Public Intellectuals: An Endangered Species? investigates the definition, role, and decline of public intellectuals in American society. Drawing from a wide range of commentaries and studies, this edited volume demonstrates the unique importance of public intellectuals and probes the timely question of how their voices can continue to be effective in our ever-changing social, academic and political climates. At a time when many argue that public intellectuals are dying out, the book addresses questions such as who qualifies as a public intellectual? Have their ranks thinned out and their qualities diminished? What is that special service that public intellectuals are supposed to render for the body politic? And, above all, is society being shortchanged?

Public Intellectuals: An Endangered Species? investigates the definition, role, and decline of public intellectuals in American society. Drawing from a wide range of commentaries and studies, this edited volume demonstrates the unique importance of public intellectuals and probes the timely question of how their voices can continue to be effective in our ever-changing social, academic and political climates. At a time when many argue that public intellectuals are dying out, the book addresses questions such as who qualifies as a public intellectual? Have their ranks thinned out and their qualities diminished? What is that special service that public intellectuals are supposed to render for the body politic? And, above all, is society being shortchanged?

"Ambition is not what it used to be," writes Joseph Epstein. The desire to get ahead no longer evokes the same admiration it once did-indeed, modern novelists seem hardly able to deal with ambition without a sneer. But is ambition necessarily synonymous with ruthless, narrow self-interest? Or, as Mr. Epstein suggests, is it "the fuel of achievement"-an honorable way to influence and advance civilization? Mr. Epstein's sketches of eminent Americans-from Benjamin Franklin (that premier go-getter) to Henry Ford, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Adlai Stevenson, and the Rockefeller, Guggenheim, and Kennedy dynasties-and his pointed reconsideration of the ingredients of the American Dream (success, money, and power) form a fascinating social history, one that may change many readers' attitudes toward their "secret passion." "Should be must reading in executive suites as well as college classrooms."-Forbes. "Handled with a good amount of wit and with the clear, straightforward analysis of a man with a point of view. Like Samuel Johnson, [Epstein] reminds more often than he instructs."-Jack Richardson, New York Times. "To have so rich an intellectual fare so pleasurably served is rare. Read Ambition and feast."-Saturday Review.

First published in 1922, this parody of etiquette and social mores makes fun of the pitfalls of courtship, engagement, and marriage, as well as such social settings as dinner parties, sporting events, and the theater. With satirical Jazz-era illustrations by Ralph Barton, known at the time for his caricatures of actors and other celebrities, the book's humor holds up remarkably well today, with such "crises" as how to deal with a screaming baby in a crowded, confined space or how to write a proper love letter to one's fiancee. With Marx Brothers-like literary slapstick, Perfect Behavior is the perfect impulse gift for anyone who enjoys a good laugh over everyday social foibles.

In this brief but highly engaging book Joseph Epstein argues for the primacy of fiction, and specifically of the novel, among all intellectual endeavors that seek to describe the behavior of human beings. Reading superior fiction, he holds, arouses the mind in a way that nothing else quite does. He shows how the novel at its best operates above the level of ideas in favor of taking up the truths of the heart. No other form probes so deeply into that eternal mystery of mysteries, human nature, than does the novel.  Along the way, Epstein recounts how we read fiction differently than much else we read. He sets out how memory works differently in the reading of fiction than in that of other works. He notes that certain novels are best read at certain ages, and suggests that novels, like movies, might do well to carry ratings, with some novels best read no later than one’s early twenties, others not to be read before the age of forty. The knowledge one acquires from reading novels differs from all other kinds of knowledge, for the subject of all superior fiction is human existence itself, in all its variousness and often humbling confusion. The spirit of the novel entails questioning much that others consider home truths. This is demonstrated by the fact that so many important philosophers, social scientists, jurists, and other intellectuals have been devoted readers of fiction, among them Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Michael Oakeshott, Edward Shils, and Clifford Geertz. The Novel, Who Needs It? takes up those current elements in the culture that militate against the production of first-rate fiction. Prominent among them are the rise of online reading, the expansion of creative writing programs, the artistically discouraging effects of political correctness, and the pervasiveness of therapeutic thinking throughout contemporary culture.  As for the title, The Novel, Who Needs It?, Joseph Epstein’s answer is that we all do.  

In Fabulous Small Jews, the best-selling author Joseph Epstein has produced eighteen charming, magical, and finely detailed stories. They are populated by lawyers, professors, scrap-iron dealers, dry cleaners, all men of a certain age who feel themselves adrift in the radically changed values of the day. Epstein's richly drawn characters are at various crossroads and turning points in their lives: bitter Seymour Hefferman, who anonymously sends scathing postcards to writers until he gets caught; Moe Bernstein, who, inspired by his grandson, decides to attend to his own health after long delay; divorce Artie Glick, who wants to marry his pregnant girlfriend. Fabulous Small Jews is a marvelous collection from a master of the short form.

