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John B. OakesJohn B. Oakes
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college and ended up as what they called editorial editor, which is exactly the same position that I eventually held on the New York Times quite a bit later, almost 30 years later.

Back on the Jewish question, my uncle Adolph, knowing that I was sort of scholarly in a way and really took my Jewish religion seriously -- I actually read prayers sometimes to myself on Saturday and so on. I remember I went through a period of being quite consciously Jewish. Adolph had the idea it would be great to have a rabbi in the family. His father-in-law had been a very distinguished one: Isaac M. Wise.

Q:

I remember reading that in the earlier one. That's so amusing.

Oakes:

Oh. I've already said that. Anyway.

Q:

So this was a very genuine interest he had in your --

Oakes:

I beg your pardon.

Q:

It was a very genuine comment on his part then, that you --

Oakes:

So, when I got out of Oxford in 1936, I came home -- I had my B.A. -- and gave up my third year I was entitled to at Oxford under the Rhodes Scholarship. I think that was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my life, because I did that entirely voluntarily and entirely because I thought I ought to get back home and get to work. I'd been having too easy a time of it. And I really thought honestly that I ought to get to work. Get started.





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