Foreign Correspondent

Letters, by Kenneth Tynan (Random House, 688 pp., $30)

It seems a long time ago, that palmy London age when revolution (except in Cuba) was slipping temporarily out of politics and into the crotch. Epatant at almost any cost, delighting his fans, Kenneth Tynan rode the crest of that wave. He was famous (or notorious) as the first person to utter the word “f—”on British television. But for all his apparent frivolity and flash—and his asinine radical-chic politics—his influence in British theater was real and significant.

HG

About the Author

Herb Greer

Letters, by Kenneth Tynan (Random House, 688 pp., $30)

It seems a long time ago, that palmy London age when revolution (except in Cuba) was slipping temporarily out of politics and into the crotch. Epatant at almost any cost, delighting his fans, Kenneth Tynan rode the crest of that wave. He was famous (or notorious) as the first person to utter the word “f—”on British television. But for all his apparent frivolity and flash—and his asinine radical-chic politics—his influence in British theater was real and significant.