The diary of H.L. Mencken

—The New York Times

“One finds an incredibly complex man.… His intellectual curiosity was exemplary; his industry was indefatigable; his encyclopedic knowledge was extraordinary, and his smooth writing makes even the mundane interesting. His flashes of humor could be ribald, cutting, and, on rare occasions, self-deprecating. The diary alone contains biting, insightful and sometimes funny references about encounters with Theodore Dreiser, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, William Faulkner, Sinclair Lewis and others.”

—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A beautifully edited and lively look at the day-by-day life of a towering figure in journalism and language. Fecher’s editing is superb, always illuminating, often wryly humorous, never getting in the way.”

—Boston Herald

“Mencken comes off as a more likeable character here than he does in most previous accounts written by or about him: a devoted husband and friend, a conscientious participant in business affairs at Knopf and the Baltimore Sunpapers, a lover of music, terrapin and beer. You will discover a depth of humanity and feeling in the Sage of Baltimore for which nothing previous can have prepared you.”

—Jonathan Yardley