Robert B. Silvers 3497106 224513076 2008-07-09T05:02:36Z 74.66.244.196 Reverting bot error '''Robert B. Silvers''' (b. [[December 31]] [[1929]] in [[Mineola, New York]]) is editor of ''[[The New York Review of Books]]''. He was co-editor with [[Barbara Epstein]] for over 40 years until her death in June [[2006]]. He also serves on the editorial committee of ''La Rivista dei Libri'', the [[Italian language]] edition of the ''Review''.<ref>[http://www.granta.com/authors/51 Information from Granta.com]</ref> Silvers has edited several essay anthologies, including ''Writing in America'', ''Thirty Years of the New York Review'', ''Hidden Histories of Science'', ''India: A Mosaic'', ''Striking Terror: America’s New War'', and ''The Company they Kept: Writers on Unforgettable Friendships''.<ref name=Harvard>[http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/06.07/03-honorands.html Information about honorary degree of Doctor of Letters]</ref><ref>[http://www.markdanner.com/nyreview/04_99_Conversation_Robert_Silvers.htm 1999 Interview by Mark Danner] and [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2006/1745096.htm Article on Silvers]</ref> He has also edited a number of other books published by the ''Review''.<ref>[http://www.nybooks.com/authors/3792 Books published by the ''NY Review'']</ref> ==Life and career== Silvers grew up in [[Rockville Centre, New York]], the son of James J. Silvers (1892 - 1986), a salesman and entrepreneur, and Rose Roden Silvers (1894 - 1979), one of the first female radio hosts for [[RCA]]. He graduated from the [[University of Chicago]] in 1947 and briefly attended [[Yale Law School]]. Silvers worked as press secretary to then-[[Connecticut]] Governor [[Chester Bowles]] in 1950. He lived in Paris from 1952 to 1958, where he served with the [[U.S. Army]] at [[SHAPE]] Headquarters and attended the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] and [[Paris Institute of Political Studies]] (best known as [[Sciences Po]]), receiving its ''certificate''. He joined the editorial board of ''[[The Paris Review]]'' in 1954 and became Paris editor in 1956. From 1959 to 1963, Silvers was associate editor of ''[[Harper's magazine]]'', editor of the book ''Writing in America'' and translator of ''La Gangrene'', which describes the brutal [[torture]] of seven [[Algeria]]n men by the Paris Security Police in 1958, shortly after [[Charles de Gaulle]] came to power.<ref>[http://www.antiqbook.com/boox/connie/EEF2338.shtml Description of ''La Gangrene'']</ref> For over forty years, beginning in 1963, Silvers and [[Barbara Epstein]] edited the ''[[New York Review of Books]]'' together. In 2006, Epstein died of cancer at the age of 77.<ref name=Observer>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/17/arts/17epstein.html?ex=1308196800&en=d091d6367c2ee4ad&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Obituary], ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[17 June]] [[2006]]</ref> Since then, Silvers has been the sole editor. Asked in December 2007 about who might succeed him, the 79-year-old Silvers demurred, "It's not a question that's posing itself".<ref>Neyfakh, Leon. [http://www.observer.com/2007/what-s-new-i-new-york-review-books-i What's New at The New York Review of Books?"] ''The New York Observer'', [[December 13]], [[2007]]</ref> ==Honors and awards== The annual Robert B. Silvers lectures at the [[New York Public Library]] were established by [[Max Palevsky]] in 2002 and have been given by [[Joan Didion]], [[J. M. Coetzee]], [[Ian Buruma]], [[Michael Kimmelman]] and [[Daniel Mendelsohn]]. On November 15, 2006, Silvers received the [[National Book Foundation]] [[National Book Award|Literarian Award]] for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. With Barbara Epstein, he also received in 2006 the Award for "Distinguished Service to the Arts" from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Among other honors, Silvers has been a member of the executive board of the [[PEN American Center]] and the [[American Academy in Rome]], as well as a trustee of the New York Public Library. He is also a Chevalier of the French [[Légion d’honneur]] and a member of the French [[Ordre National du Mérite]]. In June 2007, [[Harvard University]] awarded him an honorary degree of [[Doctor of Letters]].<ref name=Harvard/> Silvers is also a member of the [[Council of Foreign Relations]] and the [[Century Association]]. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== *[http://nymag.com/news/media/21344/index4.html Feature on the ''Review'' in the September 25, 2006 issue of ''[[New York Magazine]]''] *[http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/story/0,6000,1129900,00.html Extensive biography of Silvers] *[http://www.markdanner.com/nyreview/04_99_Conversation_Robert_Silvers.htm Extensive interview with Silvers] *[http://www.observer.com/2008/mr-silvers-will-you-peek-my-books Mr. Silvers, Will You Peek at My Books?] article on Silvers from the ''[[New York Observer]]'' ==External links== *[http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2006_dcal_literarianpr.html Announcement of 2006 National Book Foundation Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community] *[http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/932/prmID/1064 Silvers' introduction to panel discussion entitled, "How have writers in the U.S. and abroad perceived the war and assessed its consequences?"] *[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3613/is_200001/ai_n8891007 Columbia Journalism Review on "Ten Best Editors"] *[http://www.nybooks.com/authors/3792 Selected bibliography of books and articles edited by Silvers] *[http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2285213.htm Hear Silvers discuss 2008 books with Ramona Koval] {{DEFAULTSORT:Silvers, Robert B.}} [[Category:1929 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Publishers (people)]] [[Category:Alumni of Sciences Po]] [[Category:American Jews]] [[Category:American journalists]] [[Category:American magazine editors]] [[Category:American book editors]] [[Category:American publishers (people)]] [[Category:University of Massachusetts Lowell alumni]]