Asked once to cite the key influences in his life, journalist, essayist, author, and novelist Nat Hentoff replied in Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series (CAAS), "Being Jewish. Jazz. The First Amendment." The second and third categories have informed all of his writings, from regular columns in the Washington Post and Village Voice, to novels for young adults and nonfiction for readers of all ages. Best known for novels for younger readers such as Jazz Country and The Day They Came to Arrest the Book, as well as for adult novels such as the hard-hitting Blues for Charlie Darwin and nonfiction books focusing on social issues such as on civil liberties and education, Hentoff has made a career out of being stubborn and opinionated. To his great credit, however, Hentoff backs up such opinion with research and wide reading. An advocate of causes from school reform to free speech to...