The Unbought Spirit: A John Jay Chapman Reader

by Richard Stone (Editor)

In this collection of his essays and a sampling of his letters, John Jay Chapman (1862-1933) embraces the world at large. Predicting the depersonalization of twentieth-century society, Chapman argues that "a civilization based upon a commerce which is in all its parts corruptly managed will present a social life which is unintelligent and mediocre, made up of people afraid of each other, whose ideas are shopworn, whose manners are self-conscious". Chapman "should be studied more carefully and at full length", Edmund Wilson wrote in 1929, "but in the meantime, what is most important is to have his essays made accessible.... If his books were reprinted and read, we should recognize that we possess in John Jay Chapman -- by reason of the intensity of the spirit, the brilliance of the literary gift and the continuity of the thought which they embody -- an American classic". Jacques Barzun has observed, "We have produced very few great critics, but John Jay Chapman equals any of his foreign contemporaries". An American original, Chapman is a tonic to cynicism and an antidote to a society gone flaccid and complacent.

Genres: Philosophy, Essays

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Richard Stone is the senior science editor for HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, where he oversees science content for documentaries and other nonfiction productions and manages media partnerships. Prior to joining HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Stone was the international news editor at Science Magazine, where his writing often featured datelines from challenging reporting environments such as Cuba, Iran and North Korea.

Stone’s experience in international science and education includes stints as a Fulbright Scholar at Rostov State University in Russia in 1995-96 and at Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan in 2004-05. As a science writer, he has contributed to Discover, Smithsonian and National Geographic magazines, and is the author of the nonfiction book “Mammoth: The Resurrection of an Ice Age Giant.” Stone earned a B.S. in genetics from Cornell University, and he did graduate work in biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania and science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In his spare time, he enjoys playing squash and writing science fiction screenplays.

Reviews

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent collection of John Jay Chapman essays. I am indebted to Jacques Barzun for bringing him to my attention. Chapman's previous obscurity is understandable but undeserved.