John Freeman

Journalists used to get their start at the age kids these days start delivering papers. Born in Philadelphia in 1907, left-wing reporter I.F. Stone came from this era, and in this overstuffed biography, Myra MacPherson tells his story. From his early days reporting at the Philadelphia Record to the many years he spent as a correspondent at the Nation, Stone was a fabulous gumshoe who knew to always distrust politicians and governments. Impatient with mainstream publications, and having survived the demise of two startups, he began publishing his I.F. Stone's Weekly in the 1950s, during the worst of the Red Scare. Stone eventually grew his publication to an impressive 70,000-copy circulation, and used it like a bully pulpit, only facts, not rhetoric, were his strongest weapons. "His fans often said that they would read The New York Times on an issue, then read Stone, and recognize that Stone was providing more insights," writes MacPherson. This book elegantly reminds us we could use him today, too.

"All Governments Lie!

The Life and Times of Rebel Journalist I.F. Stone"

By Myra MacPherson

Scribner, $25, 564 pages

(2006-09-19)

Also by John Freeman

FICTION REVIEW
"Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" is Murakami's latest collection, and it gathers stories from the last two decades of his story-writing career
(2006-08-29)

FICTION REVIEW
I wouldn't want to get lost in Tom Drury's Midwest
(2006-08-22)

Bolivian Codes
Five years ago, Edmundo Paz Soldan harbored very little skepticism about globalization
(2006-08-15)

NONFICTION REVIEW
An unabashed champion of high art, Cynthia Ozick's sensibility occasionally feels as anachronistic in our celebrity-obsessed world as a rotary dial telephone
(2006-07-25)

FICTION REVIEW
(2006-07-18)

Fiction Review
(2006-07-11)

FICTION REVIEW
(2006-06-30)

High Infidelity
(2006-06-27)

Fiction Review
(2006-06-06)

Death is Not the Plan
(2006-05-23)

The End of Life
(2006-05-09)

Howling Wolves
(2006-04-25)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment