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Best New Yorker Articles of 1972

Explore 53 featured picks from The New Yorker's 1972 issues.

53 picks · 53 issues · Top author: E. J. Kahn (4)

Most featured section: Profiles

Featured Picks

McGovern
James Stevenson · Our Local Correspondents · January 1

James Stevenson on the 1972 campaign of George McGovern.

II-New Girdle, With Lots of Support
S. J. Perelman · Fiction · January 8

Writer discovered an old copy of Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days" in a tool shed on his farm in Pa. He decides to reread the book. He …

ARE YOU THE ENTERTAINMENT?
Kenneth Tynan · Profiles · January 15

PROFILE of British actor Nicol Williamson, noted for his interpretation of Hamlet, in both the stage & film versions. Prime Minister Harold Wilson, …

The Massacre at My Lai
Seymour M. Hersh · A Reporter at Large · January 22

Seymour M. Hersh’s 1972 piece about a mass killing of civilians during the Vietnam War.

II-COVERUP
Seymour M. Hersh · A Reporter at Large · January 29

REPORTER AT LARGE about the Army's investigation of the Son My massacres of S. Vietnamese civilians (women, children, & old men) by US troops, on Mar. …

IV-Dip in Hot Water and Fry Till Acerbic
S. J. Perelman · Fiction · February 5

Writer tells about his steaming t rip down the Persian Gulf on the S.S. Choleria, dreaming about the delicatessen food of Manhattan, for which the …

Afternoon Television: Unhappiness Enough, and Time
Renata Adler · The Air · February 12

Renata Adler on watching “Days of Our Lives,” “Another World,” and other daytime soaps.

II-THE BIRTH OF BANGLADESH
Robert Shaplen · A Reporter at Large · February 19

REPORTER AT LARGE about Bangladesh & the India-Pakistan war. Tells about the preparations for war on both sides, & how Mrs. Gandhi tried to avert it, …

THE RIVER WORLD
Berton Roueché · A Reporter at Large · February 26

REPORTER AT LARGE about a towboat trip down the Missouri & Mississippi Rivers, from Kansas City to Baton Rouge. Tells about the freight haulage on …

I-THE SUGAR-COATED FORTRESS
Francine du Plessix Gray · Profiles · March 4

PROFILE of Hawaii. Traces the history of the 8 major islands--Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Hawaii, Lanai, Niihau, & Kahoolawe--from Capt. James Cook's …

The Greatest Refreshment
Janet Flanner · That Was Paris · March 11

Janet Flanner remembers her years with Ernest Hemingway, Djuna Barnes, and other literary greats.

Alchemy
Pauline Kael · The Current Cinema · March 18

Pauline Kael’s 1972 review of Francis Ford Coppola’s classic mob movie, based on the Mario Puzo book and starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, and Robert Duvall.

The Ariel
Ted Walker · Fiction · March 25

A young man in England visits his father, who's had an operation for arthritis, & now must use crutches until he can walk again. His mother tells him …

THE POWER AND THE GLORY
Winthrop Sargeant · Profiles · April 1

PROFILE of Metropolitan Opera star Joan Sutherland. Miss Sutherland sings bel-canto opera, which had been revived two decades ago by the famous (soprano …

FORESIGHT, NIGHTMARE, AND HINDSIGHT
E. J. Kahn · Profiles · April 8

PROFILE of John Service, retired diplomat & China expert, who, between 1945 & the 1950s, was unremittingly harassed by Sen. Jos. McCarthy & his …

WE HAVE ALWAYS SURVIVED
Robert Shaplen · Profiles · April 15

PROFILE of Saigon, S. Vietnam. Tells about the French colonization of Vietnam, & of the Japanese invasion & control of Indo-China during W.W. II.

