Thursday, April 22, 2010

Book: Reappraisals by Tony Judt

A collection of reviews and essays by someone I've never read before.

Interspersed among biographical sketches of various postwar Jewish intellectuals are a few essays of real interest. His takes on Belgium: that most of its citizens' allegiances are to their subregion (starting at Wallonian/Flandrian and devolving from there) rather than the nation; and Israel: that the Yom Kippur war was the moment at which Israel started down the path of international pariah.

He seems to claim to a hope that Liberals can anchor the left end of the political spectrum without the center shifting drastically rightward seem badly out of date, however.

He does throw down a deliciously nasty assault on Althusser, though.

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