“You can usually tell how healthy a ballet company is by the degree of your interest in the middle ranks of the dancers - the not-yet stars, the up-and-comers.”

Robert Gottlieb is an American editor and literary critic. He spent decades shaping major publishing houses as editor-in-chief, including at Alfred A. Knopf and the New Press, and remains influential for his advocacy of literary nonfiction and social justice. His career spans six decades, marked by mentorship of writers and a commitment to public intellectualism.