A City of Churches
Donald Barthelme · Fiction · April 22

Fiction, from 1972: “ ‘We are like other towns, except that we are perfect,’ he said. ‘Our discontent can only be held in check by perfection.’ ”

II-DADDYJI
Ved Mehta · Profiles · April 29

PROFILE of the writer's father, an E. Indian doctor, Amolak Ram Mehta, called Daddyji. In 1923 he went to America for postgraduate work in medicine on …

PROFILES WORK, FOR THE NIGHT IS COMING
L. E. Sissman · Profiles · May 6

PROFILE of Dick Cavett, host of ABC's late night talk program, the "Dick Cavett Show." Cavett is 35. The show has been running 2 1/2 yrs. and is seen …

The Conching Rooms
John McPhee · The Talk of the Town · May 13

Talk story about a visit to the chocolate factory in Hershey, Pa. and interview with Bill Wagner, who for 45 years has been tasting chocolate in the …

Eating Crawfish in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
Calvin Trillin · U.S. Journal · May 20

From 1972: Calvin Trillin writes that there are crawfish (or crayfish, or crawdads) all over the country, but outside of Louisiana they are all but ignored.

THE PLACE ON THE HILL
E. J. Kahn · A Reporter at Large · May 27

REPORTER AT LARGE about Franconia College, a lively, coeducational, experimental, not yet fully accredited New Hampshire institution that began operation …

ENVIRONMENTALIST
E. J. Kahn · Profiles · June 3

PROFILE of Maurice Frederick Strong, an Under-Secretary-General of the UNited Nations & secretary-general of the 1st U.N. Conference on the Human …

Commercial
John Updike · Fiction · June 10

It is night. The eleven o'clock news is in progress. A commercial for natural gas comes on. It includes a GRANDMOTHERLY WOMAN and a SMALL BOY. Their …

QUIET MAN
Bruce Bliven · Profiles · June 17

PROFILE of Cyril M. Harris, Columbia U. professor, acoustics consultant & noise-control expert. Born in Detroit in 1917, raised in California, he has lived…

Piombino's An Hour From Livorno
Linda Arking · Fiction · June 24

Margo, an American, has been abroad for 3 years and is now working in Livorno, Italy. On a train ride she is attracted by a boy and starts a conversation …

Speech Of A Guide
W. S. Merwin · Fiction · July 1

Things that you lost were guiding you. And you tried to replace them only sometimes you lost the replacements too even though you had grown to like the …

In The Summerhouse
Elizabeth Cullinan · Fiction · July 8

One sunny Sunday afternoon Mrs. Ganley, with her daughter, Angela, visits her husband in a mental institution. He had had a nervous breakdown after getting…

The Life in Green
John Batki · Fiction · July 15

Story about a young man's experience in the Army. It was easy to get in. A quick physical and then a written exam on the history of military flowers. …

VERONESE IN VENICE
Winthrop Sargeant · Profiles · July 22

PROFILE of Giuseppe Cipriani, of Venice, honored by the Italian gov't. for his contribution to tourism. He manages the city's most fashionable …

VIETNAM V-SURVIVORS
Frances FitzGerald · Annals of War · July 29

ANNALS OF WAR about the Vietnam war since 1969, under the Nixon Admin. Since 1954, the U.S. has had only one concern & that was the war to destroy the …

TRIBUTE
Calvin Trillin · A Reporter at Large · August 5

A REPORTER AT LARGE about the 51st annual Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial held for four days every Aug. in Gallup, New Mexico. Ike Merry is a former …

The Weather Within
M. F. K. Fisher · Fiction · August 12

A mother and her two young daughters sailed on a passenger freighter from San Francisco to Antwerp. There are several old ladies on the ship; the girls …

I-VISCERAL LEARNING
Gerald Jonas · Profiles · August 19

PROFILE of Dr. Neal E. Miller of Rockefeller University, one of the best-known experimental psychologists in the country. Miller has been experimenting …

THE BIGGEST EVENT THIS YEAR
George W. S. Trow · A Reporter at Large · August 26

George W. S. Trow’s 1974 account of the wedding of Sly Stone and Kathy Silva, at Madison Square Garden.