A portrait of America's most graceful and elegant male dancer and how he came to represent the essence of style, suavity, and charm Joseph Epstein's Fred Astaire investigates the great dancer's magical talent, taking up the story of his life, his personality, his work habits, his modest pretensions, and above all his accomplishments. Written with the wit and grace the subject deserves, Fred Astaire provides a remarkable portrait of this extraordinary artist and how he came to embody for Americans a fantasy of easy elegance and, paradoxically, of democratic aristocracy. Tracing Astaire's life from his birth in Omaha to his death in his late eighties in Hollywood, the book discusses his early days with his talented and outspoken sister Adele, his gifts as a singer (Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern all delighted in composing for Astaire), and his many movie dance partners, among them Cyd Charisse, Rita Hayworth, Eleanor Powell, and Betty Hutton. A key chapter of the book is devoted to Astaire's somewhat unwilling partnership with Ginger Rogers, the woman with whom he danced most dazzlingly. What emerges from these pages is a fascinating view of an American era, seen through the accomplishments of Fred Astaire, an unassuming but uncompromising performer who transformed entertainment into art and gave America a new yet enduring standard for style.

Joseph Epstein takes on that most enchanting (and, alas, increasingly rare) of human gifts, charm. "Almost everyone will recognize when he or she is in the presence of charm," he writes. "Charm is magic of a kind; it casts a spell. In the presence of charm the world seems lighter and lovelier. A charming person can cause you to forget your problems, at least temporarily, to hold the world's dreariness at bay. Charm is a reminder that the world is filled with jolly prospects and delightful possibilities. Watching Fred Astaire dance, or listening to Blossom Dearie sing, or reading the poems of C.P. Cavafy, or merely looking at Rita Hayworth or Ava Gardner, one recalls that the world can be a pretty damn fine place."

Is it possible to have too many friends? Is your spouse supposed to be your best friend? How far should you go to help a friend in need? And how do you end a friendship that has run its course? In a wickedly entertaining anatomy of friendship in its contemporary guises, Joseph Epstein uncovers the rich and surprising truths about our favored companions. Friendship illuminates those complex, wonderful relationships without which we'd all be lost.

Provides practical advice on breaking down the implementation and deployment of voice mobility networks within the office, across the campus, and on the road.Offers a complete primer on enterprise-grade Wi-Fi networking for voice mobility at scale, whether as a single-mode or dual-mode network, including information on the newest 802.11n standard and how these standards directly impact voice mobility.Includes methods of integrating existing or new VoIP networks with 3G+, CDMA 2000, WCDMA, HSPA, and WiMAX cellular networks using fixed/mobile convergence (FMC).

This book provides a comprehensive examination of IP-based voice mobility, covering every step in deploying multimodal voice mobility networks. Each segment of the entire voice mobility solution is described with an eye towards the inherent problems of high-scale mobility, from wired infrastructure to end device, across multiple networks and technologies.

Voice mobility is introduced and defined at a basic level before the book examines the high-level components of a scalable voice mobility solution. Chapters focus on several types of transport networks in greater depth, including voice quality metrics and testing, high-density enterprise Wi-Fi voice networks, cellular networks, and high-level networking technologies. The security of VoIP networks is also considered.The book explores standalone VoIP networks and finally provides an investigation of the current and upcoming set of fixed/mobile convergence approaches.

This book is an invaluable guide for anyone looking towards voice mobility as a solution to real-world business problems: IT managers and executives looking to understand the potential for converting offices to all-wireless; network designers and architects planning on rolling out a fully-mobile voice network; and administrators operating or troubleshooting voice mobility networks.
Provides practical advice on breaking down the implementation and deployment of voice mobility networks within the office, across the campus, and on the road.Offers a complete primer on enterprise-grade Wi-Fi networking for voice mobility at scale, whether as a single-mode or dual-mode network, including information on the newest 802.11n standard and how these standards directly impact voice mobility.Includes methods of integrating existing or new VoIP networks with 3G+, CDMA 2000, WCDMA, HSPA, and WiMAX cellular networks using fixed/mobile convergence (FMC). "

Gossip is no trivial matter; despite its reputation, Epstein argues, it is an eternal and necessary human enterprise. Proving that he himself is a master of the art, Epstein serves up delightful mini-biographies of the Great Gossips of the Western World, along with many choice bits from his own experience. He also makes a powerful case that gossip has morphed from its old-fashioned best--clever, mocking, a great private pleasure--to a corrosive new-school version, thanks to the reach of the mass media and the Internet.
Written in his trademark erudite and witty style, "Gossip "captures the complexity of this immensely entertaining subject.

