Susan Sontag and George Steiner were two of the most notable secular Jewish intellectuals of the last century; the former an influential writer, activist and filmmaker, the latter a media commentator and New Yorker literary critic.

They disliked and mistrusted one another, meeting only on the few occasions where their mutual friend Robert Boyers brought them together, producing several wrenching and hilarious exchanges. The Salmagundi founder and editor joins David Herman with his insider’s account of the controversies that Sontag and Steiner generated, an effort to explain their extraordinary fame and influence, and their role in shaping the culture of the mid-and-late 20th century.

An event from Jewish Book Week 2024