PHOTOGRAPHS

The juvenile and the juvenile mentality were a continual theme in Hoffer's writings throughout the years. "Both the revolutionary and the creative individual are perpetual juveniles. The revolutionary does not grow up because he cannot grow, while the creative individual cannot grow up because he keeps growing." This childlikeness was an essential ingredient in Hoffer's conception of the nature of man. He once wrote, "Man is the only young thing in the world. A deadly seriousness emanates from all other forms of life. The cry of pain and of fear man has in common with other living things, but he alone can smile and laugh." Despite Hoffer's old age in the following photographs, they are a testament to the truth of that statement.

(The photographs that appear on this page have been taken from the two biographies, Eric Hoffer: An American Odyssey, and Hoffer's America, written by Calvin Tomkins and James D. Koerner, respectively. The photographs from Tomkins's book were all shot by George Knight.)