Think Back on Us: A Contemporary Chronicle of the 1930's

During the 1930' s, one of the liveliest decades in the history of the American mind, Malcolm Cowley was literary editor of the New Republic, the magazine that served more than any other as the intellectual conscience of a generation. The impressive collection of essays and reviews of this gifted commentator from that period is a kind of topical chronicle of the era. From hundreds of reviews and essays, Henry Dan Piper has selected and arranged these articles to offer a source book of readings in the epoch's intellectual, social, and literary history. The volume is divided into two parts, and the articles are arranged chronologically. Part 1, The Social Record, illuminates the issues, problems, and ideas of the period. Part 2, The Literary Record, contains articles which deal chiefly with literary values. In addition, Mr. Cowley has written a lively, new, retrospective essay for this volume, " Adventures of a Book Reviewer," in itself a classic on the art of the book review. No important name and no vital issue of this significant period is omitted from this record, attesting to Mr. Cowley's remarkable discernment and to the purity of his artistic judgment. Thus, the record has a special value for the student of the era.

About the Author :
Malcolm Cowley, one of America’ s best-known literary critics, was literary editor of the New Republic from 1929 to 1940. Among his many books are Exile’ s Return, After the Genteel Tradition, and, most recently, The Faulkner-Cowley File.   Henry Dan Piper is Profes­sor of English at Southern Illinois University. His most recent book is F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Critical Portrait.

Review :
“ No other critic was more engaged in the Kulturkampf of the times or more strate­gically placed to observe the stories of the warring intellectual platoons . . . [the book] conveys the intellectual excitement and moral fever of the period.”      — Daniel Aaron, New York Times Book Review   “ A rare and exciting collection which makes me want to re-read at least a score of the books from that time.” — William Hogan, San Francisco Chronicle “ Think Back on Us is a memorable vol­ume.” — Louis D. Rubin, Jr., Washington Evening Star   “ The book serves the purpose for which Professor Piper edited it— to give young people some idea of what the Thirties were like. . . . One thing undergraduates are bound to learn . . . is that the decade is not to be summed up in a single generalization.” — Granville Hicks, Saturday Review   “ A priceless review of the 1930s… a carefully selected, beautifully readable collection of essays, reviews, and editorials which reflect the times at its best.” — The Oregon Journal