H. L. Mencken: Prejudices Vol. 1 (LOA #206): First, Second, and Third Series (Library of America H. L. Mencken Edition)

It is an interesting book.

A true honor to experience the early twentieth century they the eyes of a writer with amazing wit and perspective

Mencken calls for people to follow the logic of ideas to their end, regardless of any social constraints that may give them pause. He follows this advice. He writes in a brutally frank and often hilarious style, and he sales his own thoughts by grouping them into generalities his audience will connect with.I found it necessary to keep a dictionary nearby, as Mencken uses words I've never heard of. Most of these words were spot-on, even when you could guess their meanings in context, their denotations fit his sentences perfectly. I skipped a lot of the negative reviews of authors I didn't already know because I wanted to find other books I'd want to read, not waste my time on ones I never would've read anyways. "The Genealogy of Etiquette," "The Ulster Polonius," "The Dismal Science," and "Advice to Young Men" were my favorite articles in Prejudices 1-3.It's worth the read.

Great transaction, great book.

Mencken at his best!!! A "MUST HAVE" if you enjoy Mencken!

Mencken was a cultural critic at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States between 1917 to 1926. Mencken criticized what he felt to be American provincialism and hypocrisy, and defended writers and thinkers he saw as forerunners of a new truthfulness and maturity. Full of savage wit and relishing wordplay, Mencken's style remains a unique tour over a vast thematic territory: literature and journalism, politics, sex and marriage, food and drink, art, the absurdities of Prohibition and the dismal state of American higher education, and the relative merits of Baltimore and New York. He addressed issues to Americans of the day, the Communists and leftist, conservatives and fascists. He went after the authors that he felt unworthy of praise, yet he attacked with such spirit and charm that is rare today.

Non lo conoscevo, notevole. Sempre ferocemente critico, reazionario, a tratti piuttosto bieco, sempre antidemocratico però sempre divertente. Allegramente cinico (" cinico è uno che sentendo profumo di fiori cerca la bara"), a tratti esaltando le capacità delle donne rispetto alla pochezza dei maschi (In Defense of Women), a volte misogino ( però si sposa e la morte della moglie è per lui un colpo durissimo). Comunque vale la pena di leggerlo. Almeno A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing.