Izzy: A Biography of I. F. Stone

by Robert C. Cottrell, Eric Alterman (Foreword by)

Overview

This is the classic story of the life and times of I. F. “Izzy” Stone. Robert Cottrell weaves together material from interviews, letters, archival materials, and government documents, and Stone’s own writings to tell the tale of one of the most significant journalists, intellectuals, and political mavericks of the twentieth century. The story of I. F. Stone is the tale of the American left over the course of his lifetime, of liberal and radical ideals which carried such weight throughout the twentieth century, and of journalism of the politically committed variety. Now available in a handsome new Rutgers University Press Classic edition, it is an examination of the life and career of a gregarious yet frequently grumpy loner who became his nation’s foremost radical commentator provides a window through which to examine American radicalism, left-wing journalism, and the evolution of key strands of Western intellectual thought in the twentieth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781978816268
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	08/14/2020
Edition description:	None
Pages:	552
Product dimensions:	5.19(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	16 - 18 Years

About the Author

Robert C. Cottrell has written over twenty books, including biographies of ACLU icon Roger Nash Baldwin and Negro League founder Rube Foster. He is the author most recently of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll: The Rise of America’s 1960s Counterculture. Cottrell, professor of history and American studies at California State University, Chico, has also taught in London; Puebla, Mexico; and Moscow, Russia, in the latter instance as a Distinguished Fulbright Chair. He is presently completing a new book, The American Left: From the Wobblies to Black Lives Matter.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction
1          Izzy, the Icon             
2          Early Progress and Greater Philadelphia                   
3          On the Record
4          A New Deal and the Popular Front at the Post           
5          The American Left, Interventionism, and Civil Liberties
6          Fighting the Good War                                  
7          Going Underground  
8          The Demise of the Old Left
9          The Panic Was On
10        A “Little Flea-Bite Publication”
11        “We Have to Learn to Think in a New Way”
12        Knockin’ on Jim Crow’s Doors
13        “The Steve Canyon Comic Strip Mentality”
14        Telling Truth to Power: The Emperor Has No Clothes
15        From Pariah to Character to National Institution
16        An Old Firehorse in Semiretirement
17        A Return to the Classics
18        The Rock of Stone
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

"I. F. Stone's Weekly ... pioneered a new kind of investigative journalism, based upon the close reading of government documents. In the 1950's, he gained renown for exposing the hazards of nuclear testing. Then, as the United States became embroiled in Vietnam, he became one of the war's most persistent and effective critics and a hero to a new generation on the left... Stone's fans should welcome this book."

The New York Times Book Review

"Cottrell has used Stone's life as a prism through which some of the most significant episodes in recent American history can be view. . . . Balanced and thoughtful. While clearly an admirer of the man, Cottrell also asks hard questions about his judgement on a number of political issues."

If I Had a Hammer: The Death of the Old Left and the Birth of the New Left - Maurice Isserman

Definitive…an intellectual and political chronicle of progressive politics and activist journalism in twentieth century America…[and] a textured portrayal of Stone’s life as a prism through which to view decades of changes in the American left.

|Los Angeles Times

"A useful record of Stone's lifework."

The Washington Post

Still valuable today.

New York Times - Paul Berman

We are indebted to Cottrell for this contribution to journalism history….it demonstrates the power of the pen as Stone evolved from the typewriter to a Macintosh….Look long and hard at what Cottrell has contributed to journalism literature with this book….This is a significant study."

Journalism History

"A fascinating history of radical thought in the U.S. . . .essential for American history shelves."

Booklist

A readable and convincing account."

Sydney Morning Herald

"Impressive in its details and its accolades to Stone."

Editor & Publisher

"A masterly biography."

The Boss: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American Inquisition - Athan Theoharis

A superb biography….One might hope that journalism schools around the land might require students to read Cottrell’s biography."

Journal of American Culture

"I.F. Stone made a contribution to educating Americans that can hardly be overestimated. As a reader from childhood, later a friend, I was only one of many who found his work and life an inspiration. Izzy offers a valuable perspective on history and the meaning of integrity."

MIT - Noam Chomsky

"This well-balanced biography of Isidor Feinstein (I.F.) Stone...most famous for I.F. Stone's Weekly (1953-71), a newsletter that analyzed and criticized governmental operations. It became a model of investigative reporting and its founder a journalistic icon. The book provides superb documentation, exhaustive notes, and a helpful index. The few illustrations give insights into the very human “Izzy” Stone. Recommended for both general and academic readers at all levels."
 

Choice

"An intriguing and sympathetic biography. Admirably researched and forthrightly told, Izzy deserves a wide readership."

Brandeis University - Stephen J. Whitfield

Definitive…an intellectual and political chronicle of progressive politics and activist journalism in twentieth century America…[and] a textured portrayal of Stone’s life as a prism through which to view decades of changes in the American left.

Los Angeles Times

"A fascinating history of radical thought in the U.S. . . .essential for American history shelves."

Booklist