Right roots
Sir: I am, as you indicate. general editor of Roots of the Right and contribute the briefest of general prefaces to successive volumes. To entitle a collective review as 'on George Steiner' is merely cheap journalism. Each of the editors is a specialist in his respective field and wholly responsible for the choice and presentation of material. The various editors, though dis- courteously passed over by your reviewer, are in a position to speak for themselves and will not, I suspect, be impressed by Mr Kedourie's credentials in the subject or subjects included. As to the 'fris- son'—that too is your reviewer's. 'Black books', a term I refer to in
quotes, is of course meant to reflect the legal and diplomatic usage of a 'black book' on a particular dis- aster or injustice. The series (the next volume is edited by Professor Hugh Thomas) has been widely received for what it is—a more or less modest help to students of political history and theory.
What is intriguing is your dec-
ision to review a second • two books already discussed at most favourable length and with great authority in your own pages by Sir Denis Brogan—in two succes- sive articles. I ant flattered, of course, by the importance you attach to Roots of the Right but wonder whether the 'intellectual confusion' and sensationalism lies with the series.
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