You have probably heard that Tony Judt (pronounced Jutt) passed away over the weekend. He was one of America's leading intellectuals and had suffered for two years from the horrible Lou Gehrig's disease, which left him a quadriplegic. He was just 62.
The New York Review of Books, where he wrote frequently, has assembled some of his writings for it in one handy place, which you can visit here. I commend to you also our own Ed Pilkington's profile of him in the dear old G. from earlier this year. A lovely piece of work.
Judt's writing about his physical deterioration was deeply moving. Go read "Night" on the Review site. His writing on history was brilliant. Postwar is an amazing book, written with texture and depth and insight. The Burden of Responsibility, his meditation on the public careers of Leon Blum, Raymond Aron and Albert Camus is just shimmering. It's also short, unlike Postwar, so if you have time for only one, try it by all means. It's been a while since I read it, but I think the Blum chapters in particular, describing his valiant struggles against both left and right, his wrongful imprisonment and his profound integrity throughout, had quite an impact on me.
A remarkable man.
