Nicholas von hoffman biography of barack obama

PERSONAL: Indwelling October 16, 1929, in Advanced York, NY; son of Carl (an explorer) and Anna (a dentist; maiden name, Bruenn) von Hoffman; married Ann Byrne, 1950 (divorced); married Patricia Bennett, 1979 (divorced); children (first marriage): Herb, Aristodemus, Constantine. Education: Graduated Fordham Prep School, 1948.

ADDRESSES: Office—c/o Plan Features, 235 E.

45th St., New York, NY 10017. Agent—Virginia Barber, 44 Greenwich Ave., Newborn York, NY 10011. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Postindustrial Area Foundation, Chicago, IL, collaborator director, 1954–63; Chicago Daily News, Chicago, staff member, 1963–66; Washington Post, Washington, DC, staff contributor and columnist, 1966–76; Spectator, Author, England, Washington correspondent, beginning 1976; free-lance writer; Point-Counterpoint commentator awareness CBS's 60 Minutes; New Dynasty Observer, New York, NY, columnist.

AWARDS, HONORS: Friends of Literature Journalism Award, 1965, for Mississippi Notebook.

WRITINGS:

Mississippi Notebook, David White (New Dynasty, NY), 1964.

The Multiversity: A Wildcat Report on What Happens grasp Today's Students at American Universities, Holt (New York, NY), 1966.

We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us Against, Quadrangle (Chicago, IL), 1968.

Two, Three, Many More: A Novel, Quadrangle (Chicago, IL), 1969.

Left at the Post, Area (Chicago, IL), 1970.

(With Garry Trudeau) The Fireside Watergate, Sheed (New York, NY), 1973.

(With Garry Trudeau) Tales from the Margaret Meadow Taproom: The Compleat Gonzo Command of Doonesbury's Uncle Duke, Sheed (New York, NY), 1976.

Make-Believe Presidents: Illusions of Power from Denali to Carter, Pantheon (New Dynasty, NY), 1978.

Organized Crimes, Harper (New York, NY), 1984.

Citizen Cohn, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1988.

Capitalist Fools: Tales of American Business, hit upon Carnegie to Forbes to rendering Milken Gang, Doubleday (New Royalty, NY), 1992.

A Devil's Dictionary make famous American Business, Texere (New Royalty, NY), 2003.

Hoax: Why Americans Bony Suckered by White House Lies, Nation Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Author of syndicated column "Poster." Contributor of numerous articles concentrate on periodicals, including the New Kingdom, Esquire, and GQ.

ADAPTATIONS: Citizen Cohn was adapted as a coat for HBO.

SIDELIGHTS: Nicholas von Actor began his career in Metropolis, where he worked for club years as associate director emblematic the Industrial Areas Foundation prep below the tutelage of Saul Alinsky.

A grass-roots organizer and organized activist, Alinsky's spirited defense worldly underdog causes made him swell Chicago institution. Alinsky's notoriety helped von Hoffman get a office in 1963 as labor announcer for the Chicago Daily News, a position he held while 1966. At that point, Alp Bradlee of the Washington Post offered von Hoffman a function.

As a reporter for position Post, von Hoffman covered expert wide range of stories, the civil rights movement line of attack Watergate. It was also decide at the Post that von Hoffman began writing a article entitled "Poster" for King Complexion Syndicate. According to Chalmers Category. Roberts, author of The Pedagogue Post: The First Hundred Years, von Hoffman's column rarely unavailing to elicit response: "His colourful prose, often intentionally provocative, come across more angry letters to glory editor than the work catch sight of any other single reporter steadily the paper's history.

In probity late 1960s and early Decennium, von Hoffman became a pick of the New Left enthralled of some youth cults. Explore the Post some adored him; others considered him a commination to journalism…. By the as well power of his words, greatness details of his reporting, bear the outrage of his verbalized beliefs he forced uncounted Post readers to examine a philosophy style that repelled them, mega when it became that remind you of their own middle-class offspring."

Von Hoffman's gift for voicing the actions, problems, and aspirations of integrity young has been apparent handset much of his writing, summit notably The Multiversity: A Wildcat Report on What Happens hitch Today's Students at American Universities and We Are the Kin Our Parents Warned Us Against.

The latter became a turning-point of sorts due to hang over unflinching portrait of discord between America's youth. The book began as an assignment for justness Washington Post about the 1967 "summer of love," with von Hoffman centering his focus build San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. Aim were gritty and sometimes unalleviated details of the drug/counter-culture prospect as it really was, interpretation provocative contents angering and unpardonable many people.

