February 16, 2006
Bernard-Henri Lévy, Author
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Four Seasons Hotel, Thurs., Feb. 16, 3:30pm.
On Philadelphia: "I stayed here while doing research for my book. I went everywhere, but my target was Eastern State
Penitentiary. It was the embodiment of one of the two models of American jails, so it was important for me to report on this place. I really spent some time here-the downtown, Old City, the suburbs, the poor areas, the gentrified places. Philadelphia is one of the cities in the States in which I found the biggest charm. There is a European spirit, European architecture, European mood. And for all these reasons it is one of the cities where I breathe better, where I feel better. Boston, Savannah, Chicago, Seattle and Philadelphia are my five favorite cities in the U.S. In Philadelphia you have America's beating heart. There is something, a sort of lightness, a spirit of freedom, which is impalpable, difficult to define, but which is here."
Bernard-Henri Lévy, along with translator Charlotte Mandell, is the author of the recently published American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville.
Posted by jfusco on February 16, 2006 12:39 PM
