SOURCE: "Thoughts about the 'New Yorker'," in The New Leader, Vol. LXXV, No. 9, July 13-27, 1992, pp. 10-12.

An American author, Hamburger worked as a staff writer for the New Yorker beginning in 1939. In the following essay, he reminisces about various figures and editorial characteristics associated with the magazine.

Writers have memories, not crystal balls. Moreover, it is extremely dangerous to speculate about the future; matters rarely turn out the way one expects. So when I heard (an overwhelming din) and read (much of it misleading and superficial) that a new editor was to replace the gifted Robert Gottlieb at the New Yorker, the best I could do was sit down, keep calm and think about the past. And the past, in my case, goes back a long way.

I went to work at the magazine in 1939, the 15th year of its existence. I was 25. Like so many other...