Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, Mailer

by David Denby

Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, Norman Mailer. Brilliant, brash, yet soulful, they were 100 percent Jewish and 100 percent American. They upended the restrained culture of their forebears and changed American life.

They worked in different fields, and, apart from clinking glasses at parties now and then, they hardly knew one another. But they shared a historical moment and a common temperament. For all four, their Jewish heritage was electrified by American liberty. The results were explosive.

As prosperity for Jews increased and anti-Semitism began to fade after World War II, these four creative giants stormed through the latter half of the twentieth century, altering the way people around the world listened to music, defined what was vulgar, comprehended the relations of men and women, and understood the American soul. They were not saints; they were turbulent and self-dissatisfied intellectuals who fearlessly wielded their own newly won freedom to charge up American culture.

Celebratory yet candid, at times fiercely critical, David Denby presents these four figures as egotistical and generous—larger-than-life, all of them, yet more than vulnerable, even heartbreaking, in their ambition, ferocity, and pride.

Genres: Jewish, History, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 8, 2025

About the author

David Denby is an American journalist, best known as a film critic for The New Yorker magazine. Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A. from Columbia University in 1965, and a master's degree from its journalism school in 1966.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for a penetrating look at 4 prominent Jewish persons who made a profound impact on American society and the rest of the world. This book has a mini biography, about 90 pages each, of Betty Friedan, Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks and Norman Mailer. There are no footnotes but there is a bibliography. The author interviewed Brooks and Mailer several times. He read books by all 4 persons. He watched movies made by Brooks, Bernstein and Mailer. He listened to to many of Bernstein's recordings. He also consulted numerous printed biographies, of the 4 people. In sum, he did a prodigious amount of research.
Betty Friedan is famous for her book "The Feminine Mystique." She was also a founder of NOW(National Organization for Women." Leonard Bernstein is a world famous conductor, composer(West Side Story) and teacher in the "Young Peoples concerts."
Mel Brooks is famous for his many movies, including "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein."
Norman Mailer is famous for his many books and articles, including "The Naked and the Dead."
This book is not a short read, in that it seeks to explain their ideas, how they produced their work and the effect that it had on their friends and family. The author presents a balanced viewpoint, showing their faults, as well as their strengths. Mailer, to give one example, is presented as a man of excess, and once stabbed his second wife Adele, nearly killing her. Mailer also believed in the Reform Jewsih mandate "tikkun olam" (to repair the world). It drove much of his writing.
I recommend this book to fans of any of the 4. I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Thank You Henry Holt for sending me this ARC.
The author is Jewish. He mentions that his father changed his name from Dembosky to Denby after the stock market crash of 1929. He was worried that the Depression would cause a rise in antisemitism, (not unfounded, considering Germany) .

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eminent Jews; Bernstein free Dan Brooks and Mailer by David Denby, I rated this book 3 stars despite the fact that had five star material what I didn’t like about the book is there were things in it that were either repeated, pointless and or made the book just too long. Although I learned a lot about those I knew like Mel Brooks and Norman Mailer I also became familiar with David Bernstein who I had heard of but didn’t know quite what he did and Betty free Dan who I had never heard of. The only thing that connects them is their religion Judaism and the fact they all were in or adjacent to entertainment. These books could’ve been released as standalone and although I am glad I read it I think with a little editing this really could be a five star read. since the beginning of time Jewish people have been scapegoat for many things and so these people in the midst of the hatred became popular despite it. I love Mel Brooks and have read Norman Mailer’s books and now getting to know Bernstein and free Dan I can honestly say I admire what they’ve done.#NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #DavidDenby, #EminentJews,

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Denby's basic thesis is that in the first half of the century Jewish Americans tended to lay low while often downplaying their Jewishness, but that their children flourished in the second half of the century as they more blatantly challenged norms of culture and propriety and became major influences on American society. The four mini-biographies he offers - Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, Norman Mailer, and Leonard Bernstein - are prime examples of eminent Jews who were (in Denby's words) 100% American and 100% Jewish.

