Bite the Hand That Feeds You: Essays and Provocations

by Henry Fairlie, Jeremy McCarter (Editor), Leon Wieseltier (Foreword)

Henry Fairlie was one of the most colorful and trenchant journalists of the twentieth century. The British-born writer made his name on Fleet Street, where he coined the term “The Establishment,” sparred in print with the likes of Kenneth Tynan, and caroused with Kingsley Amis, among  many others. In America his writing found a home in the pages of the New Yorker and other top magazines and newspapers. When he died, he was remembered as “quite simply the best political journalist, writing in English, in the last fifty years.” Remarkable for their prescience and relevance, Fairlie’s essays celebrate Winston Churchill, old-fashioned bathtubs, and American empire; they ridicule Republicans who think they are conservatives and yuppies who want to live forever. Fairlie is caustic, controversial, and unwavering—especially when attacking his employers. With an introduction by Jeremy McCarter, Bite the Hand That Feeds You restores a compelling voice that, among its many virtues, helps Americans appreciate their country anew.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Essays

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

When people find out that I came of age politically embracing what I still call "conservative values," they're usually pretty shocked that such a progressive guy could be proud of that. I find this particularly sad because it means that people honestly don't know what conservatism was actually like before Reagan hitched his wagon to the religious right (and all of their baggage around social progress), declared war on the institution of government itself, and embraced the nonsensical voodoo economics of unfettered free market capitalism. Well, Henry Fairlie is the kind of conservative that I wish still existed, and I'm so glad that some of his greatest essays have been compiled and released decades after his death. Considering most of Reagan's devout as "the booboisie," and regularly eviscerating the vacuity of George Will's attempts at purple prose, Fairlie wasn't beholden to any particular political party or persuasion, although he always considered himself a true conservative in the Tory tradition. Traveling the world to cover politics, and traveling the United States extensively once he took up residence here, he developed an interesting worldview and a great many insights which are clearly and cleverly relayed to the reader. I've read a good many books about politics and world affairs over the years, but never have I found myself folding down as many page corners as I did in "Bite the Hand That Feeds You" so that I could return to re-read and/or quote the author. If you consider yourself a conservative in today's world, you should read this book to understand how far away you've drifted from its ideals; if you consider yourself a liberal, you should read this book to see that once upon a time, a conservative could also be quite progressive. And if you're somewhere in between, you'll probably find a very kindred spirit in the late, great Henry Fairlie.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly incisive political commentary. Even though his columns were written 20-50 years ago, it is still on point with current events. His criticism of the conservative movement is especially poignant, if people read this book instead of watching Fox News, the world would be a much better place.

[James Carmichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

[disclosure: Jeremy McCarter is a friend of mine.]

I didn't know anything about Henry Fairlie before reading this collection, and I'm surprised that it's taken so long coming. His writing is a tremendous pleasure; the praises sung on the back by various literary lights are totally warranted. More surprisingly, many of his observations are valuable not only as well formulated historical artifacts but for their application today. In particular, his discussion of the distinctions between and relative bases of American and British Conservatism were very eye-opening for me. While it does seem like he got crankier as he got older, his observations don't lose value, and this collection provides -- as much as a novel, almost -- a vivid picture of a man and his times and his relationship to it, with cantankerous ideas that will stick with you.

[Avi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of excellent political essays. In my opinion, the best were:

In Defense of Big Government
Let the Convention Be "a Brawl"
The Importance of Bathtubs [I scoffed at this title before reading it— lovely essay]
Mencken's Booboisie in Control of GOP
The Voice of Hope: Franklin D. Roosevelt
My America!
If Pooh Were President: A Tory's Riposte to Reaganism
The Idiocy of Urban Life
Greedy Geezers
Brief Whining Moments: The Collapse of Oratory
Press Against Politics
A Radical and a Patriot: Randolph Bourne [Interesting character I'd never heard of before]
Tory Days: George F. Will

If the collection was made of just these, I would have five starred it.

This is the sharpest writing on American politics I've read in a long time.

[Elizabeth]

As seen in The New Yorker .

[Michelle Greenwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really enjoyed this Englishman's view of America.