Political secrets of the last 50 years - Schlesinger's Diary

[groovedaddy]

A Schmoozer Shares All
LBJ has 'compulsive, even lunatic, strains.' Rumsfeld is 'the rottenest.' Gore has a 'mystical fervor.' Or so wrote Schlesinger in his journals.
By Jonathan Alter
Newsweek
Oct. 8, 2007 issue - In recent years, keeping political diaries has fallen out of fashion. I blame this on a young Clinton-era Treasury aide named Josh Steiner, whose private journal was subpoenaed in a long-forgotten scandal. Anyone interested in history will suffer for the decline of this art form (and no, blogging is not a substitute). To see what we may be missing in the future, consider the astonishing case of the late Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Shortly before he died earlier this year, he instructed two of his sons to prepare his diaries for publication. The resulting book, "Journals: 1952-2000," contains juicy morsels on every one of its 858 pages.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21047615/site/newsweek/?GT1=10450

[Kurovski]

1. K&R.

Also wrote: 'Ever the unapologetic New Deal intellectual, the diarist rues the end of the style of Democratic politics that spanned from FDR to George McGovern in 1972, which he characterizes as "open, curious, ironic, civilized, questioning." '

Diaries are almost always meant to be read after the author's death. It's true that blogging is no substitute.

Diaries may be heavy on personal opinion, but they offered history rich perspectives that the official record could never match.

Sounds like one of those books many will be putting on their reading lists

[BridgeTheGap]

2. Interesting stuff

I'll definately read the book

[Raejeanowl]

3. Thanks

Adding another title to my "must read" list.

[Octafish]

4. Wonder what Mr. Schlesinger said about JFK?

The parts I remember are that he doubted President Kennedy would commit US draftees to Vietnam.

Yes. Self-super edited, a memoir is far different than a journal.

[Karenina]

5. Selective memory?

;-)

[Octafish]

6. ''We were at war with the national security establishment.''

http://nysoundposse.com/2006/01/event-who-planned-murder-of-jfk-who.html

Heartbreaking reality is the top folks in the Military Industrial Complex, the CIA and the Pentagon were (and some still are) traitors.