Appointment Denied : The Inquisition of Bertrand Russell

Thom Weidlich

ISBN 10: 1573927880 / ISBN 13: 9781573927888

Published by Prometheus Books March 2000, 2000

About this Item

No dust jacket. Tear on top left corner of back cover. Slight wear. May have minor sticker residue or marks or writing. Our service is second to no other seller because we use easy to remove inventory tags and try to ship every day so your book arrives quicker! As a small independent book store in the Midwest we thank you for the support. Satisfaction guaranteed in all transactions. Let us know what we can do to help!

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Appointment Denied : The Inquisition of Bertrand Russell
• Publisher: Prometheus Books March 2000
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1573927880
• ISBN 13: 9781573927888
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Used - Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

In the spring of 1940 the Great Depression was still spreading misery throughout the world, and war in Europe threatened to drag America into the conflict. Amid these global troubles a tempest in a teapot was brewing on the island of Manhattan, where the board of the City College of New York had just appointed the renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell to teach. With the appointment of this most celebrated of philosophers, the board had intended to boost the school's image. Instead it found itself suddenly embroiled in a controversy involving the city's conservative Episcopal bishop, charges that it was encouraging radical and communist views at the college, and political in-fighting between the popular liberal mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, and corrupt Tammany Hall politicians with a hidden agenda.

Journalist Thom Weidlich masterfully reconstructs this major political imbroglio, which not only captured the attention of New Yorkers but very quickly received national coverage. As political theater, with both farcical and dramatic elements, the denial of Russell's appointment is interesting in and of itself: The sanctimonious and outraged Bishop Manning demands to know how the board could have chosen a man with such radical views on sex, marriage, and religion. Then, amazingly, a seemingly ordinary Brooklyn housewife files a lawsuit to stop Russell's appointment. Journalists begin to wonder, What is her motive? Is she being manipulated by Tammany Hall politicians and their rivalry with the liberal mayor? Before long civil libertarians are holding rallies at City College in defense of the philosopher and academic freedom. And for Russell this trying situation couldn't have come at a worse time with his funds running low and his third marriage falling apart.

But beyond its intrinsic interest, this 1940s' clash between an independent thinker and the guardians of public morality is still of the greatest relevance in light of today's cultural debates and arguments over standards of decency. Journalist Thom Weidlich has written an engrossing page-turner that brings recent history to life and makes us rethink the perennial issues of free thought and moral standards at publicly funded institutions.

About the Author

Thom Weidlich is the managing editor for Direct magazine and a former reporter for the National Law Journal.