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James Agee: Selected Journalism
Book by Agee, James
- GenresNonfictionHistory
183 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 18, 2021
I hate to have to give this two stars, James Agee is an incredibly talented writer, but the Fortune magazine articles that make up the bulk of this collection are impossibly dull: endless lists of facts and figures, minute details about the mechanics of business. I'm sure this is due to the constraints of style imposed by the editors of Fortune and not Agee's own journalistic proclivities, but it still makes for a tiresome read. The only exception is "Havana Cruise", about the events of a 1937 cruise from New York to Cuba. In it, Agee is surprisingly frank (for the era) about the depressingly human foibles of a group of American middle-class tourists.
The best part of this collection is Agee's reportage from Time, mostly pertaining to postwar conditions. The best pieces in the whole book, "Europe: Autumn Story" and "The Nation", are made up of heartbreaking vignettes illustrating the toll wrought by World War II on European and American citizens.
While all the Time articles are good, and allow Agee to focus on the subject he's most eloquent about (the dignity of ordinary people), they only account for about 20 pages of 'Selected Journalism'.
The best part of this collection is Agee's reportage from Time, mostly pertaining to postwar conditions. The best pieces in the whole book, "Europe: Autumn Story" and "The Nation", are made up of heartbreaking vignettes illustrating the toll wrought by World War II on European and American citizens.
While all the Time articles are good, and allow Agee to focus on the subject he's most eloquent about (the dignity of ordinary people), they only account for about 20 pages of 'Selected Journalism'.
April 15, 2008
Agee fascinates me. Went through a major Agee period in '88 or so. Brilliant writer, a great and sad soul. There are many great essays here, but the most memorable are the essay on the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (from Time magazine) and the one about going on a cruise ship. Also the essay on orchids.
June 6, 2012
A collection of Agee essays spanning a range of topics that includes cockfighting, orchids, the day FDR died and the splitting of the atom over Japan when, "All thoughts and things were split." Agee reveals more insight and genius in a two-page essay than most men do in dissertations.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews