Irving Howe : A Life of Passionate Dissent

View the Table of Contents . Read the Preface . "Sorin does a solid and convincing job of chronicling Howe's life and times."--The Jewish Quarterly Review"Irving Howe: A Life of Passionate Dissentoffers such an intellectually detailed and conceptually animated account of Howe's work. Sorin did an excellent job."--Magill's Literary Annual "In this crisply written and well-conceived biography, Sorin captures the essence of these commitments--one to Jewish culture, one to political activism, and one to literary criticism. Sorin offer[s] a compelling, informative, and balanced account of a leading icon of the New York intellectuals."--The Journal of American History "Sorin's biography summarizes Howe's important writings and covers his life in a carefully documented way." --American Jewish World A New York Times ocirc;Books for Summer Readingouml; selection Winner of the 2003 National Jewish Book Award for History "Sorin has given coherence to a complex life, showing that it was Howe's willingness to grapple with his own contradictions that made his intellectual journey so revealing of its place and time." --Times Literary Supplement "Sorin portrays Howe the tough political fighter alongside the brilliant writer and generous friend...Sorin has built a solid portrait of the writer and critic...he does a very good job of illuminating the relationship between politics and literature in Howe's intellectual life, particularly the way in which his socialism was informed by his reading of Yiddish literature." --New York Times Book Review ocirc;In this fine biography, Gerald Sorin shows us why we need more Irving Howes today. Sorin traces the shifts and turns in a life that wound up creating one of America's most thoughtful leftistsagrave;. A complexity of political views, a tension-ridden intellectual life (rather than academic careerism), an ability to criticize while remaining humane--these are things we need a lot more of today. For reminding us of this, we have not just Irving Howe but Gerald Sorin to thank.ouml; --The Washington Postocirc;What Sorin has accomplished in this beautifully written, balanced and probing intellectual biography is the most complete picture we have of Howe, a portrait of how one Jewish intellectual and activist struggled daily to balance scholarship and politics and the life of the mind and a life of action. . . . Sorin has ably captured the life and passion of this most unusual man, whose commitment to democracy is a legacy still worth cherishing.ouml; --Los Angeles Times"Sorin skillfully captures the illuminating fire of Howe's convictions, conflicts, and achievements. [His] deep understanding of Howe's belief in intelligent public discourse...enables him not only to portray a great intellectual but also to encapsulate a key era in American politics." --Booklist"This is an important first step in re-examining a major intellectual and should serve as a springboard for more in-depth and balanced evaluations." --Publishers Weekly"Irving Howe: A Life of Passionate Dissentis a thoroughly researched, warmly delivered biography of a man who was the soul of mid-century intellectual life in America." --The Observer"Well-researched biography . . . . Sorin seems to have spoken to everybody who knew Howe." --The Independent "Sorin, a professor at CUNY-New Paltz, excellently details the three guiding elements of Howe's life: politics, literature and Ju

Gerald Sorin is Distinguished Professor of History and Director of Jewish Studies at SUNY New Paltz.