Books in Brief

To Be Young in Babylon, by Tom Seligson (Paperback Library, 237 pp., $1.25). Author also of The High School Revolutionaries, Tom Seligson reveals in this confused jumble of politics and literature his two distinct talents. He is first a fine writer about his generation and just below that, capable of telling a story with precision, intensity and power, sustaining interest in his subjects and himself. Like his friend Dotson Rader, who provides the hyperbolic cover blurb (“simply the best book yet written on young America!”), Mr. Seligson is far more than just another “New Left” screamie. He uses words as they are meant to be used—to move thoughts from place to place, and people from thought to action. But Tom Seligson’s other distinct talent is his unerring ability to screw up his own story by plastering it over with his unnumerable hates: his Jewish hatred of WASPs; young hatred of the old; Yankee hatred of Southerners; activist hatred of reflective non-active thinkers; male chauvinist hatred of women (he’d deny this, of course, but all they’re good for in Babylon is sex and revolution); blacko-phile’s hatred of “Negroes”; radical-chicquiste’s hatred of Middle Americans; ersatz proletarian’s hatred of his “real enemy —the Nixons, the Buckleys, and the bosses and corporate owners”; utopian’s hatred of reality; Don Juan’s hatred of impotence (hence his repeated descriptions of scoring); and most explicitly, on just about every page, his middle-class white hatred of self—thus the ruptured aortas for every Indian, criminal, Negro, kid, tramp, wino, “oppressed radical” he can find. What a waste of writing skills, this first-rate prose for such dismal purposes, The World Wine Atlas, by Hugh Johnson (Simon & Schuster, 272 pp., $22.95 until March 15, 1972; $25 thereafter). Most Americans—including most educated Americans—know very little about wine; and those who wish to learn more are invariably put off by the pedantry that marks most books on the subject. The budding oenophiliac, who lacks the time and the money to devote an entire year to wine tasting, will find Mr. Johnson’s useful handbook to be of the greatest possible interest. It is a book for the initiate, and not the expert, and is full of information that will aid novices in selecting the right wine for the right occasion. And while Mr. Johnson devotes much of his space to such elementary problems as how to drink and keep wine, he does not talk down to his reader. He describes the winemaking art in great detail, and augments his analysis with numerous maps and charts, detailing vineyard arrangements, soil analysis and geography. The beginner will find ittobea useful preface to André Simon’s classic Wines of the World, which will undoubtedly be his next step after reading Johnson’s work. The book is sumptuously illustrated with color photographs and prints, and includes a fascinating assortment of wine labels. The book’s best section is devoted quite naturally to French wines, but we are also treated to an excellent survey of the great wines of Portugal, Italy and Spain. Johnson’s analysis of the viticulture of Eastern Europe, Africa, Australia and America is a bit skimpy, but he does an adequate job on the wines of these areas. Aside from being packed with information, the book will nicely decorate any coffee table.

Black and White in South Africa, The Politics of Survival, by G. H. L. Le May (American Heritage Press, 127 pp., $4.95). A surprisingly comprehensive survey of the history of South Africa in brief compass. Not uncritical, but no hysteria and much objectivity. Handsomely and informatively illustrated.

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To Be Young in Babylon, by Tom Seligson (Paperback Library, 237 pp., $1.25). Author also of The High School Revolutionaries, Tom Seligson reveals in this confused jumble of politics and literature his two distinct talents. He is first a fine writer about his generation and just below that, capable of telling a story with precision, intensity and power, sustaining interest in his subjects and himself. Like his friend Dotson Rader, who provides the hyperbolic cover blurb (“simply the best book yet written on young America!”), Mr. Seligson is far more than just another “New Left” screamie. He uses words as they are meant to be used—to move thoughts from place to place, and people from thought to action. But Tom Seligson’s other distinct talent is his unerring ability to screw up his own story by plastering it over with his unnumerable hates: his Jewish hatred of WASPs; young hatred of the old; Yankee hatred of Southerners; activist hatred of reflective non-active thinkers; male chauvinist hatred of women (he’d deny this, of course, but all they’re good for in Babylon is sex and revolution); blacko-phile’s hatred of “Negroes”; radical-chicquiste’s hatred of Middle Americans; ersatz proletarian’s hatred of his “real enemy —the Nixons, the Buckleys, and the bosses and corporate owners”; utopian’s hatred of reality; Don Juan’s hatred of impotence (hence his repeated descriptions of scoring); and most explicitly, on just about every page, his middle-class white hatred of self—thus the ruptured aortas for every Indian, criminal, Negro, kid, tramp, wino, “oppressed radical” he can find. What a waste of writing skills, this first-rate prose for such dismal purposes, The World Wine Atlas, by Hugh Johnson (Simon & Schuster, 272 pp., $22.95 until March 15, 1972; $25 thereafter). Most Americans—including most educated Americans—know very little about wine; and those who wish to learn more are invariably put off by the pedantry that marks most books on the subject. The budding oenophiliac, who lacks the time and the money to devote an entire year to wine tasting, will find Mr. Johnson’s useful handbook to be of the greatest possible interest. It is a book for the initiate, and not the expert, and is full of information that will aid novices in selecting the right wine for the right occasion. And while Mr. Johnson devotes much of his space to such elementary problems as how to drink and keep wine, he does not talk down to his reader. He describes the winemaking art in great detail, and augments his analysis with numerous maps and charts, detailing vineyard arrangements, soil analysis and geography. The beginner will find ittobea useful preface to André Simon’s classic Wines of the World, which will undoubtedly be his next step after reading Johnson’s work. The book is sumptuously illustrated with color photographs and prints, and includes a fascinating assortment of wine labels. The book’s best section is devoted quite naturally to French wines, but we are also treated to an excellent survey of the great wines of Portugal, Italy and Spain. Johnson’s analysis of the viticulture of Eastern Europe, Africa, Australia and America is a bit skimpy, but he does an adequate job on the wines of these areas. Aside from being packed with information, the book will nicely decorate any coffee table.

Black and White in South Africa, The Politics of Survival, by G. H. L. Le May (American Heritage Press, 127 pp., $4.95). A surprisingly comprehensive survey of the history of South Africa in brief compass. Not uncritical, but no hysteria and much objectivity. Handsomely and informatively illustrated.