October 1, 2018
In his review of Hardboiled Activist: The Work and Politics of Dashiell Hammett by Ken Fuller, Albert Ruben debunks popular arguments about Hammett's consistent radicalism. Instead, he highlights Fuller's research to point to Hammett's process of radicalization—from nihilism to communism—and the events that shaped his life and work.
�March 1, 2013
When I was a lad, I wrote amorous ditties, To Judy, Aleine, Edelina, and Sue. But now that I'm gray, I've abandoned those pretties, I'm singing my songs to the MONTHLY REVIEW.… So sang E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, to the tune of "The Streets of Laredo," at Monthly Review's fifteenth anniversary party. Accompanying him on piano was my late wife, the Judy to whom Yip wrote ditties. You will not find her or Aleine Mufson mentioned in the pages of this biography. Nor will you find cited any who, because they rubbed elbows or other body parts with Harburg, could lead the reader to the fullest possible understanding of who he was.
�May 1, 2012
In his estimable Robin Hood: People's Outlaw and Forest Hero, it is Paul Buhle's contention that in the almost eight centuries of his legendary existence, Robin has had his time come periodically but seldom more than now. With barbarians, foreign and domestic, at the gates whenever they are not in the palaces, the need for heroes to rise from the ranks of the masses is at least as urgent as it was in Robin Hood's day.… Buhle argues that the world needs Robin Hood now more than ever. "We need Robin because rebellion against deteriorating conditions is inevitable…."
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