LEANING ON A COLUMN

by George Dixon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 19, 1961

If the reader can just skip a short description of the author's early journalism career that reads as if it had been souped up by a tabloid rewrite man of the Front Page era, he will find this an amusing and sometimes hilarious account of the lighter side of Washington. Olxon, a widely syndicated columnist, doubtless is not above embroidering a tale in the true tradition of the born story-teller. Yet he refuses to take himself or others even the most controversial- too seriously, and the account that emerges is an engaging series of bits and pieces of the last 20 years of Washington politics. Dixon's humor is not barbed, but he does manage to remove the stuffing from some well-known shirts. a rocktall party remark of a friend of the former New York Governor, he observes, for example, that one really has to know Mr. Dewey to dislike him. All the headline names of the past two political decades appear, from FDR to Truman to McCarthy (the author claims he inadverscntly gave him his start) to like to JFK, plus a host of lesser lights including some of the best known of Washington's cocktail party and social leaders. In between, Dixon manages to convey a lively picture of his own professional and personal life.

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 1961

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1961

Categories: NONFICTION