Candor in the Corridors of Power
In 1962 the historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was able to comment with equal assurance on both of the Monroes within his orbit: Marilyn (as in “Happy Birthday, Mr. President”) and James (as in Monroe Doctrine). What’s more, he made these unrelated remarks closely enough in time for them to appear on the same page of the 894-page new volume of his journals.
JOURNALS
1952-2000
By Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
894 pp. Penguin Press. $40.
1952-2000
By Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
894 pp. Penguin Press. $40.
This arch, irresistibly revealing book manages to be both showstopping and doorstopping, what with its vast range of subject matter and unfettered private sniping. Mr. Schlesinger, who died on Feb. 28, appears to have spent almost five decades patiently squirreling away aphorisms, aperçus and other people’s back-channel conversations, confident that one day he would have a posthumous bombshell to his credit.
Although “Journals: 1952-2000” has been greatly and speedily pared down by his sons Andrew and Stephen Schlesinger, who took on this project less than a year ago and have cut the material to one-sixth of its original length, its ambitions seem clear. The author, who could be described as either a treasured historian or “the power-loving stablemate of statesmen” (his own sardonic phrase), did not intend this as a profound, analytical work or a deeply personal one.
Although “Journals: 1952-2000” has been greatly and speedily pared down by his sons Andrew and Stephen Schlesinger, who took on this project less than a year ago and have cut the material to one-sixth of its original length, its ambitions seem clear. The author, who could be described as either a treasured historian or “the power-loving stablemate of statesmen” (his own sardonic phrase), did not intend this as a profound, analytical work or a deeply personal one.
Sounds like a great read.
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