Remembering Ramparts, Icon of the New LeftRandy Shawbyline‚ Sep. 10‚ 2009What do Robert Scheer, David Horowitz, Adam Hochschild, and Warren Hinckle have in common? All got their journalistic careers put on the map while writing for Ramparts, the legendary periodical that began in San Francisco in 1966 and lasted until 1975. Many younger activists are not aware of Ramparts’ legacy, which is why Peter Richardson’s new book, A Bomb in Every Issue, fills such an important gap in our understanding of the rise of both the New Left and investigative journalism. Begun as a journal for Catholic thought, Ramparts was soon transformed by Hinckle and Scheer into the nation’s preeminent media critic of the Vietnam War, U.S. foreign policy, and of the national security Establishment. Unlike the rest of the alternative press, Ramparts’ artwork and design matched the production quality of the mainstream media, which led Ramparts’ stories to be picked up by the New York Times and other outlets while similar information in The Nation was ignored. While trumpeting its legacy, Richardson does not shy away from the publication’s excesses; his book is thus an extremely honest account of a period whose activists and media have too often been romanticized. |