I.F. Stone: A Portrait

by Andrew Patner

Patner A. - I.F.Stone. A Portrait.. Pantheon Books, New York, 1988 yr., 175 pp.. Textbook

Genres: Journalism, Biography

174 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1990

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not a biography, but as the title says, a portrait. Instead of a chronological telling of Stone’s life, the author narrates the time he spent with Stone for the purposes of the book. Reading it, you feel like you’ve just spent a delightful afternoon conversing with one of the 20th century’s most brilliant writers, someone who had a seemingly impossibly broad array of knowledge and was thus able to comment accurately on American and world affairs with tremendous foresight.

[Mark Nenadov]

This isn't conventional biography as much as loose collection of conversation fragments (read: mini Stone monologues). It gives an interesting but incomplete portrait of his life and work through the vantage point of his retirement, and an especially engaging view of his retirement projects. You probably should have a basic linear familiarity with his life before you read this. Whatever one thinks of Stone overall, he seems to be a fascinating example of a self-taught man, a tenacious and fiercly independent journalist, and in his old age--a life-long learner.

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on interviews with Stone, the "portrait" is too short to really get any insight into Stone.