This captivating anthology gathers historicNew Yorkerpieces from a decade of trauma and upheaval as well as the years whenThe New Yorkercame of age, with pieces by Elizabeth Bishop, Langston Hughes, Joseph Mitchell, Vladimir Nabokov, and George Orwell, alongside original reflections on the 1940s by some of today's finest writers.In this enthralling book, contributions from the great writers who gracedThe New Yorker's pages are placed in historical context by the magazine's current writers. Included in this volume are seminal profiles of the decade's most fascinating figures: Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Here are classics in reporting: John Hersey's account of the heroism of a young naval lieutenant named John F. Kennedy; Rebecca West's harrowing visit to a lynching trial in South Carolina; and Joseph Mitchell's imperishable portrait of New York's foremost dive bar, McSorley's. This volume also provides vital, seldom-reprinted criticism, as well as an extraordinary selection of short stories by such writers as Shirley Jackson and John Cheever. Represented too are the great poets of the decade, from William Carlos Williams to Langston Hughes. To complete the panorama, today'sNew Yorkerstaff look back on the decade through contemporary eyes.The 40s: The Story of a Decadeis a rich and surprising cultural portrait that evokes the past while keeping it vibrantly present.Including contributions byW. H. Auden Elizabeth Bishop John Cheever Janet Flanner John Hersey Langston Hughes Shirley Jackson A. J. Liebling William Maxwell Carson McCullers Joseph Mitchell Vladimir Nabokov Ogden Nash John O'Hara George Orwell V. S. Pritchett Lillian Ross Stephen Spender Lionel Trilling Rebecca West E. B. White Williams Carlos Williams Edmund WilsonAnd featuring new perspectives byJoan Acocella Hilton Als Dan Chiasson David Denby Jill Lepore Louis Menand Susan Orlean George Packer David Remnick Alex Ross Peter Schjeldahl Zadie Smith Judith Thurman