In his first collection of stories since Fabulous Small Jews, Joseph Epstein delivers all the pleasures his readers have come to expect: stories of ordinary men confronting the moments that define a life, told with the bittersweet humor and loving irony encompassed in the title of the book. These fourteen tales map a very particular world--Jews whose lives are anchored in Chicago--in rich, revealing detail even as they brim with universal longings: complex love affairs and unspoken rivalries, family triumphs and private disappointments. Epstein, who "happens to possess a standup comic's gift for punch lines" (New York Times Book Review), brings his emphatically grown-up characters to witty, rueful, and charming life. The Love Song of A. Jerome Minkoff is a marvelous collection from a master of the short form and one of the most distinctive writers working in America today.

Alexis de Tocqueville was among the first foreigners to recognize and trumpet the grandness of the American project. His two-volume classic, Democracy in America, published in 1835, offered not only a vivid account of the still young nation but famously predicted what the nation would become, and firmly established his place in U.S. history. Yet in his own time, Tocqueville had little evidence for the truth of his ideas. Introspective, sickly, prone to self-doubt, he was a most unlikely visionary. In wry, elegant prose, Joseph Epstein, America's most versatile essayist, offers an engaging and altogether human portrait of the Frenchman who would become an American icon.

Taking his title from the wounded cry of the once great Max Bialystock in The Producers -- "Look at me now! Look at me now! I'm wearing a cardboard belt!" -- the charming essayist Joseph Epstein gives us his largest and most adventurous collection to date. With his signature gifts of sparkling humor and penetrating intelligence, he issues forth as a memoirist, polemicist, literary critic, and amused observer of contemporary culture. In deeply considered examinations of writers from Paul Valery to Truman Capote, in incisive take-downs of such cultural pooh-bahs as Harold Bloom and George Steiner, and in personally revealing essays about his father and about his years as a teacher, this remarkable collection from one of America's best essayists is a book to be savored.

Further literary writings by the foremost practitioner of the informal essay in our time.Reading an essay by Joseph Epstein is much like watching Joe DiMaggio hit a pitched ball: the pleasure is in watching a difficult art performed with matchless grace and ease. In life Sentences, his fourth collection of literary essays, Epstein considers the lives and works of nineteen writers of note, appreciating many of them, roughing up some others, and overall weighing them in the very finely calibrated balance of his wellstocked mind. His subjects include Michel de Montaigne, E Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Conrad, Mary McCarthy, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Robert Lowell, John Dos Passos, Edmund Wilson, Elizabeth Bishop, Ambrose Bierce, and Philip Larkin. No overarching theory or grinding ideological ax mars these finely nuanced readings of writers who matter; as Epstein writes, What unites this collection of literary essays is the interest of the man who wrote them. And what interests him is excellence in literature.Few pleasures in life are as dependable as reading a Joseph Epstein essay. In that sense Life Sentences is another blue-chip public offering.

Joseph Epstein demonstrates time and again his talent for taking nearly any subject and polishing it into a gem of sparkling wit and fascination. In Narcissus Leaves the Pool, he displays his signature verve and charm in sixteen agile, entertaining pieces. Among his targets in this collection are name-dropping, talent versus genius, the cult of youthfulness, and the information revolution.

A national bestseller, Snobbery examines the discriminating qualities in all of us. With dishy detail, Joseph Epstein skewers all manner of elitism in contemporary America. He offers his arch observations of the new footholds of snobbery: food, fashion, high-achieving children, schools, politics, being with-it, name-dropping, and much more. Clever, incisive, and immensely entertaining, Snobberyexplores the shallows and depths of status and taste -- with enviable results.

"[Eptein's readers] will find, in A Line Out for a Walk, every gratification to which he has accustomed them."—Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

"Mr Epstein is a winsome confidant. Not because his confessions are sensational, far from it. . . . On getting old. On slightness of stature. On becoming a windbag. . . . Money worries. Envy. And, in an essay with paralyzing comic impact, 'You Probably Don't Know Me,' Mr. Epstein has written about his modest lust for fame. Such moral intimations provide a charm and resonance. . . . More than just humorous, the Epstein sensibility is trustable: honest, open, human."—D. Keith Mano, New York Times Book Review

"[His] way with the familiar essay—that flexible, forgiving genre in which anything goes except charmlessness and anonymity—has much in common with that of Messrs. Beerbohm, Liebling, and Mencken. Each piece is exquisitely sustained, moving from point to point with the relaxed economy of a pro."—Wall Street Journal

