Genius from humble backgrounds: Newton, Erasmus, Luther, Samuel Johnson, Orwell… it happens a few times a century. Elite schooling back then was hardly worldly - more along the lines of rote memorization. This theme resurfaces every 20-30 years and aside from the cheap shots here she presents nothing new. Joe Sobran (National Review gadf…
One of the lamest hatchet jobs was Jill Lepore’s review of Snowdon’s bio in the New Yorker a few years ago. A 3-page attempt to discredit his credibility because he wasn’t a senior intelligence pro like Ellsberg and was hooked on video gaming as an adolescent. Condé Nast is not a serious journalistic organ…