Word: steinberg
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...that such men, if not wholly admirable, are an indispensable part of the American political system and should not be despised merely because they fail to transcend its limitations. But, as Richard Nixon used to say, that would be the easy way. Instead, whether out of gullibility or perversity, Steinberg has chosen to portray Rayburn as a statesman of principle, integrity and elevated vision--a poor country boy who, through hard work and trust in the Lord, grew up to be "by far the greatest" Speaker in American history, and a hell of a cracker-barrel philosopher to boot...
That kind of approach works fine for presidential campaign biographies and The Lou Gehrig Story, but it's pretty thin stuff for serious historical scholarship. The result is a tedious, one-dimensional narrative that reveals little about Rayburn the Speaker or Rayburn the man. Steinberg generally hovers at the level of cliche, as in his description of young Rayburn's reaction to a speech by Texas Congressman Joe Bailey: "With a prophecy born of youthful excitement, he predicted that one day he would also become a congressman like Bailey...
...Victoria Steinberg's generally conscientious effort to report my overly long and complicated discussion of the Ladd-Lipset survey of teaching and research by faculty members in American colleges and universities (Oct. 18), one qualification I made was omitted. I am quoted correctly as saying that"...a true scholar does not necessarily have to publish anything," but I also declared that a faculty member needed an audience of peers as well as an audience of students in order to stay alive intellectually, giving such illustrations as artistic production, consulting, and other extra-mural activities. Nor did I criticize the Ladd...
...Victoria Steinberg quite correctly captured my main observation, namely, that research is arduous and its results visible, hence risky, whereas in the privacy of the classroom, teaching is generally subject to less careful scrutiny. Hence research requires a climate of support from one's departmental colleagues and not only from administrators who may be seeking to lift the level of their institutions. David Riesman
Here are Peter Arno's ageless chorines and satyrs; Helen Hokinson's gaggle of club women; Saul Steinberg's pun-and-ink illuminations; the Thurber people who always reminded Dorothy Parker of unbaked cookies. Here, too, is the ir repressible new generation of arche types: George Booth's slatternly couples-obviously the illegitimate descendants of George Price's cluttered screwballs; Lee Lorenz' literate animals, minerals and vegetables; and Ed Koren's celebrated shaggy people stories...