I really loved this book even if the discussions of Mel Brooks (presumably chosen over Woody Allen) and Betty Friedan (perhaps the most influential of those profiled) were merely sufficient. Denby really shines when covering the incredibly lively, prolific and scandalous careers of Mailer (I would have chosen Philip Roth, but that's a matter of personal taste) and Bernstein. The two of them simply come alive - warts and all. While all of the biographies required research, it seemed that the Mailer and Bernstein sections were supplemented by a lifetime of fandom.

The entire book is worth your time, but I certainly wouldn't judge you if you jumped straight to the Mailer and Bernstein chapters.

Thanks to Macmillan and Netgalley for providing a copy for early review.

[Silver Screen Videos · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the title of David Denby’s book, “Eminent Jews,” seems familiar, it should. It’s a deliberate shout-out by the author to Lytton Strachey’s famous 2017 work, “Eminent Victorians.” Like Strachey a century earlier, Denby examines the life of four well-known figures in “Eminent Jews,” However, unlike Strachey, who viewed most of his subjects critically, Denby finds much to admire in Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, and Norman Mailer, whom he discusses at length in the four mini-biographies that comprise “Eminent Jews.” As 100-page biographical essays, these sections are entertaining and informative. However, when Denby tries to tie his subjects’ accomplishments to their religion, he is less successful.

In “Eminent Jews,” Denby selected well-known celebrities in what may be broadly categorized as the “Arts and Entertainment” fields. He doesn’t include those who became prominent in more academic (and less visible to the public) occupations, such as judges or scientists. Denby adds a brief introductory chapter and a slightly longer concluding chapter, where he attempts to demonstrate that his subjects’ undeniable impact on American life was tied to their Jewishness. The author acknowledges their relatively non-religious lives and the lack of overt Jewish themes in much of their work. However, he also notes: “Their relation to Judaism was less formal than emotional and temperamental, and, as they made art, advanced their ideas, they jumped away from elements in Jewish cultural tradition even as they gained strength from it. They were free in ways that Jews had never been free in any society of the past.”

The author’s last sentence is undeniably correct. Post-World War II America was the first place where referring to someone as a Jew was no longer an automatic slur. Mel Brooks clothed himself in his religion in every script he wrote or routine he performed (although he largely avoided stereotypical themes like Jews’ supposed cheapness). Leonard Bernstein went to great lengths to stage performances in Israel and other venues of religious significance for Jews. However, people rarely thought of Betty Friedan as a Jewish feminist. (The author notes that many of her fellow feminists of the era were also Jewish.) Also, while Norman Mailer’s best novel, “The Naked and the Dead” (1948), contains two significant Jewish characters, the book adopts the typical view of its era that World War II combat units were “melting pots,” composed of men from all segments of American society.

Although each of Denby’s subjects could easily support a full-length biography, he packs a lot of content (much of which will be new to most readers) into these 100-page chapters. He is especially interested in the business end of his subject’s careers—how they got in front of the public. Betty Friedan’s seminal work, “The Feminine Mystique,” was rejected by several magazine publishers before she expanded it into what became a runaway best-selling book. After 1960, Norman Mailer’s success was predicated mainly on works commissioned by periodicals, such as his report on the 1967 anti-Vietnam War march on the Pentagon, which became his Pulitzer Prize-winning “Armies of the Night.” Leonard Bernstein collaborated with various artists over a decade to bring his theatrical works, such as “West Side Story,” to Broadway. Mel Brooks first caught the public’s attention when he made a series of best-selling comedy albums about the 2,000-Year-Old Man with co-creator Carl Reiner.