"A writer at the top of his powers in these serious, funny, pleasantly unpredictable musings."—Publishers Weekly

"Epstein is fun to read. . . . He is superb writing about the 'small guaged but finally essential' Barbara Pym and Philip Larkin, about H. L. Mencken's point of view and humor."—Virginia Quarterly Review

"Joseph Epstein may well be the only first-rate American literary critic who can be said to have—and deserve—fans. His essays have captivated readers with their wit, learning, and unabashed love of reading. . . . He has high standards for craftsmanship and a low tolerance for cant."—Washington Times

"Epstein's range is extraordinarily wide. He writes with the same urbane ease and seemingly intimate knowledge of Arnold and Santayana, of Waugh and S. J. Perelman, of Henry James and Tom Wolfe, of Dreiser and Marguerite Yourcenar, of Chekhov and Walter Lippmann, of Borges and E. B. White. The essays have charm. . . . They are, in short, an ornament to belles-lettres."—Times Literary Supplement

"One of the best collections of criticism to appear in the past year. . . . [Epstein] is one of our finest critics as well as a cultural commentator of great perceptiveness and subtlety. . . . [A] superb book."—George Core, Hudson Review

From America's call for a free press to its embrace of the capitalist system, Democracy in America--first published in 1835--enlightens, entertains, and endures as a brilliant study of our national government and character. Philosopher John Stuart Mill called it "among the most remarkable productions of our time." Woodrow Wilson wrote that de Tocqueville's ability to illuminate the actual workings of American democracy was "possibly without rival."

For today's readers, de Tocqueville's concern about the effect of majority rule on the rights of individuals remains deeply meaningful. His shrewd observations about the "almost royal prerogatives" of the president and the need for virtue in elected officials are particularly prophetic. His profound insights into the great rewards and responsibilities of democratic government are words every American needs to read, contemplate, and remember.

Frederic Raphael, the English novelist, screenwriter, and man of letters, and Joseph Epstein, the American essayist, short-story writer, and literary critic, exchanged e-mails sporadically over the years, usually commenting on each other's various writings. Then one day in 2009, Raphael wrote to Epstein to suggest that, since they enjoyed a benevolence toward each other unusual among literary men, they begin an exchange of e-mail correspondence on a regular basis. His thought was that, at the end of a year or so, the result might be an interesting book. Epstein, who had long admired Raphael's writing, agreed. The two men had never met, nor had they even spoken over the phone. Their friendship was conducted entirely online. Each week they exchanged e-mails of roughly 2,000 words. They discovered a great many things about each other they hadn't previously known. They shared, for example, a common birthplace in Chicago, where Raphael was born, though his family moved to England in 1938, and his education after that was exclusively English. Each man belongs to that dolorous fraternity of those who have buried a child. Their literary tastes vary, though not widely, since both grew up admiring the great modernist writers and both had an enduring love for Greek and Roman culture. Both men share a fundamental agreement about what, in artistic and intellectual realms, is serious. Raphael and Epstein are artists who happen also to be intellectuals. The result is that few subjects are off limits to them. They are of an age when they have long ceased to worry about their reputations. Wherever else they may look, it is not over their shoulders. Candor reinforced by comedy is the reigning note of Where Were We? as it was of Distant Intimacy, their earlier volume of e-mail correspondence. Writing about other writers, actors, politics, the movies, intellectual fashions, the writing life, and much else, both men say precisely what they think, and say it in high style. Readers may or may not agree with their strong views, but they will never find their thoughts other than fascinating.

Describing his art, Paul Klee once said, "I take a line out for a walk". This is precisely what Joseph Epstien does in his trenchant informal essays. In this fourth collection, he takes out such wildly various "lines" as gossip, gambling, height (or the lack of it), hats, smoking, fame, the madness of compulsive reading and walks them on the leash of his own strong viewpoint. "Witty, civilized, erudite, self-mocking - intelligent entertainments more British than American in their roots yet most emphatically American in content and style...Invariably his comments...are interesting, sometimes they are striking, often they are amusing."

Sebastien Roch Nicolas Chamfort (1740-1794), whom Nietzsche called the "wittiest of all moralists," is now known for little more than brillian aphorisms that captivated a long line of thinkers, from Stendhal to Cioran, Schopenhauer to Camus. Yet the fascination of Chamfort's life is barely suggested by the fragments of writing that have survived him. In Claude Arnaud's captivating biography, Chamfort the libertine, playwright, journalist, and revolutionary stands revealed as the most telling emblem of his times.