Budd Schulberg's America

Popular culture plays an enormous role in shaping American experience. I've written about it before, but the passing of Budd Schulberg gives us another opportunity to explore the significance of one of those shapers. I know very little about Schulberg. That's going to change based on Scott Johnson's tribute at Powerline. Here's a brief sample:

In his politics, as I understand them, Schulberg was an old-fashioned anti-Communist liberal. A man of enormous gifts, Schulberg displayed personal integrity of a kind one can only hope to emulate. He refused to stifle his voice on the order from his fellow Communists or repent his testimony repudiating his past allegiance to please latter-day leftists. His death marks a loss to American letters and the passing of a living link to American history.

The New York Times's Tim Weiner provides us with an informative obituary that includes a photo essay and video. If you're interested in more, the link in the obit's first line will take you to 29 diverse articles about Schulberg's life and work.