Best of I. F. Stone
When I. F. Stone died in 1989, it seemed reasonable to assume that his investigative reporting, columns, and editorials would soon be forgotten, as is the case with most journalism. But the words published inI. F. Stone's Weekly, a unique newsletter about national and international politics published from 1953 to 1971, have not faded from the record, and resonate today. Weber has chosen wisely from the newsletter and Stone's freelance pieces for theNationand theNew York Review of Books, and Peter Osnos, founder of PublicAffairs press and a former editorial assistant to Stone, has written a lively, loving introduction to the always erudite and passionate, sometimes irascible, hard-digging reporter. Osnos is not exaggerating when he stresses the relevance of Stone's journalism today, and that is uplifting. Indeed, a great journalist guarding the public interest is cause for celebration in any era. But it is also profoundly depressing because so little has changed within the U.S. government and in the world's trouble spots since Stone was on the case. For more on Stone, see the starred review on p.8 of Myra MacPherson's biography.Steve WeinbergCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved