Bite the Hand That Feeds You : Essays and Provocations

by Henry Fairlie; Edited and with an introduction by Jeremy McCarter; Foreword by Leon Wieseltier

• ISBN13: 9780300164602
• ISBN10: 0300164602
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2010-05-25
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Henry Fairlie was one of the most colorful and trenchant journalists of the twentieth century. The British-born writer made his name on Fleet Street, where he coined the term "The Establishment," sparred in print with the likes of Kenneth Tynan, and caroused with Kingsley Amis, among many others. In America his writing found a home in the pages of theNew Yorkerand other top magazines and newspapers. When he died, he was remembered as "quite simply the best political journalist, writing in English, in the last fifty years." Remarkable for their prescience and relevance, Fairlie's essays celebrate Winston Churchill, old-fashioned bathtubs, and American empire; they ridicule Republicans who think they are conservatives and yuppies who want to live forever. Fairlie is caustic, controversial, and unwaveringespecially when attacking his employers. With an introduction by Jeremy McCarter,Bite the Hand That Feeds Yourestores a compelling voice that, among its many virtues, helps Americans appreciate their country anew.

Author Biography

Born in England, Henry Fairie (1924-1990) was a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines, including the Washington Post and The New Republic.
Jeremy McCarter is a senior writer at Newsweek.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
A Genius for Conflict
The Life of British Politics
Sketches of MPs	p. 41
The BBC Attitude to Politics	p. 46
In Defence of Ordinariness	p. 51
On the Comforts of Anger	p. 55
Evolution of a Term: The Establishment	p. 68
Chips of Memory	p. 92
A Volcanic Flash: Winston Churchill	p. 99
The Last, Best Hope for Mankind
American Space and Time
A Cheer for American Imperialism	p. 115
In Defense of Big Government	p. 126
Let the Convention Be "a Brawl"	p. 137
The Importance of Bathtubs: Fairlie at Large	p. 141
Mencken's Booboisie in Control of GOP: Fairlie at Large	p. 146
The Voice of Hope: Franklin D. Roosevelt	p. 151
My America!	p. 162
If Pooh Were President: A Tory's Riposte to Reaganism	p. 180
Migration: Washington Diarist	p. 193
Citizen Kennedy	p. 197
The Idiocy of Urban Life	p. 203
Merry faxmas: Washington Diarist	p. 212
Greedy Geezers	p. 217
Brief Whining Moments: The Collapse of Oratory	p. 226
Pen Ultimate	p. 235
Spurious George	p. 240
Perrier on the Rocks	p. 245
An Evening with Hooter	p. 249
The Harlot's Prerogative
Writers and the Press
Necessary Weapons	p. 263
Press Against Politics	p. 268
Magnates, Mischief, and Mass Circulation	p. 280
How Journalists Get Rich	p. 293
A Radical and a Patriot: Randolph Bourne	p. 305
Tory Days: George F. Will	p. 325
When Challenger Fell from the Sky	p. 343
Acknowledgments	p. 347
Index	p. 349
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