The author also devotes considerable attention to the upbringings of his eminences, mostly in middle-class households of the 1920s and 1930s. They were all the objects of anti-Semitism to some degree, especially in college, but the author can’t tie those experiences specifically to their later lives. Denby’s material on his subjects’ romantic lives will be far more interesting for most people. Only Mel Brooks had a long, successful marriage (to actress Anne Bancroft). Betty Friedan’s husband, Carl Friedan, consistently abused her while she was researching and writing “The Feminine Mystique.” Norman Mailer had six wives (one of whom he stabbed after an argument, which resulted in his being charged with assault) and many mistresses and one-night stands. Leonard Bernstein had an outwardly perfect family life with his wife and children, while he had several gay affairs and casual encounters.

Denby’s discussion of his four eminences extends to various acquaintances, with two- to three-page biographical sketches of several of them, mostly those who were Jewish. The gay Jewish composer Aaron Copland became Bernstein’s mentor while the latter was in college. Betty Friedan worked and later clashed with Jewish feminists like Bella Abzug and Gloria Steinem. Mel Brooks’ big break came when he was hired as a writer on Sid Caesar’s television show. Occasionally, however, the author’s diversions become distractions. He devotes several pages to the career of Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan, whose life and career roughly parallel Bernstein’s. His “feud” with Bernstein was well-publicized in classical music circles. Still, that rivalry gets much less attention than the several mentions of von Karajan’s career before he ever met Bernstein.

David Denby brings a unique, valuable perspective to “Eminent Jews.” He conducted many interviews with Brooks and Mailer. As a journalist and film critic, he is highly familiar with the book’s subject matter. He also conducted exhaustive research on his subjects. However, the book sometimes becomes more about Denby than his eminences. His efforts to tie their careers to their religion are occasionally dense and boring. He also seemed to lose interest in the later stages of Friedan and Mailer’s careers, giving the last decades of their lives short shrift. Still, the book contains an abundance of fascinating content about four celebrities with whom I had a generally superficial prior knowledge. That information is more than enough to make “Eminent Jews” eminently worthwhile.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

[Luv2TrvlLuvBks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that’s equal parts biography as well as a cultural and sociological examination of four Jewish American trailblazers.

These are historical figures I’ve heard of but did not really know. Sure, some of their stories have made it to the big screen. While others’ creativity are featured on bookshelves or discussed on college campuses. Still others have graced the stages of NYC.

What influenced their work, their childhoods and their Jewish cultural identity is explored in detail. The author does not flinch from sharing their flaws. And that makes their stories even that more interesting.

This took much longer to read given the amount of detail the author expended but the reader will only leave the read with more knowledge of these extraordinary individuals when that last page is turned.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Henry Holt and Company via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the Goodreads Giveaways Program.

David Denby has written an interesting, if not odd, analysis of the lives of four Jew most prominent in arts and letters largely in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s (Mel Brooks continued to be active until his recent death).

Combining biographical sketches, literary and cultural analyis, Jewish history, Denby attempts to tie together thematically the lives of four different notable Jewish individuals: Betty Friedan (author, feminist), Norman Mailer (writer, journalist), Mel Brooks (writer, comedian, filmmaker, producer), and Leonard bernstein (composer, conductor, teacher). He argues that all four used the waning anti-semitism of the post-WWII years and the increasing freedom of the 1960s to make inportant contributions to American culture while using their Jewish backgrounds as a foundational springboard.
At times, Denby's premise seems strained. He acknowledges that "their relation to Judaism less formal tham emotional and tempermental, and, as they made art, advanced their ideas, they jumped away from elements in Jewsih cultural tradition even as they gained strength from it." Nevertheless, Denby's makes his case in an informed and sometimes provocative manner.

The four individuals are presently separately and the discussions of Leonard Bernstein and Betty Freidan are more successful than those of Mel Brooks and Norman Mailer. He exaggerates the accomplishments and significance of both Brooks and Mailer (even though he admits few people read Mailer today and touches upon some of Mailer's buffoonish and less appealing conduct).

There is much to disagree with in this book--perhaps, Denby reinforces stereotypes (the brash, loud Jew, the "unique" emphasis on learning and accomplishment, the imperative to do good) unintentionally. Nevertheless, there also is much to admire--there is a breadth of knowledge presented in easily readable prose.

[Kelly Brewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well now bless your heart let me tell ya bout this here book by David Denby. It's bout some real big shots ya know. Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, an Norman Mailer. Lordy they wuz somethin else

Denby he says they wuz 100 percent Jewish an 100 percent American. An by golly he ain't lyin. They stirred things up changed how we listen to music what we think's funny how men an women git along, an even what it means to be an American. They wuz somethin like a firecracker jes blew up the quiet ways folks used to be.

Now these four they didn't all hang out together much. Maybe clinked glasses at a party or two. But they lived in the same time an they all had that same kinda fire in em. See after that big ol war when folks started treatin Jews better an they had a little more money these folks they jes took off. They used their freedom an they weren't afraid to be themselves no sir.

Denby he don't paint em as saints not by a long shot. Says they wuz a bit wild kinda dissatisfied with things and always thinkin. But they wuz also big hearted an real generous, too. Bigger than life all of em but ya know they had their weak spots too. Made ya feel for em sometimes how hard they pushed an how much pride they had.

So if ya wanna read bout some folks who really shook things up an left their mark this here books the one. It tells ya how their Jewish ways mixed with that good ol American freedom to make somethin real special.

It wasn't my styl of reading it had to many names mentioned and to much going on for me.

I give it 3 outta 5 catfish!

[Randall Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite being Jewish and quite interested in this book due to its title, I found it to be tiresome and quite the slog to read. I think because it's an odd mix of biography, criticism, and social analysis, the whole idea of the book never gelled for me, and it only fitfully kept my interest. I think combining genres the way the author has can be quite tricky, and I feel like he didn't really pull it off. I also think that the author selected a strange assortment of people to profile - Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, and Normal Mailer. They all are certainly well-known and controversial figures, but other than their Jewishness, I never really got what linked them together, and they were not necessarily the people I would have picked as the most outstanding in their field. A good example is Mel Brooks - of all the Jewish comics (and there's a lot of them!) - why not pick someone like Woody Allen, who's movies (as opposed to his personal life) I feel are much stronger than Mel Brooks's. I'm also not sure that I agree with Normal Mailer as a choice - certainly "The Naked and the Dead" is a powerful novel, but a lot of the rest of his books seem like they are more of a mixed bag, and I think there are plenty of other Jewish authors that have produced a stronger body of work. So, overall, I wouldn't recommend this book, unless you have a particular interest in one of the four people profiled.

[Jason M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book largely on the strength of it having a profile of Mel Brooks, the one artist out of the four profiled with whom I'm the most familiar (at age 52, I am almost certainly at the very lowest age range of the presumed target audience). As a former but longtime New Yorker subscriber I'm also familiar with Denby's writing.

"Eminent Jews" is a series of extended magazine articles about each of its four subjects. Magazine writing is different from book writing because you only have a fraction of the space so need to be as vivid as possible, and you're often interjecting your own viewpoints or opinions. This works great for a 10,000-word New Yorker profile and has led to that magazine's ongoing success -- but in a full-length book it's exhausting long before the reader staggers across the finish line at page 350.

The author's theme is about how cultural Judaism (as opposed to religious observance) impacted the four artists, in a loose formula juxtaposing how far removed they were from their Eastern European shtetl immigrant ancestors, versus what particular quarter of the 20th century witnessed their best work. A lot of the recaps of particular books or movies or compositions are lively and engaging, but long before the end I was ready for a lot less of Denby inserting himself into the material.

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this collection of twelve essays, Denby profiles Jewish intellectuals, artists, and activists who helped shape the 20th century—not as emissaries of religious tradition, but as cultural provocateurs, secular humanists, and creators who engaged with their Jewishness in personal and ambivalent ways.

