Eric Hobsbawm

MacInnes was a fellow-denizen of Soho jazz clubs, and had a famous argument with him about their significance; Bacon was another late-night companion. Hobsbawm tried unsuccessfully to take Forster to see Lenny Bruce, and spent an afternoon with Jackson at home in Chicago. Cartier-Bresson amused him by saying he found an English critic’s intellect intimidating (even if it was Berger), while Braudel, an admirer, made a point of asking him to use the familiar ‘tu.’ Hobsbawm was drawn to the university Eco set up in San Marino. Bourdieu, Thompson, Williams, Althusser and Magris were all friends.