American Radical

­I.F. Stone's reputation has survived as a touchstone of journalistic integrity. He made no claim to objectivity, that illusive Platonic goal that has been so misused by the mainstream media. Stone was an unabashed activist, yet the campaign for social justice he waged in print was bound by fairness and a commitment to facts. His writing was interpretive, but his interpretations changed as new information surfaced. Like many leftists who came of age in the early 20th century, he was seduced by the mirage of Soviet Communism. Unlike diehard Communists, he shifted his position when he became aware of the horrors and hypocrisy of totalitarianism in the East Bloc.

American Radical: The Life and Times of I.F. Stone (published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux) is a full-bodied biography of his life and times. The author, D.D. Guttenplan from The Nation, has been criticized for not exploring the personal side of his subject. Stone, had he lived to read Guttenplan, might have approved of the author's reticence. Stone measured the worth of his life by what he accomplished in the public sphere, not by where he vacationed or with whom he shared breakfast. With that in mind, American Radical serves as a detailed overview of the American left from its 1930s zenith through the dangerous years of McCarthy and its resurgence in the '60s.

A prolific and untiring writer, Stone has been called the first blogger for sidestepping established media and creating his own newspaper, a kind of fanzine for the thoughtful left. But the comparison between Stone and the average blogger or "citizen journalist" falls short. Few nowadays possess Stone's intellectual depth or commitment to the gumshoe aspect of news reporting. Spouting opinions is easy. The hard work Stone relished involved marshalling an army of facts and intelligent interpretation to support his views.