Series VII: Other Navasky Writings, 1930s-2012, inclusive

In 1976, Victor Navasky donated the bulk of his papers associated with the book, Kennedy Justice, to the John F. Kennedy Library. A copy of the deed of gift and an initial list of folder titles are included in this subseries. There also remain in this collection one complete draft with editors' annotations (1971), a set of proofs, several folders of research material, sections of the book that were printed in the New York Post, and numerous reviews.

The subseries also includes material associated with two books Navasky co-authored with Christopher Cerf – The Experts Speak, The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation and Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War in Iraq: The Experts Speak. Each book contains a compilation of quotes by "experts" who turned out to be completely wrong. In addition to contracts, reviews, notes, and other related materials, there are several annotated drafts of the Iraq edition.

This subseries contains articles, essays, book reviews, letters to the editor, and similar writings by Victor Navasky, a representative sample of Navasky's output but, by no means, all of it. Research material, correspondence, drafts, notes, and other associated items are included with some of the articles. There are pieces from as early as 1958. Among the publications represented are the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, The Yale Law Journal, Esquire magazine, Atlantic Monthly, The Plain Dealer, and The Nation. Many of Navasky's "In Cold Print" columns from the New York Times Book Review are included. Articles written by Navasky also appear in other series, as appropriate.

A Navasky article -- "Ronald Reagan and the Supremes" -- appeared in Esquire magazine's April 1987 issue. In addition to a copy of the piece, this subseries contains a great deal of associated research material, covering not only judicial appointments but many other aspects of Reagan's time in office.

The amount of material associated with Navasky's Alger Hiss-related articles warrants its own subseries, although much of it is focused on a single piece - "The Case not Proved Against Alger Hiss." The article is a critique of Allen Weinstein's 1978 book, Perjury: the Hiss-Chambers Case. Navasky conducted extensive research and interviews in preparation for the article, which appeared in the April 8, 1978, issue of The Nation. Not only does this subseries contain material associated with the article's research and writing, it also includes relevant items subsequent to its publication. An example involves Sam Kreiger, one of the individuals interviewed by both Weinstein and Navasky, who brought a libel suit against Weinstein in 1979. There are documents from Krieger, Sam v. Allen Weinstein et al. which include Weinstein's deposition and a transcript of Weinstein's interview of Kreiger.

Navasky continued his criticism of Weinstein's work in a 1982 essay "Weinstein, Hiss, and the Transformation of Historical Ambiguity into Cold War Verity," which is included in a 1982 book edited by Athan G. Theoharis titled Beyond the Hiss Case: The FBI, Congress, and the Cold War. Correspondence, notes, research materials and working drafts are included.

Materials added to this subseries in 2016 largely relate to the 1996 release of the Venona papers. They contain clippings, articles, photocopies of the Venona papers, handwritten notes, drafts written by Navasky and others. Other research materials related to the Hiss case including copies of the FBI file of Victor Perlo, and published works about Hiss by John Lowenthal and Tony Hiss. These materials also include correspondence with Tony Hiss related to the creation of the website Algerhiss.com.

Although the collection contains a few examples of Navasky's early plays, most of the material in this subseries relates to Starr's Last Tape, a one-act play written by Navasky and his friend Richard Lingeman. Inspired by Kenneth Starr's investigation of Bill Clinton and Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, it had a run at the Berkshire Film Festival in September of 1999. The collection contains correspondence, drafts and notes, research (including a complete copy of The Starr Report with the White House response), and reviews of the play.

Folders in the "Speeches" subseries contain a variety of materials: some hold completed speech texts, drafts, or fragments; others contain items related to a speech but with none of the speech text. Not all the speeches are identified and some folders reflect Navasky appearances where he did not give a talk or speech but may have participated in a panel or question and answer session. The folders that are arranged chronologically and labeled "Speeches" reflect original order and titles.