daily,nin which he enunciated:n”The moment of...

daughter, now an addlebrained wreck,nused to fly to “people’s demonstrations”nin Washington in her corporatenCessna) makes them into doleful caricatures,ntheir money problems and currentnaspirations sound both trivial andnabominable. What’s worse, their I.Q.s,nas cast against dilemmas that plaguenthem at stage time, seem not to havenrisen much since the time of their supposedlynglamorous follies — the greatntimes of...

rich in Hollywood’s old catechismnnever were abstractions of evil; in thenend they were either examples for thenpoor to emulate, or partners in somensort of moral rehabilitation, or adversariesnin life’s vicissitudes. This kindnof millionaire populism seemed wholesome,nrational and acceptable to everybodynin America; practitioners likenJohn Ford and Frank Capra had nontrouble bringing America to tears ornexultation, and...

a war made it politically unprofitable;nthis malaise at the top made everybodynaround so fed up that soldiers justnpacked their bags and left the battlefield.nIt was America that acquired thenhonor of introducing such a novelty innthe historiography of warfare.nIf both victory and defeat can inducena national renaissance as well asndemoralization and decline ^—whatnshould be the aftermath...

vided into nine years of active dedicationnto communism and 48 years ofnfierce fighting against it. What Timenmeticulously does not report is thatnSilone left the Communist Party inn1930, and, until his death, he not onlyndenounced the communist revolutionnand the Soviet state as the ultimate inn”tyrannical degeneration,” but also wasnthe leading figure in the Italian anticommunistnideological and...

Polemics & ExchangesnThe Subtleties of Propaganda or Twelve Angry Men Revisitednby David H. HirschnThe purpose of Reginald Rose’s finenscript for the 1957 movie TwelvenAngry Men seems to have been tonmake the case for humane treatmentnof the accused. A first viewing tends tonleave the viewer with the feeling thatnjustice has been done and that the jurynsystem...

during the trial; the testimony of annold man, who says that he heard a bodynfall to the floor of the apartment abovenhim and that he then hastened to thenstairwell where he saw the accused runningndown the stairs; and finally, thentestimony of a middle-aged bachelornwoman who says she saw the accusednactually stab his father just as...

manipulating the other jurors he is notnacting out of pure principle but is satisfyingnsome ego need of his own that isnnot revealed to us? The convicters arenlaid bare: Begley is a cheap bigot; Marshallna heartless robot; Cobb a narrowmindednfailed father. But who isnFonda, and why is it necessary to concealnhis true identity? Fonda appearsnto be...

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CommentnWe are repeatedly asked to explain what we mean by thenterm “Liberal Culture”—the one combination of words perhapsnmost often used in these pages.nThe general impression is that whatever it means we do notnlike it. This is correct.nSo before we venture into subtle reasoning on what wenmean by what, it should be stated forcefully and unequivocallynthat...

No one, to our recollection, has tried to summarize thenLiberal Culture’s overall stance, so let us try.nThe Liberal Culture has a philosophy. It is based on mistakingnthe spontaneity of life instincts for indeterminism. Such anview of the nature of life brings permissiveness forward as thenultimate guide for existence and behavior—it establishes then”truth” that whatever is...

opinions & ViewsnA Timid Call to ArmsnJohn Gardner: On Moral Fiction;nBasic Books; New York.nby Thomas MolnarnJLet me say right at the beginning:nJohn Gardner’s book is, as the formulangoes, a refreshingly sane approach tonliterature. It cuts through the fat ofnliterary criticism’s accumulated cliches,nand it condemns these cliches not merelynas boring manifestations of an ossifiednintellectual/artistic orthodoxy but—thisnis...

service of material life. Material, togethernwith hygiene, morality, and internationalngood order.” A menu to discourage anynrobust Balzac whose appetite for realityncould not be easily obstructed.nThus most of our writers, young andnthose who were once young, are willynillyncast in the role of Oliver Alden.nThe nation asks nothing of them beyondnentertainment and shock. Hence, butnGardner makes no...

