Author Description

In 1929, H. L. Mencken continued his dynamic editing of the American Mercury, contributing editorials and reviews to almost every issue. Editorials treating such controversial subjects as race relations, law enforcement, and the wisdom of making a career in politics. Among the books he reviewed were Sinclair Lewis’s Dodsworth, biographies of Ambrose Bierce, Alfred E. Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, and others, and a number of books on religion, which he approached from his customarily skeptical point of view. He also reviewed books for the Nation. Mencken’s newspaper work—exclusively for the Baltimore Evening Sun—covered such topics as the administration of Herbert Hoover, the evolution of American ethics, numerous cynical articles on clergymen and their continued support of Prohibition, and a learned disquisition on the hot dog. Throughout, Mencken’s shrewdness and verbal dexterity are on display.