The book profiles Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, and Norman Mailer. The cast ranges from Leonard Bernstein, who brought Jewish themes to the concert hall and Broadway, to Betty Friedan, whose feminism redefined American domestic life, to Philip Roth, whose fiction wrestled with identity and assimilation. The conversation spans from Denby’s early years under the mentorship of Pauline Kael to his decades-long career at The New Yorker, before diving into the cultural impact and complex legacies of the book’s four iconic Jewish figures.

Along the way, they discuss the evolution of Jewish identity in American media. Ultimately, Eminent Jews is less a celebration of Jewishness than an elegy for a certain kind of cultural inheritance—brilliant, fractured, defiantly secular, and profoundly human.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbymedia.com/blogs/transcri...

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each profile is interesting on its own, but — and perhaps this is the fault of the reader — I didn’t get the cohesiveness I expected (if I were reading it again, I might read the epilogue as a prologue, as the themes would have been more evident then). Reading through each profile it was work to identify how the times and the subjects’ Jewishness were common influences. When Denby does explicitly draw a connection between ethnicity and the work, it sometimes seems a stretch (eg, that West Side Story could only have been created by four Jews: really?). Also myriad asides are distracting, and this is especially true in the Bernstein section; I lost count of the number of references to Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and the frequent references to Herbert von Karajan often seemed beside the point. Worth a read if interested in any or all of the subjects, but in my opinion less successful as an examination of a particular culture in a particular era.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I click that I was interested in this book, because I hoped it was about several more eminent Jews, or did I just see Mel Brooks and disregard Norman Mailer? As I was reading Brooks, I thought I’d skip Mailer, yet I still read about Mailer. I still don’t want to read anything he wrote. I wonder why the author didn’t even mention Mel Brooks’ High Anxiety. Not even one sentence. He plays an analyst—what could be more Jewish?-- in this wonderful Hitchcock spoof.

This book did make me want to watch Maestro and listen to/ watch Bernstein on YouTube. If I knew that Betty Freidan fought over power in the feminist movement with Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug I'd forgotten it. I’m glad to have read this. I received this book three months ahead of its publishing date on 2/1/25 from MacMillan via Net Galley in return for a review.

[Marcy Lewis Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author explores the evolution of the American Jew in a post-war world via four eminent figures; Mel Brooks, Betty Freidan, Norman Mailer, and Leonard Bernstein. In the chapters devoted to each icon, he explore their lives and their genius. Starting with early childhood and their immigrant parents background, the author explores how being Jewish shaped who they are and how they navigated the world. The relentless drive to work, to teach, to have families, to make a difference, underline all four subjects. The author weaves their Jewish identity into their relationships, their work, and their impact on American society. Mel made us laugh, Betty made us question, Norman made us mad, and Leonard made us feel.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for this ARC. My opinion freely given.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief biographies of a quartet of Americans ... a comedian, a feminist thinker, a novelist and journalist, and a conductor and composer ... who each had a transformative effect on American culture, focusing on the way their work manifested their particularly Jewish sensibilities.

It's interesting reading this book as an early Gen X-er, because by my time, these four were (in terms of intellectual culture) practically the establishment (even Friedan), so I didn't witness the changes in culture first-hand; in fact, I witnessed the counter-culture responses to them (including by young American Jews).

A bit slim to be an essential book, but enjoyable reading and certainly worth looking into for anyone interested in the ways American arts and letters evolved in the 20th century.

[Lea Columbus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank Net Galley and Henry Holt for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. This book is a discussion of 4 prominent people, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, Leonard Bernstein and Norman Mailer. It is a discussion of their lives, their careers and the their Jewishness. The writing on this book strikes an odd tone, part biography, part lecture, part criticism. I am not sure just what the author was intending, but at times it was hard to follow. If you do not know much about these 4 , you might want to read it to get a better image of them and their work. I have read several books about each one, and did not get a lot of new information.I am also curious as to how he picked these 4, the preface and notes do not give many clues. Again, thanks for the opportunity.

