State Of The Nation

"A pinko magazine printed on very cheap paper ... It's probably the only magazine in the country [that] if you make a Xerox of it, the Xerox looks a lot better than the original."

That’s what Calvin Trillin said of the liberal The Nation. The 73-year-old editor of the publication, Victor Navasky, just has a memoir out, A Matter Of Opinion. "After almost 10 years in the editor's chair, at least three things were clear," he writes. "First, I needed a new chair."

In a more stentorian vein, he says: “At our best, we take these two charges - the telling of truth as best you can, and fighting for the things you know or believe to be right. And then, if the country has lost its moorings, or the world has gone off in some crazy direction, you can help restore the equilibrium by talking common sense."

Read The Guardian’s fascinating profile here.