The Spiritual Splendors of Weakness and MyopianGraham Greene: The Human Factor;nSimon and Schuster; New York.nby Mary Ellen FoxnAs Lshenden, James Bond andnGeorge Smiley, those notable protagonistsnof the novel of espionage, are waynstations signaling the changing naturenof the genre. Somerset Maugham’s alternego was an amateur who nonethelessncarried out his patriotic obligationsnduring World War I in accordance...

Castle’s facade of placid reliability is anman of divided loyalties and intensenhatreds. When Castle did field work innSouth Africa, he learned to loathe thengovernment of apartheid there, whichnmade his love for Sarah, a black and hisnfuture wife, a crime. Their escape fromnSouth Africa was aided by the Communists.nA mixture of gratitude to his benefactors,nas well...

Feelin’ Good as a Catholic DilemmanMary Gordon: Final Payments;nRandom House; New York.nby Christopher ManionnIsabel Moore, it seems, has a problem:nher father, whom she nursednthrough eleven years of illness, has died,nand she must get on with the businessnof living—sell the house, get a job, meetnnew friends, and decide what to do withnher life. She must step...

But, of course, it is not. For IsabelnMoore, the Church has failed because itnhas failed in its ultimate mission to makenher happy, or feel good: and these twonalternatives slowly ooze into one, whilensuffering remains the scourge of annangry God whom we cannot love, sincenwe cannot hurt Him back. And, sincenwe are all ultimately selfish, the...

considerable press comment on ThenWorld According to Garp has been stimulatednby the reviewers’ hope that theirnremarks will be reprinted in a futurennovel by Irving, or in a posthumous onenby Garp.nWhy a professional novelist mightnwallow in autobiography of the mostnobvious kind should be viewed with understanding—ifnwithout compassion ornordinary human kindness. From whennthe typical author awakes in...

might as well be a discreditednformer politician.nThe true contemporary touch is thatnafter having put together’ a “highly commercial”nnovel, and after having begunnto benefit from his publisher’s highlyncommercial promotion techniques, JohnnIrving went before Radcliffe PublishingnProcedures course as himself, not simplynas T.S. Garp, and attacked the “Hollywoodization”nof book publishing. ThatnMan’s Real ThingnJames Jones: Whistle; DelacortenPress; New York.nby...

sincere writer.nThe Sergeant’s troubles were not,nthank heaven, sexual. They stemmednfrom congestive heart trouble—a conditionnthat afflicted the author. It flowsnfrom a weakness of the heart that isnprogressive, and which leads to an accumulationnof fluids in the body. The mortalitynis about fifty percent, though patientsnwho lead austere and cautious lives maynlast a long time. Sergeant Winch, whomnJones...

routine that has Strange’s in-lawsncaught—all ring as true as the figuresnon Keats’ urn, and as equally caught;nforever fixed in time and place.nIt was not until I began to read Whistlenthat I realized I have never forgottennFrom Here To Eternity, although it appearednin 1951. That was nearly thirtynyears ago, and at the time critics called itna...

ing each other in the hamlets of Iowa. Itnmay be that Casey’s setting of Iowa,nsuggestive as it is of the quintessentiallynAmerican scene, is the sole redeemingnfeature of his novel.nJ. here have always been more thannenough novelists who are rememberednas “stylists”; D.H. Lawrence is one, JohnnUpdike will probably be another. Theynmake lasting though shallow impressionsnon literature...

ending disjointed conversations, and sexnmeant to be nothing but educational—nand calls it “American.” In titling hisnnovel “An American Romance,” Caseynhas aimed at epic scale. One justifiablynexpects that he will reach it—and more,none should expect something evocativenof America, in a, well, a timeless sense,nexpressive of values that are familiarlynAmerican: honesty, wholeheartedness,ngenerosity, even devoutness. Such arentruly the...

can be adequately cared for, withoutninfantilizing or coercing them, by merelynguaranteeing them their proper rights.nMr. Glasser’s argument, although punctuatednwith heart-rending examples, lacksnthe delicacy of touch of the other three.nAlthough the four authors do notnattempt to homogenize their views, therenis a current that runs throughout thenbook: “doing good” is a natural andncommendable human impulse, butntranslating this...

