Re: [Marxism] re: John Hess

[Jacob Levich <jlevich@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here's the Times obit, on the whole a surprisingly good job. John was a
good friend and a great man. The Taste of America is possibly the most
radical (and entertaining) book about food ever written. It was the only
book of its kind when it appeared -- decades ahead of its time.

Jake



John Hess, 87, Journalist And Food Critic, Dies

By DOUGLAS MARTIN

John L. Hess, a journalist, essayist and author whose often provocative,
even cranky, opinions on subjects from food to France to the First
Amendment appeared in The New York Times, a handful of books and radio
commentary, died yesterday at the Jewish Home and Hospital in Manhattan. He
was 87.

The cause was congestive heart failure and pneumonia, his son Peter said.

Much of Mr. Hess's career was at The Times. It ranged from investigations
into corrupt nursing home operators to dispatches from Paris about fine
cuisine and French frivolities like a carnival to attract wives for
unmarried men.

Such wit became celebrated. When Rudolf Bing, then the general manager of
the Metropolitan Opera, asked to see his obituary, already prepared by Mr.
Hess, the journalist told him to get a posthumous subscription.

As a food and restaurant critic, he loathed the term "gourmet" because he
thought everything should taste better. He once gave all of Chinatown four
stars.

He and his wife, Karen Hess, a culinary historian, collaborated on "The
Taste of America" (Grossman, 1977), a book that began with the question,
"How shall we tell our fellow Americans that our palates have been ravaged,
that our food is awful, and that our most respected authorities on cookery
are poseurs?"

The answer is 336 withering pages, not a few of them efforts to deflate the
eminent food writers Julia Child and Craig Claiborne.

Mr. Hess's curmudgeonly manner continued into his last book, "My Times: A
Memoir of Dissent" (Seven Stories Press, 2003), in which he mixed some
acerbic memories of The Times with the occasional grudging compliment.


<snip>

Since leaving The Times in 1978, Mr. Hess wrote freelance articles for The
Nation and other publications, read daily editorials on WBAI radio and
wrote commentaries on his Web site, John L. Hess: Dissents
(<http://www.johnlhess.blogspot.com>www.johnlhess.blogspot.com).

His last, on Dec. 31, expressed incredulity that a Times critic approved of
paying up to $500 for a sushi dinner.

complete: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/22/obituaries/22hess.html



> I just read on LBO-Talk that ex-NY Timesman and leftist John Hess died. I
> have a review of his memoir scheduled to appear in an upcoming Swans. I
> regret not having had the opportunity to send him a copy, since I was a big
> fan of his.
_______________________________________________
Marxism mailing list
Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism