"A brilliant and wise book. . .  [Brown's] treatment of my calling and work is the best I know of. . . Magisterial."

Cornel West, Harvard University

“This book will change the terms in which historians have thought about the meaning of intellectual life in the second half of the twentieth century. . . . Hope and Scorn gives us a perspective on intellectuals and democratic values that has been sorely lacking. It is bracing to have a thoughtful and careful analysis of the recent history of the meaning of intellectual authority for the dream of a democratic society.”

Daniel Wickberg, University of Texas, Dallas

“Brown’s superb study offers illuminating and challenging new insights on an ever-present tension in American thought and politics: the role of the professional intellectual in American political life. Deeply researched and beautifully crafted, Hope and Scorn explores the diverse and contested roles intellectuals played in American political commentary and participation, while also shedding light on their internal struggles as they navigated the inherent values of the life of the mind and the obligations of democratic commitment. Hope and Scorn will quickly establish Brown as an exciting new voice in American intellectual and political history.”

Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen, author of The Ideas That Made America

“Donald Trump has thrust the important intellectual history that Hope and Scorn deals with into the very center of American politics and culture. Brown offers a thoughtful and engaging critical account of possible inspirations for overcoming the hostility to eggheads and experts that causes so much cultural turmoil and damage today. Hope and Scorn demands your attention. It is essential reading for those thinking about how intellectuals can contribute to a democracy under siege.”

Neil McLaughlin, McMaster University

“In vivid and astute analyses of how particular influential intellectuals from the 1950s to the end of the century grappled with their tortured roles as politically concerned intellectuals, Brown proves how important the intellectual’s role qua intellectual became during this half century. Hope and Scorn adds an important dimension to our understanding of the intense intellectual and political conflicts of the period.”

Dorothy Ross, Johns Hopkins University

"Focusing on major American public thinkers and writers of the half-century after 1945, this searching book lucidly explores the 'tension between intellectuals’ special claims to authority and democratic principles.' . . . This knowledgeable historical study adds significantly to an already large library of books about American thought in the second half of the 20th century. An impressively authoritative and readable first book by a promising historian."

Kirkus Reviews

"Brown offers an historiographical essay that runs the gamut from Left to Right while highlighting disagreements and tensions between the two camps. . . . Adlai Stevenson, Democratic candidate for president in 1952 and 1956, is the original 'egghead' (it's a pejorative term), whose campaigns brought intellectual fervor into the political arena. Busy writing books, Richard Hofstadter, Arthur Schlesinger, Christopher Lasch, Irving Kristol, and other intellectuals feature in the text, along with their eastern think tanks and opinion pieces in urban newspapers, and Brown seeks to interpret the cultural meaning of it all."

Choice Connect

“‘Do public intellectuals flourish when civil society is suppressed?’ That question ends Michael J. Brown’s Hope and Scorn, which explores the role of and response to post–World War II intellectuals. . . . The many connections between words and actions that Brown highlights should give historians pause as they consider Brown’s ending question about what political, cultural, and economic conditions enabled which scholars to flourish and when. That query likewise matters in the current moment of economic pain, political violence, and demand for restorative justice that will require both democratic engagement and expertise.”

Elizabeth Tandy Shermer | Journal of American History

"Eschewing the polemical and elegiac tenor of many writings on related themes, Hope and Scorn provides a judicious historical recounting of debates over the role of the intellectual in American politics. Brown’s lucid prose, extensive archival research, and careful narration of opposing views will make this a leading reference on its subject."

Angus Burgin | Political Science Quarterly