America in Fitzgerald

by Ronald Berman


Ralph A. Smith is known to most contributors because of his superb knowledge of the arts. But it should also be known that Ralph is one of the best "all round" intellectuals in this country, or anywhere else. After seeing Ralph at work as an editor, it became clear to me that he had a view of things far greater than would ordinarily be identified with a single field. Ralph allowed me to write on a number of topics, but none was more important than the very first essay that I ever wrote on F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Twenties. Out of that essay came a career, and I am still grateful to Ralph.