Ghosts on the Roof: Selected Journalism / Edition 1

by Whittaker Chambers, Terry Teachout, Milton Hindus

Overview

Whittaker Chambers is one of the most controversial figures in modern American history a former Communist spy who left the party, testified against Alger Hiss before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and wrote a classic autobiography, Witness. Dismissed by some as a crank, reviled by others as a traitor, Chambers still looms as a Dostoevskian figure over three decades after his death in 1961. A man of profound pessimism, rare vision, and remarkable literary talents, his continuing importance was attested to when Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 1984. Ghosts on the Roof, originally published in 1989, brings together more than fifty short stories, essays, articles, and reviews that originally appeared in Time, Life, National Review, Commonweal, The American Mercury, and the New Masses. Included are essays on Karl Marx, Reinhold Niebuhr, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, George Santayana, Dame Rebecca West, Ayn Rand, and Greta Garbo. These show Chambers at his best, as a peerless historian of ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781560008354
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	01/30/1996
Series:	Library of Conservative Thought Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	404
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Terry Teachout, Whittaker Chambers, Milton Hindus

Table of Contents

One: Introductory; Two: Documentation; Poem 1; Poem 2; Poem 3; Poem 4; Poem 5; Poem 6; Poem 7; Poem 8; Poem 9; Poem 10; Poem 11; Poem 12; Poem 13; Three: Analysis; 1: The Four Kinds of Meaning; 2: Figurative Language; 3: Sense and Feeling; 4: Poetic Form; 5: Irrelevant Associations and Stock Responses; 6: Sentimentality and Inhibition; 7: Doctrine in Poetry; 8: Technical Presuppositions and Critical Preconceptions; Four: Summary and Recommendations; Summary

Editorial Reviews

"[Ghosts on the Roof] is an important contribution to history and to literature. It will do . . . much to restore the correct perspective. . . . A superb rediscovery of the artistry of a great figure." —William F. Buckley, Jr.

"The world knows Whittaker Chambers best as a philosopher and a hero of liberty. Because of Ghosts on the Roof, it will be reminded that he was also a first-rank critic, an incisive stylist, and all in all one of America's greatest journalists. Terry Teachout's valuable collection will go directly to my most easily reached bookshelf, right next to the well-worn copies of Witness and Cold Friday." —Richard Nixon "Ghosts on the Roof is an important book. . . . Chambers writes with distinction, compassion, and authority." —Hilton Kramer "This book is a treasure chest for admirers of Whittaker Chambers such as myself." —Robert Novak

From the Publisher