John Chamberlain (journalist)
Encyclopedia
John Rensselaer Chamberlain (October 28, 1903 – April 1995) was an American journalist
, historian of business and the economy
, and literary
critic, dubbed "one of America’s most trusted book reviewers."
in 1925, John Chamberlain began his career in journalism at the New York Times in 1926, and he later served there as both an editor
and book reviewer, writing the daily book review
for the New York Times for several years during the 1930s. Later, he worked on the staff at Scribner's
and Harper's
magazines. Serving on the editorial staffs of Fortune (1936-1941) and Life (1941-1950), for a time he wrote the editorial
s for Life under the direction of Henry Luce
, the founder of Time, Inc. Chamberlain was a member of the Dewey Commission
and a contributor to Not Guilty: the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Charges Made Against Leon Trotsky
in the Moscow Trials (1938) by John Dewey
. For most of this period, Chamberlain was, in own words, "a New York literary liberal" involved in political causes of the Left.
He also taught journalism
at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
, where his students included the noted journalists Marguerite Higgins
, Elie Abel
and Edith Efron
.
However, in the early 1940s, he became one the several writers and intellectuals of this period who moved to the intellectual Right, along with friends such as former communists
Whittaker Chambers
and John Dos Passos
, although Chamberlain was never himself a communist. Influenced by Albert J. Nock, he credits the writers Ayn Rand
, Isabel Paterson
and Rose Wilder Lane
with his final "conversion" to what he called "an older American philosophy" of libertarian
and conservative ideas. Along with his friends Henry Hazlitt
and Max Eastman
, he helped to promote the work of Austrian school economist F. A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom
, writing the "Foreword" to the first American edition of the book in 1944.
In 1946, Leonard Read
of the Foundation for Economic Education
established a free market magazine named The Freeman
, reviving the name of a publication which had been edited by Albert J. Nock (1920-1924). Its first editors included Chamberlain, Henry Hazlitt
and Suzanne La Follette
, and its contributors during Chamberlain's tenure there included James Burnham
, Max Eastman
, Raymond Moley
, Morrie Ryskind
, and the Austrian School economists Ludwig von Mises
and F. A. Hayek. He joined the classical liberal Mont Pelerin Society
during this period, as well. After stepping down as editor of The Freeman, Chamberlain continued his regular column for the periodical, "A Reviewer’s Notebook." From 1950-1960 he was an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal
.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
, credited Chamberlain with "changing the course of his life" by writing the "Introduction" to Buckley's first book, God and Man at Yale
. Later, Chamberlain became a life-long contributing editor for Buckley's magazine, National Review
, from its founding until his death. He still occasionally differed from Buckley; for example, he praised Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
.
For twenty-five years, he wrote a syndicated column for King Features which appeared in newspapers across the country.
After his first wife died in 1954, he married Ernestine Stodelle, who had previously been married to the Russian theatrical director Theodore Komisarjevsky
, by whom she was the grandmother of one of the suspects in the 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, historian of business and the economy
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, and literary
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
critic, dubbed "one of America’s most trusted book reviewers."
Early life
A graduate of Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1925, John Chamberlain began his career in journalism at the New York Times in 1926, and he later served there as both an editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
and book reviewer, writing the daily book review
Book review
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review could be a primary source opinion piece, summary review or scholarly review. It is often carried out in periodicals, as school work, or on the internet. Reviews are also often...
for the New York Times for several years during the 1930s. Later, he worked on the staff at Scribner's
Scribner's Magazine
Scribner's Magazine was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. Scribner's Magazine was the second magazine out of the "Scribner's" firm, after the publication of Scribner's Monthly...
and Harper's
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
magazines. Serving on the editorial staffs of Fortune (1936-1941) and Life (1941-1950), for a time he wrote the editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
s for Life under the direction of Henry Luce
Henry Luce
Henry Robinson Luce was an influential American publisher. He launched and closely supervised a stable of magazines that transformed journalism and the reading habits of upscale Americans...
, the founder of Time, Inc. Chamberlain was a member of the Dewey Commission
Dewey Commission
The Dewey Commission was initiated in March 1937 by the "American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky." It was named after its Chairman, John Dewey...
and a contributor to Not Guilty: the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Charges Made Against Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
in the Moscow Trials (1938) by John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
. For most of this period, Chamberlain was, in own words, "a New York literary liberal" involved in political causes of the Left.
He also taught journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
, where his students included the noted journalists Marguerite Higgins
Marguerite Higgins
Marguerite Higgins Hall was an American reporter and war correspondent. Higgins covered World War II, the Korean War and the war in Vietnam, and in the process advanced the cause of equal access for female war correspondents.Higgins was born in Hong Kong while her father, Lawrence Higgins, was...
, Elie Abel
Elie Abel
Elie Abel was a Canadian-American journalist, author and academic. He lived in Palo Alto, California, United States.-Early life:...
and Edith Efron
Edith Efron
Edith Efron was American journalist and author.Graduating from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she studied under journalist John Chamberlain, her career began as a writer for the New York Times Magazine. In 1947, she married a Haitian businessman, with whom she had a...
.
Changing political beliefs
"There is nothing like a fact to kill a theory." -- John Chamberlain
However, in the early 1940s, he became one the several writers and intellectuals of this period who moved to the intellectual Right, along with friends such as former communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers was born Jay Vivian Chambers and also known as David Whittaker Chambers , was an American writer and editor. After being a Communist Party USA member and Soviet spy, he later renounced communism and became an outspoken opponent later testifying in the perjury and espionage trial...
and John Dos Passos
John Dos Passos
John Roderigo Dos Passos was an American novelist and artist.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dos Passos was the illegitimate son of John Randolph Dos Passos , a distinguished lawyer of Madeiran Portuguese descent, and Lucy Addison Sprigg Madison of Petersburg, Virginia. The elder Dos Passos...
