Thirty-Five Years of Newspaper Work: A Memoir by H. L. Mencken

Mencken (1880-1956) was not merely a prolific writer (books, magazines, newspapers) but a prodigious self-chronicler: this abridged version of a narrative completed in the early 1940s and delivered to Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library under time lock at Mencken's death was only recently made available to the public. In chronological order, Mencken confidently recalls his encounters with national politics, the Scopes trial, local controversies and newspaper policy makers during his 35 years at the Baltimore Sun family of papers. Although Mencken's lively language-""Wilsonistas,"" ""hired whoopers,"" ""ex-best girl""-animates his prose, this book will be useful only to those already familiar with his life and work. Hobson wrote Mencken: A Life, Fitzpatrick is assistant curator of the Mencken Collection at the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Jacobs is former editorial page editor of the Baltimore Sun. (Sept.)