Here, there & everywhere: collected writings of Jay Nordlinger

by Jay Nordlinger

As the author says in his preface, Here, There,  & Everywhere is a “grab bag of a book,” containing almost 100 pieces on a multiplicity of subjects. Paul Johnson calls Jay Nordingler “one of the most versatile and pungent writers in America. And Mark Steyn says that this collection is “a virtuoso display.” In these pages, Nordlinger visits unusual towns, universities–even music camps. He delves into politics, then profiles a number of George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Naguib Mahfouz, Al Sharpton, Donald Rumsfeld, Rosie O’Donnell, Rodney Dangerfield…. He sends dispatches from Europe–East and West–and the Middle East. He writes on a favorite sport, golf, and a favorite music. We meet Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Luciano Pavarotti, Meredith Wilson (the composer of The Music Man ), and many others. The book closes with a selection of personal pieces, involving matters large and small. What we have here is a feast of a book, served in several appetizing courses. Mark Helprin says that reading these pieces is “like opening one present after another.” Rush Limbaugh says that the book is “witty, grabbing, and fun.” And, out the author, Norman Podhoretz says, “The easy informality of his style never fails to engage and delight, the wide-ranging cultivation it reflects never fails to enlighten, and the energy that propels it never fails to amaze.” Readers are invited to experience this for themselves.

521 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Jay Nordlinger is a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow of the National Review Institute. He writes about a variety of subjects, including politics, foreign affairs, and the arts. He is music critic for The New Criterion . Since 2002, he has hosted a series of public interviews at the Salzburg Festival. For the National Review website, he writes a column called “Impromptus.” With Mona Charen, he hosts the Need to Know podcast, and he also hosts a podcast called Q&A . His latest book is Children of Monsters . He is also the author of Peace, They Say , a history of the Nobel Peace Prize. A native Michigander, Nordlinger lives in New York.

Reviews

[Paul Sand · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Imported automatically from my blog. Some formatting there may not have translated here.]

Readers of National Review will know Jay Nordlinger as one of their Senior Editors; he's also a prolific contributor to their website. (I've long suspected he also has a major hand in the unsigned "The Week" snippets at the front of each dead-tree issue.)

This book (published by "National Review Books" in 2007) is a selection of some of Mr. Nordlinger's essays and articles from the late 1990's and early 2000's. Confession: it was a freebie, in return for some past renewal or contribution, and I probably wouldn't have it otherwise. But it's an interesting and enjoyable read. I suggest small doses: I read it in 20-page chunks over the span of slightly over three weeks. Too much of even a good writer's style can get tedious after a while.

The entries are arranged into broad sections: there is, of course, the meat-and-potatoes political stuff, which, given the timeframe, is more than slightly dated. (There is, for example, no entry for "Obama, Barack" in the index, but dozens for Dubya, the Clintons, Gore, etc.) But it's worth remembering the issues from back then, who were the heroes, and who were the weasels. More often than not, I was reminded of that "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" thing.

In addition to Mr. Nordlinger's take on politics generally, he has also taken on more special fields as his own. One is the continuing horror of Communist tyranny in Cuba and China; he knows, and keeps track of, the major opponents of the regimes and the abuse that's visited upon them. (He also keeps score on the outrageous American apologists for Castro.) This is important stuff, and nobody covers it as well.

Other topics: golf (with much appreciation for Tiger Woods, which is probably the most dated thing in the book); classical music of all sorts; some personal anecdotes.

All in all, good stuff. I can't recommend you run out and plunk down the $24.95 cover price, but if NR offers it in exchange for renewing your subscription, go for it.

[Todd Pollock · Rating 5 out of 5]

still go back to it from time to time

delightful