Our Government and the Arts: A Perspective from the Inside

This is a long, personal account of the public career of Biddle, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts under President Carter. Biddle was a best-selling novelist when he was recruited by Senator Claiborne Pell, influential in the arts, to serve as a speechwriter and legislative aid. He details the establishment in 1965 of the National Council on the Arts (precursor of the NEA) ; describes, with clarity and wit, the workings of congressional committees; and pays tribute to Jacob Javits, Harrison Williams, and Hubert Humphrey, among others. Although describing his service with the NEA from the 1960s on in perhaps too much detail, Biddle scatters many wonderful anecdotes throughout. Recommended for libraries supporting programs in American politics or the arts.Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.