Harper's Magazine

At first look, Harper's seems a leftist publication, but if you read it a little more carefully, it's a lot more Mark Twain than Karl Marx. I'd call it centrist, but even that implies straddling the center between two extremes. Like Twain, Harper's is more of a somewhat irascible, yet always caring voice on the outside, not on one end of the spectrum or another, but rather on a different spectrum altogether.

The attitude is egalitarian, never pompous. The voices are reasonable, if sometimes angry or alarmed. Harper's is definitely not a liberal magazine in the sense of Marxist socialism. Harper's is liberal in the sense of Jeffersonian liberalism. It's opinions seem more focused on improving local cultures and economies and challenging the demagogues and central planners who seek to control the masses, be they Democrat or Republican. Perhaps Harper's is the Jim Jeffords of the magazine world.

Harper's is an eloquent and impassioned magazine that delivers carefully constructed and inventive views of the world each month. There is an overriding sense of seriousness and genuine compassion found in every issue. In a world where so many media sources are merely parrots for a larger corporate or political agendas, Harper's stands out as an autonomous voice of indignant opposition to censorship and blind nationalism. If you care about the world we all inhabit and genuinely want to discover how we might all get to a better place, give Harper's a read. It may not provide the answers, but it certainly raises all the right questions.


Left Oriented Magazine Entertains   September 13, 2003
Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA)
79 out of 98 found this review helpful

In June of 1850, a new magazine appeared on the American scene. Created by a New York publishing company called Harper & Brothers, the periodical received the appropriate name "Harper's Magazine." Over the years, the magazine began printing articles and stories from American authors, including William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, Theodore Dreiser, John Muir, Jack London, and many other big literary names immediately recognizable to readers of literature. Harper's also published news about the big stories of the day, such as an article written by Henry Stimson defending the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Astonishingly enough, the magazine nearly folded in 1980 until several big shots stepped in and rescued the periodical with grant money. Needless to say, Harper's Magazine still chugs along, and I recently subscribed to see what this historic publication looks like today. What I found both elated and bothered me. Harper's Magazine is an entertaining read, if the September 2003 edition is any indication, but at the same time the politics expressed in several of the entries left a slightly sour taste in my mouth.

The September issue overflows with articles about politics, book reviews, essays, letters from readers, pictures of artwork, and several excerpts from current literary efforts. There is even a doozy of a puzzle towards the end of the magazine for those who want to test their mental powers. It looks as though the editors of the magazine keep advertising to a minimum (a good thing), and there weren't any of those annoying, and sometimes perfumed, inserts you find in most magazines. Nothing kills a magazine quicker in my mind than detecting waves of some cheap cologne wafting off an article about politics or entertainment.

My favorite odor free articles in this issue of Harper's included a travelogue piece about Waziristan, a rugged region in Pakistan where Taliban exiles mix with hostile Pashtun tribes who possess a decidedly anti-American mentality. The article, written by an American woman, is slightly histrionic in its presentation but it is very informative. Sure enough, a week after I read this article someone on the news mentioned the region in the context of American anti-terrorism efforts, and I was happy to know something about it before hand. Another article worth mentioning is an essay about the public school system written by a retired teacher. The author of this piece derides the crushing boredom of the educational system for both students and teachers, and traces the development of our schools back to Prussia in the 18th and 19th century. While I disagreed with his political leanings, I did find his conclusion that our schools serve as factories to churn out good little sheep that only know how to shop relevant and satisfying. My favorite literary excerpt comes from an Israeli journalist named Oz Shelach, who wrote a book called "Picnic Grounds." The excerpts come in bite sized little fragments that shed some insight into the problems between the Israelis and Palestinians, among other topics. Some of the stuff in this issue of Harper's Magazine is good reading material.

