Richard M. Cook

Without a doubt one of the most appealing biographies of a critic that I've read. Cook offers a sympathetic but not uncritical examination of a literary life of a significant mid-century American writer. One comes away with the sense of a major critic and first-rate talent who somehow never quite found his own literary form. Kazin's best books came only after long struggles to define his subject and give it shape, and he was not always successful at that. Cook relies heavily on the journals that Kazin kept throughout his life, which permits him to explore his inner life and personal relationships with some depth. Particularly good on the Jewish-American experience in the 20th century, on New York, and on academia, as well as on 19th-century American literature, Kazin's area of special expertise.… (meer)