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Rebellions, Perversities and Main Events
This is the best of Murray Kempton's columns, essays, reviews, and reportage. In the words of David Remnick, author of Lenin's Tomb, "(this book is) like watching an endless parade of the great characters of American life . . . as rich as a great novel."
From the Trade Paperback edition.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 4, 2009
Not much more needs to be said about this beyond go to Amazon.com and find this sinfully out-of-print book and buy it and read it. For a simple reason there is not a better anthology of 20th century reporting anywhere. The simple reason being that Kempton was the century’s best reporter—a keen observer, a careful analyst, a compassionate soul with little tolerance for the moment’s fancy or anyone’s shallow passion, and a writer whose newspaper column attained poetry, not because he was a frustrated poet or an obsessive stylist but because the truth demanded language of persuasive brevity to be effectively conveyed.
Take his column on the 1990 collapse of several corporations because of executive mismanagement. Who but Kempton would have thought to compare the MBA class of CEOs to East European communist bureaucrats and who else could successfully make the case of their similarities and differences so entertainingly and convincingly in less than 700 words? Kempton writes, “The power monopoly they held for four decades has left no trained managers except themselves. The very mechanics who snarled the machine have turned out to be the only ones with the slightest experience at running it.” Sentences like that—and they are all that succinct and most are wise and some laugh out loud funny—are why the column not only was brilliant nearly 20 years ago but remains so now. In fact, it is the single best thing I’ve read on our current economic crisis because where Kempton with fairness drew the line then in his contrast is where the problem has arrived at. His precision was blessed with foresight. “There are, of course, degrees of difference in the harm done in power’s exercise by MBAs as compared to communists, since MBAs just damage our economy while communists ruin theirs.” Twenty years on our MBAs have taken us to the brink of ruin.
Kempton writes on politics, religion, crime, literature, music, and whatever else mounts to significance in our society. He is a New York journalist who sometimes ventures out, to Chicago for a convention, to DC for hearings, to Central America for civil war, to Rome for a papal election. His work, though, is the opposite of parochial. Norman Mailer once asked him, “Why is it that I’ve never hit you?” The answer was that Kempton had the face of decency. Mailer’s question was prelude to a suggestion that Kempton lead a group of delegates from the Democratic convention in 1968 to get between the Chicago police and protestors to prevent another riot. Kempton had more than a face of decency, he had a mind and soul of decency as well and it was never absent in his writing. His columns on the murder of Malcolm X, on a poor drug addict of a prosecution witness, on Marilyn Monroe’s address book, on Bessie Smith, on Eisenhower political genius, on a Goya exhibit, and many other topics are brilliant despite their modesty and display not only a great breadth of interest but a singleness of purpose: compassionate understanding.
He is the best. Find this book and read it. You’ll be doing yourself a favor beyond measure.
Take his column on the 1990 collapse of several corporations because of executive mismanagement. Who but Kempton would have thought to compare the MBA class of CEOs to East European communist bureaucrats and who else could successfully make the case of their similarities and differences so entertainingly and convincingly in less than 700 words? Kempton writes, “The power monopoly they held for four decades has left no trained managers except themselves. The very mechanics who snarled the machine have turned out to be the only ones with the slightest experience at running it.” Sentences like that—and they are all that succinct and most are wise and some laugh out loud funny—are why the column not only was brilliant nearly 20 years ago but remains so now. In fact, it is the single best thing I’ve read on our current economic crisis because where Kempton with fairness drew the line then in his contrast is where the problem has arrived at. His precision was blessed with foresight. “There are, of course, degrees of difference in the harm done in power’s exercise by MBAs as compared to communists, since MBAs just damage our economy while communists ruin theirs.” Twenty years on our MBAs have taken us to the brink of ruin.
Kempton writes on politics, religion, crime, literature, music, and whatever else mounts to significance in our society. He is a New York journalist who sometimes ventures out, to Chicago for a convention, to DC for hearings, to Central America for civil war, to Rome for a papal election. His work, though, is the opposite of parochial. Norman Mailer once asked him, “Why is it that I’ve never hit you?” The answer was that Kempton had the face of decency. Mailer’s question was prelude to a suggestion that Kempton lead a group of delegates from the Democratic convention in 1968 to get between the Chicago police and protestors to prevent another riot. Kempton had more than a face of decency, he had a mind and soul of decency as well and it was never absent in his writing. His columns on the murder of Malcolm X, on a poor drug addict of a prosecution witness, on Marilyn Monroe’s address book, on Bessie Smith, on Eisenhower political genius, on a Goya exhibit, and many other topics are brilliant despite their modesty and display not only a great breadth of interest but a singleness of purpose: compassionate understanding.
