Commentary in American Life

by Murray Friedman

Overview

Founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945 as a monthly journal of significant thought and opinion, Jewish affairs and contemporary issues, Commentary magazine has through the years had a far-reaching impact on American politics and culture. Commentary in American Life traces this influence over time, especially in creating the neoconservative movement. The authors of each chapter also consider the ways the magazine shaped and reflected major cultural and literary trends in the United States. The end result offers a full accounting of one of the most important journals of American political thought, providing insight into the development of American collective politics and culture over the last six decades.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592131051
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	02/04/2005
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Murray Friedman is the Director of the Myer and Rosaline Feinstein Center for American Jewish History at Temple University, and editor of Philadelphia Jewish Life, 1940-2000 (Temple), and a forthcoming history of Jewish conservatism.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Commentary: The First Sixty Years—Murray Friedman
1. 'America is Home': Commentary Magazine and the Refocusing of the Community of Memroy, 1945-1960—Nathan Abrams
2. Commentary: The Early Years—Nathan Glazer
3. The Jewishness of Commentary—Ruth R. Wisse
4. Commentary and the City: Getting it Right, Getting it Wrong—Fred Siegel
5. What They Talked About When They Talked About Literature: Commentary in its First Three Decades—Thomas L. Jeffers
6. Commentary and the Common Culture—Terry Teachout
7. Norman Podhoretz and the Cold War—Richard Gid Powers
8. Joining the Ranks: Commentary and American Conservatism—George H. Nash
9. Commentary's Children: Neoconservatism in the Twenty-First Century—John Ehrman
About the Contributors

What People are Saying About This

William F. Buckley Jr.

Commentary in American Life documents the critical role of Commentary in infusing intellectual energy into the successful anti-Communist struggle. We owe it, and in particular its former editor, Norman Podhoretz, a huge debt.