Regrettably, my politics do not mesh well with the staff at Harper's Magazine. I sighed aloud every time I saw a reference to identity politics, specifically in a literary critique about V.S. Naipaul written by Terry Eagleton. I should be fair and state that I saw a full page advertisement from a group seeking to limit immigration into the United States, and there is a critique of the new Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry that does question the inclusion of several poets who write about nothing except identity themes, so there does seem to be an attempt at balance. Overall, Harper's Magazine is definitely a left oriented publication. I think I can live with it now that I know what to look for in future issues, but for some people this might present a significant problem. One good aspect: while there may be a mess of leftists at the helm of this magazine, at least they still know how to have a laugh. Included in this issue is a description of an Italian board game about women of the night. Based on Monopoly, the Italians call this game "Puttanopoly," and the excerpts taken from the cards in the game are as hilarious as they are inappropriate for this review.

After finishing this issue of the magazine, I realized that even though I disagree with its politics, I am still looking forward to receiving my next issue. I read this magazine cover to cover in just a couple of days, and for the most part I felt I learned a lot about various topics in the process. You simply cannot resist the price offered here for a year's subscription, so give Harper's Magazine a chance. No matter what your outlook on life, I guarantee you will find something here to tickle your fancy.


what's not to like?!?   November 20, 2001
Benjamin K. Potter (Memphis, TN)
47 out of 51 found this review helpful

Here's a quick breakdown:

1. Harpers will feed your need for the trivial. The Index is a fascinating collection of facts and figures, and the front-of-book section is probably one of the most quirky, laugh-out-loud funny and stimulating in the business.

2. Great fiction. Some up-and-comers submit, along with some old pros (a recent story by Joyce Carol Oates was outstanding)

3. Great features. Some great topics, albeit a lot of environmental stuff, it's still well-rounded and well-informed. Great ones I've read recently include a look at maids, SUVs, education reform and more.

I can see why people might not like this magazine because it appears to be "uppity." In fact, the only thing that annoys me about this magazine is the letters to the editor, where all of the Ivy-league intellectuals write in and try to prove how smart they are. But I think the appeal is more widespread than that. And you'll be paying less than a dollar an issue -- you'll definitely get your money's worth.


A Superb, Thoughtful Monthly Magazine!   August 7, 2004
Barron Laycock (Temple, New Hampshire United States)
47 out of 61 found this review helpful

In the several years since my retirement, I have come to wait by my trusty old rusted metal mailbox around the third or fourth of every month, waiting for my monthly issue of two magazines, the Atlantic Monthly and Harpers. Each in iuts own way is likely the best amalgams of intellectual articles on a variety of subjects one can find in contemporary America, and each features a stable of highly regarded writers and authors. For good reason; from subjects as arcane as the supposed imminent fall of the Soviet union based on demographic and economic analysis in the mid-1980s to the recent synopsis of former spy Robert Baer regarding the evils of dealing with the highly corrupted Saudi regime, the magazine consistently offers an erudite, informative, and provocative look at aspects of contemporary reality one cannot find elsewhere.

Needless to say, I really enjoy reading Harpers, especially under the guidance of editor Lewis lapham, and its articles often lead me on Amazon searches for tomes by the talented authors, which in the case of said author Robert Baer, or perpetually sagacious satirist P.J. O'Rourke, or a whole raft of noteable others. All of them lead to some worthwhile reading experiences indeed. It avoids the trendy, so we are spared the suffering through the latest and greatest mass experiences in favor of intellectual roads less traveled, being grassy and rather wont of wear, makes for better and more satisfying traveling, whether trudging through the snow with my Wintertime Dunham Tyroleans or padding down grassy fields in my summertime Birkenstocks. Just keep on trucking! Enjoy!



Variable   June 16, 2004
Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA)
45 out of 68 found this review helpful

During the 1980s and 90s Harpers decayed badly from a journal of literature and opinion into a collection of short pieces and meaningless charts- sort of a journal for the literary pretentious with a short attention span. During the late 90s and the early part of this century, an effort was made to recreate the old Harpers.

Gone now are the annoying fragments and pointless tables, but the quality of the writing is still variable. At its best, Harpers still trails far behind The Atlantic, and at its worst it's pitifully sophmoric. I'll try it again in a few more years.