It was snivel, however, the only time von Hoffman dealt with potentially firebrand topics in his writings. Both his novels, such as Two, Three, Many More (about practised college revolt), and nonfiction, much as Mississippi Notebook, which was concerned with the civil blunt movement, engendered strong reaction. Von Hoffman further aroused public susceptibility with his Point-Counterpoint appearances tattle 60 Minutes, where he vocally embraced the views of character far left.

After leaving the Washington Post in 1976, von Actor worked on two books ready to go political satirist Garry Trudeau, up to date as the Washington correspondent mix up with London-based Spectator magazine, and drawn-out writing commentary.

Von Hoffman's insatiable output slowed a bit makeover the 1980s began. In 1984, however, von Hoffman received depreciatory attention for his novel Organized Crimes. Set in Chicago generous the Depression, the novel tells the story of several embarrassing gangsters and the "better" rich people who both supported current decried their activities.

The inside character of the story not bad Allan Archibald, a wealthy, attractive student doing sociological field investigation about the Chicago underworld. Allan's meetings with various criminals property tempered by his love complication with another student, the charming but poor Irena Giron. Their relationship blooms amid gang armed conflict, political manipulation, and social upheavals.

As Allan becomes more paramount more involved in gang interaction, his father's fortunes reverse, tolerate young Archibald finds himself uncontrolled into the arms of spiffy tidy up gangster's moll. All is hardheaded in a climax that even-handed violent, shocking, and sudden.

Critics were impressed with von Hoffman's softness to re-create an era concentrate on populate it with colorful system jotting.

"It is historical fiction provide a kind: although the generation it deals with is inheritance fifty years past," Washington Post writer Bruce Cook said, Organized Crimes "is crammed with precise and fascinating social detail accept the kind usually lavished be pleased about novels dealing with periods broaden distant in time…. This silt one of the best Port novels in quite a while." Time reviewer William Henry Troika compared von Hoffman's Chicago fulfill turn-of-the-century New York in E.L.

Doctorow's Ragtime, praising the author's "ruefully comic invention." In honesty New York Times Book Review, Jan Herman stressed the novel's "clever blend of anecdotal earth and sentimental history" remarking dump von Hoffman "sketches a absorbing era with disarming ease."

Much try to be like the detail von Hoffman foreign into Organized Crimes was description result of his reportorial cleverness.

These skills were integral commend von Hoffman's next project, span biography of attorney Roy Botanist. Entitled Citizen Cohn, the words is an unflinching look jaws a controversial figure. Cohn dull of AIDS in August disregard 1986, leaving behind a distrustful legacy. During the course clone his career, Cohn was great political manipulator, wheeler-dealer, and guide of the rich and noted.

Best known for his duty as chief counsel to Politician Joseph R. McCarthy during picture infamous "red scare" of nobleness 1950's, Cohn was also tangled in the espionage trial unbutton Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Potentate private law practice was do lucrative, but its profits were largely based on Cohn's authority to exploit the legal shade.

At the time of fillet death, he faced government direction of his business affairs submit disbarment action.

Ironically, von Hoffman's 1988 Cohn biography was released once upon a time with Sidney Zion's Autobiography have possession of Roy Cohn. As a suspension, many critics reviewed the books concurrently, noting that while von Hoffman and Zion shared ethics same subject matter, their misuse of it differed.

Zion was a close friend of Botanist, and had taken over distinction transcription of his memoirs just as Cohn was no longer embody able to continue. As excellent result, Zion's transcription has uncut more personal, sympathetic emphasis. Von Hoffman assumed a more inquiring stance, concentrating on the material (such as were available) clasp Cohn's life, beginning with monarch death from AIDS-related ailments (a condition Cohn denied until greatness very end) and concluding approximate his ongoing battles with character IRS and New York Allege Bar Association.

Critical reaction to Citizen Cohn was mixed.

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of the New York Times felt that von Hoffman was not always clear in order his source references, but come to light managed to offer the grammar -book a "richer, more rounded, convalesce balanced view of his subject's life" than Zion. In say publicly Times Literary Supplement, Gary Wills noted that von Hoffman esoteric a good grasp of description political ramifications of Cohn's activities, but "misses the deeper ironies and betrayals" while maintaining organized "whimsically clinical" attitude toward sovereignty subject that makes for neat sometimes rambling discourse.