[Paul Wilner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Denby is talented, obviously, but struggles to make a convincing thesis. And some of the arguments - Mel Brooks fear of "Death'' as a motivating force, a backhanded defense of Mailer's stabbing of his wife - he abhors it, then questions the wife's testimony - and hails some of Norman's windier efforts. (I admire a lot of his work, but don't think "Naked and the Dead'' can be seen in that number). Seems like a concept put forward by the publisher that never quite works. I skipped the Friedan and Bernstein chapters because I was annoyed by the other two.

[Stuart Shiffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thoughtful and provocative combination biography of four Jewish Americans who made the post World War II generation of American a better place. Their impact on American life as well as Jewish life cannot be minimized. Their impact on four are Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, Norman Mailer and Leonard Bernstein. Each contributed to the country and the world and never surrendered their Jewish heritage. David Denny has written an incredible biography that like any great biography is a look at the times as well as the subjects. Highly recommended.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5). The author has outlined the lives of 4 important people in our society and how their Jewish background both affected them and us. These 4 all came from immigrants prior to WWII. I liked the sections of the book as listed in the title. Leonard Bernstein’s history and accomplishments were fascinating, Mel is a hoot, I didn’t know much about Betty Friedan, and I found Norman Mailer basically a jerk with whom I didn’t want to know more about. While I enjoyed 2.5 sections, I didn’t feel the linkage as much as it was intended. It felt like 4 New Yorker articles put together.

[Daniel Sevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being broken down into individual biographies this had an aggregated power as it built a consistent image of the impact of American Jews on 20th century America. Jauntily written and occasionally saccharine, but well-meaning and ultimately illuminating. As another of their peers might have put it, "attention must be paid."

Very readable and it succeeds in doing the exact thing that it should which is send you back to the work.

[Jackie]

I find this book hard to rate. I’m not sure I am the audience for it, only because I’m not very familiar with Bernstein’s, Brooks’s, Friedan’s, or Mailer’s lives/work. That being said, I learned a ton and certainly have an appreciation for them! I think this book would be excellent for someone who knows more about those four!

[Marge Schiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite a read. As a woman of a certain age I had contact with three of the four amazing people who were profiled. Everything I read either confirmed or added richness to my experience. Mr Denby is a swell writer with enough citations and research that his observations sound like the real deal.
I liked this book very much.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Brooks, a mensch to end all menschen, Friedan, who kickstarted the second wave of the American womens' movement, Mailer, lost but with a couple of blockbuster books to his name, and Bernstein, who revolutionized American classical music composition and conducting, not to mention West Side Story. David, you did a fabulous job with this book, and I love them as much as you do.

[Ralph B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing and in-depth research on the four eminent Jews as one might expect from a writer for the New Yorker. Denby provides an interesting perspective on how these individuals expanded the cultural view/stereotypes of Jews from their place in US history as shopkeepers, mercantilists, financial traders of various types to broader cultural influences in various spheres of the arts.

[Dave]

This is a fantastic group biography of four important Jewish performers and writers by a Jewish writer who changed HIS name, too, just like my father did. Mel Brooks, the comedian, Betty Friedan, the feminist, Norman Mailer, the writer, and Leonard Bernstein, the conductor and composer. It's a must-read for any culturally aware Jew, and I'm VERY pleased I read the book myself. It's terrific.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four biographies in one, all telling the story of a successful person who was successful because of their Jewishness. The writing was engaging but I still found my mind wandering. It was interesting, though.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well researched. I did find the individual timelines jumped around a bit more than I prefer. It felt caught between being a series of short autobiographies and a collection of shorter stories with a broader subjects.

[Glenn Stenquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting biogrophies

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful view of four influential personalities of the twentieth century. Especially enjoyed the tie in between recent media such as Maestro.

[Helene]

Didn’t finish.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the sections on Brooks and Bernstein, but found myself slogging through the Friedan and Mailer sections.