The New York Intellectuals Reader

In the early 1930’s in a small alcove at City College in New York a group of young, passionate, and politically radical students argued for hours about the finer points of Marxist doctrine, the true nature of socialism, and whether or not Stalin or Trotsky was the true heir to Lenin. These young intellectuals, including Alfred Kazin, Mary McCarthy, Hannah Arendt and Lionel Trilling among others, went on to write for and found some of the most well known political and literary journals of the 20th century. The New York Intellectuals Reader presents selections from this vibrant group of political thinkers and writers, committed to addressing the most important political, social, and cultural questions of the day.