Red, Black, Blond and Olive

by Edmund Wilson

Extremely rare,very good

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1956

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. See also physicist Edmund Wilson.

Edmund Wilson Jr. was a towering figure in 20th-century American literary criticism, known for his expansive intellect, stylistic clarity, and commitment to serious literary and political engagement. Over a prolific career, Wilson wrote for Vanity Fair, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, shaping the critical conversation on literature, politics, and culture. His major critical works—such as Axel's Castle and Patriotic Gore—combined literary analysis with historical insight, and he ventured boldly into subjects typically reserved for academic specialists, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, Native American cultures, and the American Civil War.
Wilson was also the author of fiction, memoirs, and plays, though his influence rested most strongly on his literary essays and political writing. He was instrumental in promoting the reputations of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, and many others. Despite his friendships with several of these authors, his criticism could be unflinching, even scathing—as seen in his public dismissal of H. P. Lovecraft and J. R. R. Tolkien. His combative literary style often drew attention, and his exacting standards for writing, along with his distaste for popular or commercial literature, placed him in a tradition of high-minded literary seriousness.
Beyond the realm of letters, Wilson was politically active, aligning himself at times with socialist ideals and vocally opposing Cold War policies and the Vietnam War. His principled refusal to pay income tax in protest of U.S. militarization led to a legal battle and a widely read protest book.
Wilson was married four times and had several significant personal and intellectual relationships, including with Fitzgerald and Nabokov. He also advocated for the preservation and celebration of American literary heritage, a vision realized in the creation of the Library of America after his death. For his contributions to American letters, Wilson received multiple honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His legacy endures through his extensive body of work, which remains a touchstone for literary scholars and general readers alike.

Reviews

[Kirk Astroth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A puzzling book. His detailed description of Zuni ceremonies is fascinating but I wondered how accurate his recounting was and how informed by the Zuni. His overly idealistic presentation of Stalinist Soviet Union in the mid-1930’s with its purges, show trials and exiles was too much to bear. He was blinded by a love of Lenin to see the horror, paranoia and fear. Still his presentation of Russian character in different places (Moscow, Ukraine, Odessa) were also insightful. Haiti’s voodoo culture was interesting to read about and how the belief in the supernatural was as logical as a belief in the natural. The section on Israel started off really boring—a parsing of grammar and tense was too long. But the subsequent sections in a deep look into the scriptures was engaging. His point that it is odd that the Jews are the fountainhead of four major belief systems was prescient. And his observation that it is odd that Christianity grounds its belief system and God in Jewish texts was a way of analysis that I had not considered and revelatory. The commercialism of Jerusalem was also interesting to read about since his description was so many years ago. The tension between Arabs and Israelis of course continues but he helps place this in historical context. Parts of this book I found tedious; other parts I found fascinating.

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprei em um sebo de NY. Muito bom. Uma analise sobre quatro povos, quatro comunidades que, de alguma maneira buscam resistir ao capitalismo agarrando-se, seja a antigas tradicoes, seja a novos e radicais experimentos sociais. Notável como a URSS no ,momento em que foi escrito o ensaio (primeiro metade da década de trinta) era vista de maneira surpreendentemente positiva por um intelectual americano do calibre de Wilson. E isso a meses antes dos nefastos julgamentos de Moscou. Além do tom político o livro e também uma porta de entrada para varias literaturas e autores, com especial destaque para os russos (já comprei a história da literatura russa de Mirsky!) e judeus. Uma leitura inteligente e agradável.