john dorsey editor contributions mencken (1 résultats)

Hardcover. Etat : Near Fine. Etat de la jaquette : Very Good. 1st Edition. 313 pp., xx. Stated "First Edition" with NAP; ' 9/80 ' at foot of inside rear dustwrapper panel. Following the Introduction by John Dorsey, Contents divided into 8 sections: [1] MENCKEN IN PERSON by John Dorsey; by Mencken: "In the Footsteps of Gutenberg"; Fire Alarm"; "A Dip into Statecraft"; [2] MENCKEN OF BALTIMORE by Huntington Cairns; by Mencken: "Good Old Baltimore"; "800,000"; [3] MENCKEN AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE by Alistair Cooke; [4] THE COMFORTABLE BOURGEOIS: The Thought of H.L. Mencken by Charles A. Fecher; by Mencken: "On Metaphysicians"; "Sabbath Meditation"; "The State of Religion Today"; "The Origin of Morality"; "The Essence of Democracy"; "Last Words"; "The Iconoclast"; [5] MENCKEN, POLITICS, AND POLITICIANS by Malcolm Moos; by Mencken: "The Politician"; "The Last Gasp"; "Gamalielese"; The Clowns March In"; "Post-Mortem"; "Onward, Christian Soldiers!"; "Imperial Purple"; "The Choice Tomorrow"; "Coroner's Inquest"; [6] THE LITERARY CRITIC by William H. Nolte; by Mencken: "Criticism of Criticism of Criticism"; "Portrait of an American Citizen"; "Stephen Crane"; "Joseph Conrad"; "Fifteen Years"; [7] MENCKEN IN HIS LETTERS by Carl Bode; Mencken: "Selected Letters"; [8] H.L. MENCKEN: A MEMOIR BY ALFRED A. KNOPF. // From Charles A. Fecher's essay: "Converting me to anything is probably a psychological impossibility. At all events, it has never been achieved by anyone. . . I can't recall ever changing my mind about any capital matter. My general body of fundamental ideas is the same today as it was in the days when I first began to ponder." (MENCKEN). This lifelong immutability of his thought was remarked on by many people besides himself. To a friend and colleague like Hamilton Owens, it signified that Mencken had been able to avoid the painful intellectual experience to most of us, of being forced to discard one set of beliefs because they had proved false or inadequate and then grope about for a new set to take their place.To critics or outright enemies, it constituted proof positive that he was narrow-minded and prejudiced, closed to any point of view that did not happen to coincide with his own, and had never gone through the normal processes of maturing (p. 114f) . . . From his high regard for scientific achievement his skeptical attitude naturally follows.His opinions on religion lead directly to what might be called, if in his case it did not sound so dreadfully formal, his "philosophy of man." His view of human nature is the foundation for his contemptuous dismissal of democracy, and for all his beliefs about government and politics. And so it goes. (p. 116). // Brown cloth with bright (diminished from brilliant) gilt lettering on spine; decorative design (4" x 1") down right front cover edge on top half front cover; deckled fore-edge. Tan dustwrapper not price-clipped ($15.00) with tinted black and white photo-portrait of Mencken a center front cover; large Title lettering across top front cover above photo-portrait; Contributors' names and Editor name lettering below photo-portrait. Dustwrapper spine age-toned (with corresponding slightly diminished brown of book spine); wear across spine ends and tiny bits missing at spine and cover corners with 1/4" and 5/8" tears at top spine corners (NOW sins backed with Archival tape); slight offsetting on endpapers; two fingertip food stains on p. 25 and at center rear cover (these appear slightly on inside rear cover but NO staining onto brown cloth book cover itself), and similar micro-stain (1/8", ostensibly by a same finger causing above-noted stains, but nearly undetectable on beveled edge) on page edge of beveled fore-edge (p. 37/38); small red Publisher's remainder mark (logo) on lower edge near spine: describes worse than it is, but there you have it in uncompromising truth. Book itself essentially Near Fine: Strong binding (NO cracks); NO rubbing wear (dustwrapper did its job); NO previous owner names; NO writing in text. Dustwrapper in Brodart mylar.