Waste of MoneynKrantz’s Marionettesnin a PuddlenJudith Krantz: Scruples;nCrown; New York.nSeventh Avenue symbolizes Americannfashion the way Hollywood symbolizesnthe American cinema. At the oppositenends of the continent both are pivotal innmolding aesthetic choices, dreams andnaspirations. Fashion’s ideological organ,nthe New York based Women’s WearnDaily, perverts popular preferencesnthrough manipulation of marionettes,nmost of which happen to be real people.nBoth centers...

moral and social authority of the AmericannUniversity was destroyed by whatnhappened during the sixties. The AmericannUniversity used to be an object ofnenvy for the rest of the world, unrivalednin both its level of scholarship (witnessnthe number of American Nobel Prizenlaureates of the last 50 years) as well asnin its collegiate atmosphere (as measurednby the degree...

genious scheme to win without goingninto jungles and dying in booby traps— wenall would have been on their side.nTime’s Ethical PirouettenTime magazine’s attitude toward crimenhas long been recognized as the cutestnjournalistic weathervane in America.nWhen the liberal dogma blossomed innthe ethical mud of the early 70s, Timenwas the first to argue that bestiality couldnbe explained by...

Clowning with SurvivalnAlan Ayckbourn: Ten Times Table;nGlobe Theatre, London.nAlan Ayckbourn is nowadays regardednon both English-speaking sidesnof the Atlantic, as the supreme techniciannof the modern comedy scene. His latestnoffering, entitled Ten Times Table, hasnother ambitions. It aspires to convincenthe viewer about the socio-moral virtuesnthat derive from victorious bungling,nallegedly an arch-British specialty. Mr.nAyckbourn sets out to suggest,...

syncratic harmonic sophistication withna claim to an all-encompassing synthesis.n”All together is rock— ” the drummer ofnThe Band, who assumes the role of annideological spokesman, says at one point.nWith the same cognitive accuracy he cannmaintain that a hamburger subsumes allnthe culinary tastes of America.nOne listens to The Band and realizesnthe incoherent chemistry of hard rock.nIt pushes...

audience’s response to such crudenschlock.nThe movie is immensely popular withnteenagers who seem in the throes of nostalgianfor the ’50s. They mob movienhouses and appear to be uproariouslynamused by the contraceptive mishap. Anynmention of crotch or menstruation isngreeted with joy and a burst of applause.nAt the same time, however, every hint atncorniness, as it is remembered...

Liberal CulturenLove and VenerationnVicki Witt from Lansing, Michigan,nthe August Playboy centerfold special,ndisplays there the treasures of femininitynonce considered precious by dint ofntheir exclusivity. She also has a fiance,nwho—it could be imagined—cherishesnher gifts of love, as everybody so blessednwould do. However, he does it in a peculiarnway, as a partisan to collectivism ofnemotions and shared troves.n”He...

This is chutzpah. Ms. Baez paid nothingnfor what she did. During the war,nMs. Baez was a fierce supporter of communistnaggression, sang in tune withnHanoi and rendered it invaluable services.nFor opposing and sabotaging thenAmerican war effort she became annAmerican millionaire. Her songs, expressingnproletarian and pro-communistnmessages, acquired her chic apparel andnluxury cars.nOne wonders what the Baezes, Chomskys,nSontags,...

were all so happy just to be able tonmake films.”nHe then muses in an intellectuallynexquisite style:n”We the filmmakers have let ournaudience down. The adult films beingnmade today appeal only to the lowestncommon denominator. The people innthe industry don’t realize that thenaudience has some intelligence. That’snPolemics & ExchangesnThat’s Bigotry, Gentlemen …nWhen Herbert Croly founded ThenNew Republic...

Such a sortie makes it unnecessarynfor TNR to explain why almost all of thenprint medium giants have been savagelynvilifying the business community forndecades, while an overwhelming numbernof American intellectuals teaches thennewspapers how to do it. Which bringsnus to another TNR abuse of truth andndecency, perhaps not quite so gross, butncertainly more devious.nNot long ago, in...

About the Chronicles of Culturen”… Rockford College is not your ordinary midwestern college. Itnpublishes something called Chronicles of Culture, and by rare lucknI have come upon [it]. . .”n—Richard Gordon, The Cincinnati Postn”In its brief existence Chronicles of Culture has rapidly crystallizedninto a strikingly attractive little journal, typographically pleasing,nand entirely free of ‘padding.’n”These materials would...

