Intellectuals

Back in 2001 I had an internship at Verso. They are the publishers of some left-wing books. When I worked there I would come in for a few hours a day. I'd get paid twenty five dollars and I'd be given lunch. I was also allowed to take home copies of any books that I wanted. It was a pleasant arrange......more

Dacă vom citi acest volum numai pentru amănuntele biografice bizare sau hazlii, nu cred că-i vom înțelege întru totul mesajul. E drept că și autorul a exagerat. Multe amănunte par îndoielnice, apocrife. Unii „intelectuali” nu-și aveau locul în acest insectar: Ernest Hemingway, Cyril Connolly. Alții......more

A book that is devastating to many of those that modern thinkers hold in high esteem, such as Rousseau, Marx, Tolstoy, Sarte and Brecht. Johnson knows a lot, has studied a lot, and is willing to call these men (and one woman) what they were: mean, greedy for fame and often money, immoral, hateful to......more

Single Quote Review: “The famous technique of not separating the author from his work which made him* the leading critic of the nineteenth century ignores what should be obvious to anyone upon reflection, that a book is produced by a different person than the one whom we see in his daily life with hi......more

Paul Johnson’s book Intellectuals is a fascinating examination of the reasons we should distrust intellectuals, especially of the left-wing variety. He looks at a selection of intellectuals from Rousseau to Noam Chomsky and sees some disturbing common patterns. They achieve a certain eminence in a pa......more