William Safire

[+ purplekow]

William Safire, political columnist, author, aide to RMN and language columnist, On Language in the Sunday NY Times magazine, died this week. I particular enjoyed his Sunday Times efforts while his political commentary was less to my liking. I was startled to read that he had passed because it has been a few days and I had not read anything about it, most notably, there was nothing about him on this forum.

Gentleman, you are slipping.

[alanalt]

Hadn't commented because I didn't know either. With regard to his political columns, I didn't always agree with Safire, but he always argued his points eloquently and he always made me think.

 

Among his other accomplishments, Safire wrote one of the best historical novels I've ever read (and I've read quite a few). Anyone with an interest in the US Civil War should definitely give "Freedom: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War" http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-William-Safire/dp/0792424948 a look. It's a big book but well rewards a careful read. A central thrust to the book is the examination of how a democratic government balances individual liberties/freedoms with national security needs when confronted with a dedicated attempt to overthrow it. Even though the book was written in the 1980s, I found Safire's observations to be extremely relevant regarding decisions that have been made in the post 9-11 world.

 

Thanks for the heads-up pk and RIP Mr. Safire...

 

Alan

[+ Charlie]

He had a great sense of humor. To persuade Spiro Agnew to pronounce the phrase "nattering nabobs of negativism" took real imagination.

[KMEM]

I have always enjoyed Mr. Safire. I meant to open a thread when I first heard about his demise but my coulda, shoulda, woulda works as well as anyone else's.

 

RIP, indeed.

 

Best regards,

KMEM