The Best of Sydney J. Harris

Most of Harris' collected newspaper columns here preach a point. However they are so well-written and incisive that it's easy to get hooked on them despite their somewhat superior tone. You can't read just one. Almost all of them contain some nuggets of wisdom that are both quotable and yet seem to be tailored personally for the reader. He tells us such things as: A good listener is a tuning fork rather than a sounding board. His playback is a revelation, not a recording. Or: The man who wouldn't "hurt" a mouse WOULD kill his wife - perhaps because she didn't act like a mouse. Or: What is theft for an individual is conquest for a nation; what is individual murder is bravery to a nation at war. Or: It's easier for men to submit to a great evil than to suffer slight vexations. Ergo (you get) tyrants who get the trains to run on time. Or: Conversation should be like tennis. You hit the ball back to the other person. In reality it's often like golf. You strike your own ball, then wait impatiently for the other fellow to hit his. There is a smattering of comments on these pages that show how we've advanced several decades in our philosophy since the 60's when many of these columns were written. For example, Harris attributes homosexuality to parental and societal failings. And he recommends that more women become doctors because they are "more naturally empathetic." However for the most part, Harris proves he was ahead of his time. For example he reminds us that in order to convict a defendant in court, we need to be assured of his guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt." Harris recommends that the same standard be applied when making the decision to go to war. Since these writings have an explicitly educational tone, you might find it interesting to read them in conjunction with the writings of a columnist who takes a somewhat different tack. By contrast, Jon Carroll of "The Chronicle" often slips his wisdoms across to the reader in the course of narrating his personal daily experiences living life in San Francisco. You can find a collection of some of Carroll's writings in the book "Near Life Experiences."