Tony Motherfucking Judt, Kick-Ass Chronicler of History, Is Dead at 62

I've written a little bit about him here before. His NYT obit is here.

ALS got him. It took two years. I feel robbed, frankly, but relieved he's free from that prison. I read the news on the subway last night, and goddamn if I didn't start crying. Being an intellectual and a writer ain't like being an athlete; he could have kept cranking out awesome for another 20 years.

He could think and write with the best I've ever read. Only some of his essays at the NYRB are available for free, and I'd been putting off pulling the trigger on a subscription--$69--but I figure I will now. I'd also been lazy about picking up his latest book, Ill Fares The Land, so I'll probably do that too. You can read the opening chapter here.

And to my Jewish friends: I highly recommend his essays on Israel and American foreign policy. He took a lot of shit from pro-Israel-no-matter-what writers, politicians, and hacks. His positions are nuanced and thoughtful, and it pains me to think that part of his legacy will be his "controversial" views, where "controversial" = not parroting AIPAC or the ADL's dogmatic positions.