, although Chamberlain was never himself a communist. Influenced by Albert J. Nock, he credits the writers Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
, Isabel Paterson
Isabel Paterson
Isabel Paterson was a Canadian-American journalist, novelist, political philosopher, and a leading literary critic of her day. Along with Rose Wilder Lane and Ayn Rand, who both acknowledged an intellectual debt to Paterson, she is one of the three founding mothers of American libertarianism...
and Rose Wilder Lane
Rose Wilder Lane
Rose Wilder Lane was an American journalist, travel writer, novelist, and political theorist...
with his final "conversion" to what he called "an older American philosophy" of libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and conservative ideas. Along with his friends Henry Hazlitt
Henry Hazlitt
Henry Stuart Hazlitt was an American economist, philosopher, literary critic and journalist for such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, The American Mercury, Newsweek, and The New York Times...
and Max Eastman
Max Eastman
Max Forrester Eastman was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. For many years, Eastman was a supporter of socialism, a leading patron of the Harlem Renaissance and an activist for a number of liberal and radical causes...
, he helped to promote the work of Austrian school economist F. A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom
The Road to Serfdom
The Road to Serfdom is a book written by the Austrian-born economist and philosopher Friedrich von Hayek between 1940–1943, in which he "warned of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning," and in which he argues...
, writing the "Foreword" to the first American edition of the book in 1944.
In 1946, Leonard Read
Leonard Read
Leonard E. Read was an American economist and the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, which was the first modern free market think tank in the United States....
of the Foundation for Economic Education
Foundation for Economic Education
The Foundation for Economic Education is one of the oldest free-market organizations established in the United States to study and advance the freedom philosophy. Murray Rothbard recognizes FEE for creating a "crucial open center" that he credits with launching the movement...
established a free market magazine named The Freeman
The Freeman
The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty is one of the oldest and most respected libertarian journals in the United States. It is published by the Foundation for Economic Education . It started as a digest sized monthly study journal; it currently appears 10 times per year and is a larger-sized magazine. FEE...
, reviving the name of a publication which had been edited by Albert J. Nock (1920-1924). Its first editors included Chamberlain, Henry Hazlitt
Henry Hazlitt
Henry Stuart Hazlitt was an American economist, philosopher, literary critic and journalist for such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, The American Mercury, Newsweek, and The New York Times...
and Suzanne La Follette
Suzanne La Follette
Suzanne Clara La Follette was an American journalist and author who advocated for libertarian feminism in the first half of the 20th century. As an editor she helped found several magazines. She was an early and ardent feminist and a vocal anti communist.-Family:She was born in Washington state...
, and its contributors during Chamberlain's tenure there included James Burnham
James Burnham
James Burnham was an American popular political theorist, best known for his influential work The Managerial Revolution, published in 1941. Burnham was a radical activist in the 1930s and an important factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement. In later years he left Marxism and produced...
, Max Eastman
Max Eastman
Max Forrester Eastman was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. For many years, Eastman was a supporter of socialism, a leading patron of the Harlem Renaissance and an activist for a number of liberal and radical causes...
, Raymond Moley
Raymond Moley
Raymond Charles Moley was a leading New Dealer who became its bitter opponent before the end of the Great Depression....
, Morrie Ryskind
Morrie Ryskind
Morrie Ryskind was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and motion pictures, who became a conservative political activist later in life.-Biography:...
, and the Austrian School economists Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
and F. A. Hayek. He joined the classical liberal Mont Pelerin Society
Mont Pelerin Society
The Mont Pelerin Society is an international organization composed of economists , philosophers, historians, intellectuals, business leaders, and others who favour classical liberalism...
during this period, as well. After stepping down as editor of The Freeman, Chamberlain continued his regular column for the periodical, "A Reviewer’s Notebook." From 1950-1960 he was an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
, credited Chamberlain with "changing the course of his life" by writing the "Introduction" to Buckley's first book, God and Man at Yale
God and Man at Yale
God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of “Academic Freedom” is a book published in 1951 by William F. Buckley, Jr., who eventually became a leading voice in the American conservative movement in the latter half of the twentieth century....
. Later, Chamberlain became a life-long contributing editor for Buckley's magazine, National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, from its founding until his death. He still occasionally differed from Buckley; for example, he praised Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing...
by Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
.
For twenty-five years, he wrote a syndicated column for King Features which appeared in newspapers across the country.
After his first wife died in 1954, he married Ernestine Stodelle, who had previously been married to the Russian theatrical director Theodore Komisarjevsky
Theodore Komisarjevsky
Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky or Theodore Komisarjevsky, as he is better known in the West, was a Russian theatrical director and designer. He began his career in Moscow, but had his greatest influence in London...
, by whom she was the grandmother of one of the suspects in the 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut.
Books
- Farewell to Reform (1932)
- The Roots of Capitalism (1959)
- The Enterprising Americans: a Business History of the United States (Harper & Row, 1963)
- The National Review Reader
- A Life With the Printed Word (Regnery, 1982)
- The Turnabout Years (Jameson, 1991)
Sources
- Chamberlain, John, A Life with the Printed Word, Regnery, 1982.
- Diggins, John P., Up From Communism, Harper & Row, 1975.
- Opitz, Edmund A., "A Reviewer Remembered: John Chamberlain 1903-1995," The Freeman, June, 1995 http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/a-reviewer-remembered-john-chamberlain-1903-1995/ (retrieved 4-12-09).
- The New York Times, "John Chamberlain, Columnist, Dies at 91," April 13, 1995 http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/13/obituaries/john-chamberlain-columnist-dies-at-91.html (retrieved 4-12-09).