Melvin J. Lasky

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Melvin Jonah Lasky (15 January 1920, New York City - 19 May 2004, Berlin) was an American journalist, intellectual, and member of the Anti-Communist Left.

Born in New York and schooled at City College and later the University of Michigan, he would serve in World War II as a combat historian for the 7th Army. Lasky remained in Germany after the war, making his home in Berlin, where he worked for American military governor Lucius D. Clay. He became editor of "The New Leader" and later "Der Monat." He was best known for his role as Editor-in-Chief of the covertly CIA-funded Encounter (succeeding Irving Kristol, the original editor and founder). He remained at "Encounter" until the magazine folded in 1991.

Lasky was the author of many books including "Utopia and Revolution," "Voices in the Revolution," "On the Barricades and Off," and "The Language of Journalism." He died in May of 2004 of a heart ailment. A portion of his unpublished memoirs appears in News from the Republic of Letters.