He is the best. Find this book and read it. You’ll be doing yourself a favor beyond measure.
December 10, 2012
Murray Kempton is so far in a class by himself. One of the great reporters of the 20th century (in a class with Menken). I first ran into him, I think, when he wrote for Esquire and definitely when he was writing for the New York Review of Books. I was thrilled when I found Rebellions, Perversities and Main Events for sale at the local library for $1.00 but for some reason only read it now And such a treat! Kempton's prose is beyond compare. He makes me want to start writing again (OK, I've not been not writing for long--and please don't judge my writing by my reviews here!), but if I could turn out one piece as great at any of his, I'd be happy for life.
Perversities, etc is a collection of some of Kempton's voluminous work from the early 1960s to 1993. He covered so much of our history. The little guy on the street. The 1968 Democratic convention I thought his analysis of Ronald Reagan was brilliant ( a man who could not grasp suffering in the abstract--among other things) Westbrook Pegler (who believe it not I remember ( a great reporter who went bitter and over the edge), getting mugged (felt bad for the muggers). His essays on San DeCalvacante (The Mafia Myth) is hilarious and oh so true A few years later, historian Mark Heller reported something similar after listening to some FBI tapes. Kempton joined others in universl hatred of Time Magazine.
Kempton was an authentic observer and writer. He wrote with compassion and nuance-. Alger Hiss, Whittaker Chambers, Malcolm X, Ronald Reagan, Lillian Hellman, A Phillip Randolph--a veritable catalogue of 20th century history--fell under his eye and typewriter.
Kempton needs to be read by every reporter in every corpo newsroom today.I know enough reporters to know that what they want to be they're not allowed to be. Unfortunately, Kempton's newsroom and world is long gone and we'll never get it back. Read Perversities, etc and weep for what once and is no more.
Perversities, etc is a collection of some of Kempton's voluminous work from the early 1960s to 1993. He covered so much of our history. The little guy on the street. The 1968 Democratic convention I thought his analysis of Ronald Reagan was brilliant ( a man who could not grasp suffering in the abstract--among other things) Westbrook Pegler (who believe it not I remember ( a great reporter who went bitter and over the edge), getting mugged (felt bad for the muggers). His essays on San DeCalvacante (The Mafia Myth) is hilarious and oh so true A few years later, historian Mark Heller reported something similar after listening to some FBI tapes. Kempton joined others in universl hatred of Time Magazine.
Kempton was an authentic observer and writer. He wrote with compassion and nuance-. Alger Hiss, Whittaker Chambers, Malcolm X, Ronald Reagan, Lillian Hellman, A Phillip Randolph--a veritable catalogue of 20th century history--fell under his eye and typewriter.
Kempton needs to be read by every reporter in every corpo newsroom today.I know enough reporters to know that what they want to be they're not allowed to be. Unfortunately, Kempton's newsroom and world is long gone and we'll never get it back. Read Perversities, etc and weep for what once and is no more.
August 16, 2015
Most people don't really find collected newspaper columns all that fascinating. They are, quite literally, yesterday's news. But Kempton may well have been the most brilliant writer of American columnists. He worked for several New York papers, ending up writing for the New York Review of Books. Maybe his leftist stance kept him from a wider audience; I don't think people in the Midwest have ever heard of him. Some of the political controversies he writes about have passed into history or obscurity, but some of the essays collected here will stay with you, and will break your heart.
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February 11, 2008Murray Kempton has always been a favorite of mine since I followed him on William Buckley's tv show. ThereThey were on opposite sides but liked each other.
December 31, 2010
I always really loved Kempton's essays in the NYRB (New York Review of Books) when he was still living, and wanted to get this book to read more. I wasn't disappointed!
December 10, 2012
Murray frigging Kempton.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews