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On Politics: A Carnival of Buncombe
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With a style that combined biting sarcasm with the "language of the free lunch counter," Henry Louis Mencken shook politics and politicians for nearly half a century. Now, fifty years after Mencken’s death, the Johns Hopkins University Press announces The Buncombe Collection, newly packaged editions of nine Mencken classics: Happy Days, Heathen Days, Newspaper Days, Prejud
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Paperback, 408 pages
Published
August 28th 2006
by Johns Hopkins University Press
(first published 1956)
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Proof that, even in the age of trump, there is nothing new under the sun.
H.L. Mencken had to have been possessed with a sense of political prophecy like few others. His acerbic style and pronounced adversarial role glaring at the issues of his time appear to be most appropriate even now. The one glaring example from his writings in the 1920's suggests strongly his ability to look into the future, providing us this:
"On some great and glorious day, the plain folk of the land will reach their heart's desires and,
at long last, the White House will be adorned with a do ...more
"On some great and glorious day, the plain folk of the land will reach their heart's desires and,
at long last, the White House will be adorned with a do ...more
The research continues ....
This collection of essays from Harding to "Roosevelt Minor" is heavily oriented toward presidential electoral politics. It is fascinating anyway (and not so dated) due to the captivating, mellifluous opprobrium and delightful humor of Mencken's prose. Some Mencken fans (and others) may be dismayed by some of his voting choices (and his constant misunderstanding/misuse of the concept selfishness). While this anthology could have used some end notes (even in 1956, when i ...more
This collection of essays from Harding to "Roosevelt Minor" is heavily oriented toward presidential electoral politics. It is fascinating anyway (and not so dated) due to the captivating, mellifluous opprobrium and delightful humor of Mencken's prose. Some Mencken fans (and others) may be dismayed by some of his voting choices (and his constant misunderstanding/misuse of the concept selfishness). While this anthology could have used some end notes (even in 1956, when i ...more
Aug 11, 2015
Skjam!
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Recommends it for:
American politics buffs
Recommended to Skjam! by:
H.L. Mencken
The 2016 presidential election campaign has already begun, so let’s take a look at a book about elections of the past, shall we? H.L. Mencken (1880-1948) was a newspaperman, most famously on the Baltimore, Maryland Sun. For a number of years, he had a weekly opinion column published on Mondays. These 69 essays are focused primarily on presidential politics between 1920 and 1936.
That covers Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and the first two elections of Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...more
That covers Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and the first two elections of Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...more
A collection of writings by HL Mencken. Most of the items in this book are related to US electoral politics, mentioning names and events that might be unfamiliar to contemporary readers. However, Mencken is always amusing, even when the subject matter is no longer relevant.
mencken running amok through the political herds.
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Henry Louis "H.L." Mencken became one of the most influential and prolific journalists in America in the 1920s and '30s, writing about all the shams and con artists in the world. He attacked chiropractors and the Ku Klux Klan, politicians and other journalists. Most of all, he attacked Puritan morality. He called Puritanism, "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."
At the height o ...more
At the height o ...more
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“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
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