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Publishers Weekly Review

Tireless apostle of democratic socialism, prolific journalist, British Labour Party activist, Zionist and London School of Economics political science professor, Harold Laski (1893-1950) for a time was the most influential socialist thinker in the English-speaking world, yet his reputation is in eclipse today. This vigorous, balanced biography depicts an electric personality ``riven by contradictions.'' Fiercely egalitarian yet personally prone to elitism and cultural snobbery, Laski positioned himself as an alienated outsider while cultivating friendships with Franklin Roosevelt, Felix Frankfurter, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and Edward R. Murrow, among others. The authors perceptively discuss Laski's marriage to Fabian socialist Frida Kerry, his sensational 1946 political libel suit against a British newspaper, which he lost, and his attempt to fuse Marxism with a commitment to civil liberties, a decentralized economy and pluralist politics in an egalitarian society. Kramnick is a Cornell professor of government, Sheerman a Labour Member of Parliament. Photos. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

Harold Laski was one of the most influential Anglo-American socialist intellectuals during the interwar years. Indeed, the historian Max Beloff referred to the 1930s as "the Age of Laski." Today, he is all but forgotten except by students of political philosophy. Kramnick and Sheerman argue that Laski, who published dozens of books and thousands of articles, lived a paradoxical life. For example, he was a nonpracticing English Jew, as well as a cosmopolitan socialist, who became an ardent Zionist. During his often controversial career, Laski inspired both intense affection, from men such as Nehru of India, or intense hatred, such as that of the author Ayn Rand. Published to commemorate the centennial of Laski's birth, this biography uncovers, blemishes and all, the story of a remarkable man who dedicated his life to education and political advocacy. Of particular interest are the accounts of some of the controversial issues in Laski's career: his support of Indian independence, his Zionism and support of Israel, and his libel suit against a Beaverbrook newspaper. Advanced undergraduate; graduate; faculty. F. Krome; Northern Kentucky University