CHARLIE ROSE: Tony Judt, a prominent historian and public intellectual
died of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease on August 6. He was 62 years old.
Although in some places he was known for his controversial views on Israel,
he saw himself not as a polemicist, but as a teacher and a historian. He
authored or edited 13 books, including the work for which he became a
Pulitzer Prize finalist, "Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945." Last
year, Judt was awarded the George Orwell prize for intelligence, insight,
and conspicuous courage. Over the years he was a great friend of this
program as a guest and a guest host.
In September of 2008, Tony Judt was diagnosed with ALS. It is an
affliction that he described as progressive imprisonment without parole.
Over the past 18 months, he dictated dozens of essays and op-eds, wrote two
books, and delivered from memory his last lecture to an auditorium of NYU
students. His words that night were recently turned into his last book.
It is a petition for the future, a rallying cry for renewing social
democracy.
See the full, emotional CR piece here. See also: Ill Fares the Land
, Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century
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