Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind edited by Franklin Foer
Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. The copy I read was an uncorrected proof, and changes will be made in the final edition. (Specifically, a second introduction by Leon Wieseltier–an index may also be forthcoming.)
The New Republic magazine has its centenary anniversary this year, so a collected volume of some of the many interesting articles that ran in the magazine is an expected celebration. For many years, the New Republic (so named because there was already a Republic magazine at the time) has been the home of many of the leading voices of liberal political philosophy. But in addition to politics, it covers art and cultural events as well.
After an introduction which explains the history of the magazine, its ups and downs (Stephen Glass is cited as a mistake, and his writing is not represented), the remainder of the book is essays grouped by decade. From “The Duty of Harsh Criticism” by Rebecca West to “The Idea of Ideas” by Leon Wieseltier, this book is jam-packed with thought-provoking work.
I especially liked the afore-mentioned Rebecca West piece (I am a reviewer, after all), “Progress and Poverty” by Edmund Wilson, which contrasts the opening of the Empire State Building with a ruined man’s suicide,”Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, in which you can see some of the ideas that went into 1984, and”Here Comes the Groom: A (Conservative) Case for Gay Marriage” by Andrew Sullivan, which is what it sounds like.
Not every writer represented here saw the future clearly–some of them guessed very wrong about the issues and people they wrote about. But all of them are worth at least checking out.
“But Scott,” you say, “I am not a liberal. What is there for me in such a book?” I recommend the essays “The Corruption of Liberalism” by Lewis Mumford, “The Liberal’s Dilemma” by Daniel P. Moynihan and “The Great Carter Mystery” by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Liberals are not above raking each other over the coals, after all.
The book is due on shelves by the end of September 2014. i recommend it to former readers of the New Republic (current readers should already be aware of it), 20th Century history students, the politically-minded, and those who enjoy a good essay.
