We always knew David Remnick was an A.J. Liebling buff. He reminds us once again with
“Reporting It All,” a sweet piece in the current issue
of The New Yorker honoring the centennial of Liebling’s birth. The magazine has also put
online from its archive a terrific piece by Liebling himself, “Ahab and Nemesis,” about the sweet science.
What surprised us, though, was that Remnick revealed his person to be such
an old-fashioned writer in another piece for the current issue, “After Madrid,” his Talk of the Town commentary
about the Madrid train bombings. “In recent years,” he writes, “Osama bin Laden has concealed
his person from spies and Predator drones but has hidden his intentions and his sense of historical
mission in plain sight.” Impeccable idea. Peccable style. Concealed his person? So
19th century. What’s wrong with concealed himself? Yes, we’re being picky, picky.
