Part of Our Time

Summary

First published in 1955, Part of Our Time consists of ten incomparable "novellas" that profile individuals whose lives were transformed by the radical movements of the thirties. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Murray Kempton writes of people who "shared at one time or another the conviction that the most important thing in life was a remorseless effort to throw down the society which had raised and alienated most of them." Included are portraits of Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers, Walter Reu-ther, Lee Pressman, Paul Robeson, Edmund Wilson, and James T. Farrell; the writers of the Hollywood left; as well as many now-forgotten labor leaders, politicians, and mobsters--all of whom were caught up in what the author calls "the myth of the thirties." "Part of Our Time is a striking piece of work," said The New Yorker. "Kempton is a journalist of formidable talent and versatility. He can be serious, he can be funny, he can be evocative. Every phase of life interests him, and he has a novelist's sense of character and change. . . . He is a remarkably rewarding writer, and journalism and political criticism are lucky to have him." The Modern Library has played a significant role in American cultural life for the better part of a century. The series was founded in 1917 by the publishers Boni and Liveright and eight years later acquired by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It provided the foundation for their next publishing venture, Random House. The Modern Library has been a staple of the American book trade, providing readers with affordable hardbound editions of impor-tant works of literature and thought. For the Modern Library's seventy-fifth anniversary, Random House redesigned the series, restoring as its emblem the running torchbearer created by Lucian Bernhard in 1925 and refurbishing jackets, bindings, and type, as well as inaugurating a new program of selecting titles. The Modern Library continues to provide the world's best books, at the best prices. This Modern Library edition includes an Introduction by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Remnick.

A Prelude

(14)

1 The Sheltered Life (Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers)

(29)

2 The Dry Bones (Gardner Jackson and Lee Pressman)

(58)

3 "It's Time to Go, I Heard Them Say..." (Joe Curran and His Shipmates)

104

(29)

4 The Social Muse

133

(57)

5 O'er Moor and Fen (J.B. Matthews and the Multiple Revelation)

190

(38)

6 The Day of the Locust (The Workers' Theater Goes to Hollywood)

228

(39)

7 The Rebel Girl (Mary Heaton Vorse, Elizabeth Bentley, and Anne Moos Remington)

267

(28)

8 George (Paul Robeson and the Pullman Porters)

295

(35)

9 Father and Sons (The Reuther Boys)

330

(50)

10 The Shadow Line

380

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