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CommentnThe ambient incoherence of our reality is discounted bynmany as the classic illusion of changing times. The past alwaysnappears ordered, they say, the present chaotic. Astigmaticnperspectives are certainly a fact of life, but I can rememberntimes when things fell into congruity when someone honestlyntried to arrange them. Epochs of all-encompassing incoherencenare a part of history,...

and state laws that outlaws discrimination on the basis of sex,nnot to mention an entire library of interpretative regulationsndaily enforced in every nook and cranny of the Americannactuality.nIs this a matter of intellectual and ethical fairness? Far fromnit. And this unfairness is at the heart of the liberal concept ofnAmerican pluralism. America is now more...

opinions & ViewsnLet Us Listen to the Silence of the DeadnAleksander I. Solzhenitsyn: ThenGulag Archipelago, Volume III, PartsnV-VII; Harper & Row; New York.nby Leo RaditsanWe ^e have to learn we do not knownhow to read. This is a good book to startnwith. It is hard to read. It has to be readnat its own pace...

1 feel like an intruder when I readnthis book. This has to do with itsn”secrecy,” with the fact that Solzhenitsynnwrote it without intending to publish it.nIt is also because in some important sensenit is written not for the whole world, butnfor Russians and the other nationalitiesnsubjected to the Soviet regime. Whennhe wrote this work, Solzhenitsyn...

in charge appeared to yield to theirndemands, they were crushed with gratitude.nThey grew gullible. When commissionsncame from the outside to ask themnwhere they would like to go upon theirnrelease, they were astonished but theyntrusted. They believed things had actuallynchanged. When they grew off their guard,nthe “authorities” turned on them andntook their leaders away to punishmentncells...

Fellow Traveling to ParadisenChristopher Hill: Milton and thenEnglish Revolution; Viking; NewnYork.nby Albert C. LabriolanJLong admired as one of the foremostnscholars of the causes and consequencesnof the English Revolution,nChristopher Hill has recently been attackednby other historians, notably J.H.nHexter, for alleged distortions of evidence,nbiased opinions and views, andnnarrow-minded interpretations of thenevents and personages of the period aboutnwhich...

of the people to overthrow an unjustnmonarch is defended by St. ThomasnAquinas. Indeed, the intolerance andnrepression that Milton saw and experiencednin the state and in its officiallynsanctioned religion were manifestationsnin his culture and era of the same enemiesnagainst liberty and conscience that hadnbeen present earlier, elsewhere, and innother guises. The intellectual libertariansnwho fought, sacrificed, and...

America Sweat-Drenched in FearnDavid Caute: The Great Fear; Simonnand Schuster; New York.nby Alan J. LevinenDa ‘avid Caute, a well-known Britishnintellectual historian, has produced annear-encyclopedic account of the issuenof domestic anti-Communism innAmerica during the Truman and Eisenhowernadministrations. But The GreatnFear is not just another liberal diatribenagainst Senator Joe McCarthy. It is anrelentless distortion of the history...

impairment of the people’s freedom tonelect the representatives of their choice.”nPresumably Caute would burn with indignationnif he contemplated the monstrousnrestriction on the freedom of the WestnGermans, who are not permitted to votenfor Nazi candidates.nV- Add to Favorites

Memoirs of a Mistress-MartyrnOlga Ivinskaya: A Captive of Time:nMy Years with Pasternak; Doubledayn& Co., Inc.; Garden City, New York.nby Lev Navrozovn”My beloved, my shame, my scourge . . .”n—Alexander Blok: Black BloodnJjoris Pasternak burst forth as then20th-century Mozart of poetry when thenGolden Age of Russian poetry was at itsnzenith, in 1912, five years before thenorigin...

leave the country if he wished. OlganIvinskaya says: “The question whethernto go or not never seriously arose,” fornPasternak “deeply loved the country.” Shenrepeats beautiful Soviet cliches. ErnestnHemingway adds his sickening mite tonthe pious stereotype: “I know how deeply,nwith all his heart, he [Pasternak] is attachednto Russia. For a genius such asnPasternak, separation from his countrynwould...