Best Columnist Ever...

Non-sports division. Yesterday's homage to Royko, including DyeP's dissent, and Mr. Kindred's mention of Murray Kempton, got me thinking. Name your current must-reads, your lifetime favorites, or simply those of historical importance; local or national, funny or un-, virtual or actual, past or present.

Franklin
Twain
Adams
Winchell

Royko
Kempton
Dexter
Caen
Schanberg
Ivins

Buchwald
Barry
Hiaasen
Baker

Breslin (or do the piped quotes disqualify him?)

Bombeck?
Landers/Abby?

Rich?
Dowd?
Will?
Friedman?
Kristof?
Brooks?

Kos?
Kaus?
Sullivan?

Have at it.

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

Thanks, Moddy. Duly noted and corrected.

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

Mr macg,

I know how you feel about Kempton -- I have his collections but, alas, he doesn't hit me like Royko does.

I'm losing my Dowd thing and I'm not reading Frank Rich with the same enthusiasm as previously.

I'm a slave to convention, I guess. I'll go: Royko, Red Smith for the elegiac stuff, maybe Jimmy Cannon at peak, early Breslin (JFK in Dallas).

YHS, etc

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

Royko's the Taj Mahal.

Not many guys of the last century could make me laugh out loud as frequently vis-a-vis their column output as Lardner could.
His drollery is out of style, now. Too bad.

Lardner is among my five alltime lifestyle role models. Twain is, too. Royko is not, for personality reasons.

I hate Dave Barry with an enduring passion.

Nick Kristof worked FOR Dan Quayle, which largely disqualifies him from life.

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

Walter Lippman and Dorothy Thompson have to be in the conversation here.
Lars-Erik Nelson, too.

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

Certainly not best ever, but at least worth a shout-out: Myles na gCopaleen/Flann O'Brien/Brian O'Nolan.

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

Didn't y'all do this just a few weeks ago?

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

1A Twain
1B Royko
1C Buchwald

That's a pretty good entry.

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

I'll take Art Buchwald and I second the loathing of Dave Barry's work. Blech.

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

Perhaps this is the best way to express my thoughts on this topic.
In my book collection, I have compendiums of columns by the following writers.
Russell Baker
Royko
Al Cartwright (Wilmington's local icon when I was a kid. Damn good writer in the kind of role chains have erased).
Breslin
Kempton (although essays would be a better term for these works
A.J. Leibling's press criticism
Dave Barry. Not a hater, sorry
Buchwald
Those are the general columnists. Sports of course I have many more collections, that's a different topic.

 

Re: Best. Columnist. Ever.

Janie --
You're on the Christmas card list for this one.
Myles -- the only name he wrote the columns under -- stands alone. Nobody remotely like him on either side of the pond. In that spirit, though, may I add Finley Peter Dunne and "Mr. Dooley."