A. J. Liebling

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A. J. Liebling – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

A. J. Liebling (1904–1963) was a celebrated American journalist, war correspondent, press critic, gourmand, and essayist. Discover his life, writings, influence, and memorable quotes.

Introduction

Abbott Joseph “A. J.” Liebling (October 18, 1904 – December 28, 1963) is remembered as one of America’s most elegant, witty, and wide-ranging journalists. He was a longtime contributor to The New Yorker, a war correspondent, a critic of the press itself, a lover of food and boxing, and a master of the essay form.

His writing—often incisive, humorous, and deeply observant—spanned subjects from politics to the press to Paris cafés. His work remains influential among journalists, critics, and lovers of literary nonfiction.

Early Life and Family

Liebling was born in New York City on October 18, 1904. He grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in a relatively prosperous household; his father was in the fur business in New York.

As a youth, he showed eclectic interests—literature, newspapers, languages—and eventually pursued his education at Columbia University’s journalism school after a brief and partial stint at Dartmouth.

Youth, Education & Entry into Journalism

Liebling did not complete a full, traditional undergraduate path. He attended Dartmouth for a time, but then shifted toward journalism training and real-world reporting.

He began his professional journalism career at the Evening Bulletin of Providence, Rhode Island, and also had a brief stint in the sports department of The New York Times.

One colorful anecdote: according to Liebling, he was once “fired” from a newspaper job for listing “Ignoto” (Italian for “unknown”) as the referee in basketball box scores when the actual name was not known.

He also spent time in Paris, studying French and absorbing French literary, culinary, and cultural life—a period that shaped much of his sensibility about food, cities, and style.

Career & Major Works

Association with The New Yorker & Press Critique

In 1935, Liebling began his long association with The New Yorker, where he contributed a monthly column titled “Wayward Press” beginning in 1945, critiquing the U.S. press, media practices, and journalistic excesses.

He was known for being a meta-journalist: someone who not only reported, but also reflected on the nature, strengths, and failings of journalism itself.

In The Press and The Wayward Pressman, he compiled many of these essays and critiques.

War Correspondence & Paris

During World War II, Liebling traveled to Europe as a war correspondent. He covered the fall of France, the North African campaign, and the Normandy landings.

His war writings were collected in several volumes, including The Road Back to Paris (1944) and Mollie and Other War Pieces.

He was awarded France’s Croix de la Légion d’Honneur for his wartime journalism.

His experience of covering war influenced his style: more direct, less ornate, yet retaining his love of detail, irony, and human perspective.

Food, Culture, & The Sweet Science

Liebling was a connoisseur of food and wrote about dining, restaurants, and Parisian culinary life in Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris.

He also wrote about boxing—The Sweet Science is his classic work in sports writing. Sports Illustrated has called The Sweet Science the greatest sports book of all time.

Other works include The Earl of Louisiana (on Louisiana politics and Governor Earl Long) and The Wayward Pressman.

Historical & Cultural Context

• Liebling’s career unfolded during mid-20th century America, a time when journalism was consolidating its role in modern public life. His critiques of press practices, sensationalism, and journalistic ethics engaged with that moment.

• His war correspondence coincided with pivotal events of WWII—he provided a literate, reflective voice among war reporters, often resisting mere spectacular reporting in favor of human detail.

• His writing on food and culture tied him to a tradition of literary journalism that treats gastronomy, city life, and taste as windows into society.

• His interest in boxing, sports, and “popular culture” positioned him as someone bridging “high” and “low” culture in American letters.

Legacy & Influence

1. Model of the essayist-reporter
   Liebling exemplified a hybrid: he was both a reporter and an essayist, combining reporting rigor with literary flair.

2. Press criticism within journalism
   His Wayward Press columns remain essential reading for anyone interested in media ethics, the relationship between journalism and power, and how news is framed.

3. Sport and food as serious subjects
   He elevated boxing and dining into subjects of serious literate inquiry, helping validate them as cultural arenas.

4. Enduring voice
   His sharp language, wit, and observation continue to be quoted, anthologized, and studied by journalists and essayists.

5. Awards & honors

   • The A. J. Liebling Award was established by the Boxing Writers Association of America to honor excellence in boxing journalism.

   • His wartime volume of essays was republished by Library of America.

Personality and Traits

• Witty & ironic: His prose often carries a mordant humor, irony, and sharp turns of phrase.

• Gourmand sensibility: His love of food was genuine and part of his sensibility as a man of taste.

• Curious & eclectic: He drew from wide fields—politics, sports, culture, gastronomy—and treated them with seriousness and curiosity.

• Self-aware critic: He observed not only the world but critiqued the media lens itself.

• Deep but readable: While intellectually ambitious, his style remained accessible and readable, never arcane for its own sake.

Famous Quotes of A. J. Liebling

Here are some of his best-known lines:

“Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.” “I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better.” “People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news.” “The function of the press in society is to inform, but its role in society is to make money.” “Cynicism is often the shamefaced product of inexperience.” “The only way to write is well and how you do it is your own damn business.” “Inconsiderate to the last, Josef Stalin, a man who never had to meet a deadline, had the bad taste to die in installments.”

These illustrate his sharpness, his critical eye, and his skill with compact, pointed observations.

Lessons from Liebling’s Life

1. Master the dual role: reporter + critic
   Liebling showed that one can both observe the world and critique the lens through which it’s rendered.

2. Pursue breadth with depth
   His willingness to write about food, boxing, politics, and war demonstrates the virtue of varied curiosity tied to deep engagement.

3. Maintain elegance under pressure
   Even dealing with grim events (war, politics) he maintained style, wit, and human focus.

4. Challenge the role of media
   His work reminds us that journalism is not just about transmitting information—it's about framing, accountability, and ownership.

5. Let appetite inform perspective
   His love for taste, cities, and sensual detail enriched his reportage and made it grounded in lived experience.

6. Writing as long game
   His essays, not flash journalism, built his reputation—and many endure beyond the moment.

Conclusion

A. J. Liebling stands as a towering figure in 20th-century journalism. He bridged war reporting and café writing, press criticism and culinary essay, sports narrative and political satire. His prose remains lively, his observations remain sharp, and his legacy continues to inspire writers who want more than mere reportage—to reflect, critique, and bring voice to the human texture behind “news.”

If you’d like, I can also assemble a chronological timeline of his major writings, or analyze one of his signature essays (e.g. The Earl of Louisiana or Between Meals). Would you like me to do that?