New York Review of Books.

The New York Review of Books was begun in New York City in February, 1963. Among those primarily responsible for its inception were Robert Silvers, then on the staff of Harper's Magazine, Barbara Epstein and her husband, Jason Epstein, an editor for Random House, and Elizabeth Hardwick, wife of poet Robert Lowell. The immediate reason for its publication was the newspaper strike, which eliminated one of the means by which publishers advertised their new works to the book-buying market and made them eager for some substitute outlet for such publicity. But there was also a longer range reason--belief that a large audience existed for extensive and critical reviews of books which was not being satisfied by the New York Times.Book Review section or the Saturday Review. The strike provided the ideal opportunity to test the demand for and acceptance of such a book reviewing medium.

Many well-known writers and scholars were convinced to write reviews for nothing, and the first issue was financed by sales of advertising space to publishers. This issue was widely acclaimed as a breath of fresh air for the literary world and sold out rapidly. Its success prompted the founders to attempt a second issue, which also met with praise and produced a comparable sales record. The response accorded both issues thus confirmed them in the decision to begin publication on a continuing basis, and the first regular issue appeared in August, 1963. The format was then, as it is now, a bi-monthly tabloid containing articles, extensive and critical book reviews, poetry, advertisements for the book trade, and other items of literary interest.

The decision to publish on a regular basis necessitated additions to the staff. Among those who now became associated with the venture was A. Whitney Ellsworth, formerly on the staff of the Atlantic Monthly, who took on the responsibilities of publisher.

The circulation of the magazine grew to sixty thousand in 1966 and a survey at that time showed that most of the readership was college educated -- a sizeable percentage also having had some graduate education -- urban, affluent, and highly literate. A large percentage of the readers were associated with universities in one way or another. Approximately forty per cent were concentrated in New England and the middle-Atlantic states, with another sixteen per cent on the Pacific coast.

During the middle sixties, the NYRB became more involved in politics. Articles, reviews and David Levine caricatures were increasingly critical of American culture, society, and foreign policy. The increased opposition to the Vietnam war prompted the NYRB to send Mary McCarthy to South Vietnam for reports on and observations about American involvement there. She also went to North Vietnam in order to describe the effect of the war on the people and government of that country. This involvement in radical politics brought the NYRB a certain amount of notoriety. It would be false to say that it became completely politicized, however, for side by side with radical polemics there continued to be reviews of books on art, music, and literature.

From the guide to the New York Review of Books Records, 1963-1969, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)