WHEN I OPEN UP DOWN THERE, YOU'D BETTER LOOK OUT
Winthrop Sargeant · Profiles · September 2

PROFILE of Marilyn Horne, the opera singer considered by many to possess the greatest voice in the world. Miss Horne, who is 38, may be regarded as being …

THE SEARCH FOR MARVIN GARDENS
John McPhee · A Reporter at Large · September 9

A REPORTER AT LARGE about the game of Monopoly and the city in which it is set, Atlantic City, N. J. Atlantic City was designed in 1852 by an immigrant …

Letter From Munich
E. J. Kahn · Letter from Munich · September 16

Tells about the tragedy of the 20th Olympiad when Arab terrorists scaled the fence around the Olympic Village & held members of the Israeli team hostage, …

II-THE TREE WHERE MAN WAS BORN
Peter Matthiessen · A Reporter at Large · September 23

REPORTER AT LARGE about the wildlife of the Serengeti in East Africa. Tells about the problems of poaching, for food & profit. To contain the natural …

III-THE TREE WHERE MAN WAS BORN
Peter Matthiessen · A Reporter at Large · September 30

REPORTER AT LARGE about the East African Bush people, the Hadza, many of whom still live in the wild near Yaida Chini, Tanzania. Tells about the different …

Making a Noise in the World—I
Brendan Gill · Profiles · October 7

Part 1 of Brendan Gill’s classic Profile of the legendary film and stage star Tallulah Bankhead, exploring her Alabama upbringing, the garden parties, which inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” that she attended as a young actress, and her rise to fame in nineteen-twenties London.

II-MAKING A NOISE IN THE WORLD
Brendan Gill · Profiles · October 14

PROFILE of the late actress, Tallulah Bankhead. In 1931 she left London where she had been a sensation for 8 yrs for NY. Paramount Pictures offered her a …

AWOL
Daniel Lang · A Reporter at Large · October 21

REPORTER AT LARGE about the desertion from the Navy by a young man, Harry Taggart (a pseudonym), for over 2 1/2 years, in this country & in Canada. The …

A Guide to Some of the Lesser Ballets
Woody Allen · Fiction · October 28

Synopses of five lesser-known ballets. The first is "Dmitri" recounting the love story of Natasha who is sad because her father has been sent to fight in …

OUT OF THE COCOON ON THE FIFTY-SIXTH FLOOR
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · November 4

PROFILE of John D. Rockefeller, 3rd. The main interests of the 66-year-old philanthropist now seem to focus on the Population Council, established in 1952 …

An Accident in Space
Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr. · Annals of Exploration · November 11

Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr.,’s 1972 chronicle of NASA’s Apollo 13 moon mission, during which three astronauts, John L. Swigert, James A. Lovell, Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr., were almost lost.

A QUEENLY AURA
Whitney Balliett · Profiles · November 18

PROFILE of Mabel Mercer, who at 72, remains the matchless but largely unknown "doyenne" of American popular singing. She has been holding forth at the St. …

LES PIEDS NOIRS
· Profiles · November 25

PROFILE of the Martin family, pieds noirs, or French Algerians, who fled Algeria in 1962, when that country gained independence, & now live in a village in…

Early Voice I—A. Philip Randolph’s Radical Harlem
Jervis Anderson · Profiles · December 2

Part 1 of Jervis Anderson’s Profile of the activist, who founded the country’s first Black labor union, vied with Marcus Garvey, and led the March on Washington, where M.L.K. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Poetic Larks Bid Bald Eagle Welcome Swan of Liverpool
Hendrik Hertzberg · A Reporter at Large · December 9

Hendrik Hertzberg visits the couple in their New York apartment and recording studio.

EARLY VOICE III-THE MARCH
Jervis Anderson · Profiles · December 16

PROFILE of A. Philip Randolph, black civil rights leader, aged 83. In 1935 Randolph was asked to head the new National Negro Congress. He declined at first…

MONEY MUSIC
George W. S. Trow · Profiles · December 23

PROFILE of Kal Rudman, who promotes records & picks hits in the AM-Top-Forty-radio section of the popular-music business. At 42 & a former disc jockey, he …

CLOSED
Richard Harris · A Reporter at Large · December 30

REPORTER AT LARGE about the closing of the Lobster, a restaurant on W. 45th St., between Sixth & Seventh Avenues, which was established in 1919. Writer, in…

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