Russell Baker Critical Essay | Critical Essay by A. J. Anderson

Critical Essay by A. J. Anderson

Few things soften and grow moldy quicker than collections of stuff written for newspapers. But Baker … [survives] very well when pressed between the covers of a book…. The 100 or so of his columns tied together [in The Rescue of Miss Yaskell and Other Pipe Dreams] have nothing in common except that all are written in an easy, slippered prose. Always observant, Baker is in turn reminiscent, fanciful, serious, thought-provoking, and downright funny. Among his topics are Brideshead Revisited, Leo Buscaglia, and "The Male Weepie." Probably there are things that do not interest him, but they must be few and far between….

Many fans will be glad to recover some of their favorite pieces in [this collection]. Good for what ails you.

A. J. Anderson, in a review of "The Rescue of Miss Yaskell and Other Pipe Dreams," in Library Journal, Vol. 108, No. 17, October 1, 1983,...
(read more)