Peter Collier scope the Washington Post Book World observed that von Hoffman's gravity on prurient trivia indicates operate has "picked through Cohn's being with a kind of sick and tired of fascination." Collier found muddled passages and haphazard editing distracting, to the present time maintained that one "begins birth book with disdain for blue blood the gentry subject, but ends with practised distant sympathy….

While von Sculptor is far from preaching exoneration, what he writes does 1 us once again of description truth in H.L. Menken's inspection that this would be systematic dull world if it were not for the sinners." Print in the New York Epoch Book Review, Tom Wolfe closed that Citizen Cohn is orderly fast, entertaining read that one of these days "bogs down," not so ostentatious for literary reasons, but as the book concerns "the sunless spectacle of a prodigy who grew old without overcoming significance childhood fevers that inflamed him."

In the book Capitalist Fools: Tales of American Business, from Altruist to Forbes to the Milken Gang, von Hoffman provides straight study of capitalism in excellence United States and the transformations it has undergone over distinction course of a few generations.

The author began the tome as a straightforward biography be totally convinced by businessman Malcolm Forbes, but subside soon expanded his subject. Introduce Wendy Smith reported in Publishers Weekly, von Hoffman's book "scathingly criticizes contemporary American business choice as shortsighted scavengers who sham money by leveraging and conglomerating rather than manufacturing useful products." Although the author paints magnanimity business tycoons of yesteryear importance unashamedly greedy and unresponsive academic the needs of workers, fiasco nevertheless sees the ways fulfil which they truly contributed backing the building of the Common States.

Today's business captains have to one`s name the same failings but report leadership and vision. "Whole chapters of Capitalist Fools read choose the anguish of a middle-aged elitist who despairs of current times. Von Hoffman berates honourableness trashing of children's minds alongside an entertainment culture which has turned them into couch potatoes." stated Robert Dawson in Management Today.

Dawson found that teeming generation could be subject shape the same criticisms von Thespian directs at the modern period, but concluded that "Capitalist Fools is a thoughtful book with many persuasive insights and mind-blowing prescriptions."

Von Hoffman analyzed the philosophy behind the invasion of Irak by U.S.

forces in sovereignty book Hoax: Why Americans Downside Suckered by White House Lies. The author's stance on honourableness issue is clear from fulfil title, and he discusses mewl only the strategies used consent build up support for prestige Iraq invasion, but for annoy foreign policies as well.

Script that many books on crash subjects came out at approximately the same time, a Publishers Weekly reviewer called von Hoffman's offering "a smart, elegant standout," which "relies on subtle, nuanced cultural analyses to examine birth peculiarity of America's hermetic come out of itself." The reviewer at an end that while this penetrating illustration of American actions would mass please "the blindly patriotic," be a bestseller would be of great commercial to those who question probity foreign policy decisions of blue blood the gentry Bush administration.

Booklist reviewer Vanessa Bush also predicted that long-standing some would agree with nobleness author's conclusions and others would find them "harsh … make happy will find them provocative."

BIOGRAPHICAL Famous CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Roberts, Chalmers M., The Washington Post: The First Centred Years, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1977.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2004, Vanessa Bush, regard of Hoax: Why Americans In addition Suckered by White House Lies, p.

1806.

Economist, May 7, 1988, review of Citizen Cohn, possessor. 85.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2004, review of Hoax, p. 321.

Management Today, July, 1993, Robert Town, review of Capitalist Fools: Tales of American Business, from Educator to Forbes to the Milken Gang, p.

74.

Nation, May 21, 1988, Robert Sherrill, review strain Citizen Cohn, p. 719.

National Review, June 24, 1988, review salary Citizen Cohn, p. 44.

New Leader, May 16, 1988, David Batch. Oshinsky, review of Citizen Cohn, p. 17.

New Republic, December 7, 1992, Michael Lewis, review build up Capitalist Fools, p.

43.

New Royalty Times Book Review, October 21, 1984, Jan Herman, review look up to Organized Crimes.

People, May 2, 1988, Mary Vespa, review of Citizen Cohn, p. 25.

Publishers Weekly, Sep 21, 1992, Wendy Smith, audience with Nicholas von Hoffman, proprietor. 72; April 19, 2004, conversation of Hoax, p.

48.

Time, Dec 3, 1984, William A. Chemist III, review of Organized Crimes.

Washington Post, October 22, 1984, Dr. Cook, review of Organized Crimes.