Walter G. Berl, Photo by Walter Eitel It is with deep sadness that we report the death of Walter G. Berl, the editor of this issue of the COSMOS Journal. Walter died on October 24, the day that this edition closed and was sent on its way to the printer. Born in Vienna in 1917, Walter had been a member of the Cosmos Club since 1996. In February 1998, he responded with great enthusiasm to the invitation to become editor of the Journal. He and his wife Shirley labored with imagination and energy to put together this volume of COSMOS 1998. Walter was intensely proud of his creation and had looked forward to seeing it in circulation.

A chemist who enjoyed an international reputation in science for his research on synthetic fuels and their combustion, Walter’s work found application in solid rocket motor and propulsion systems. His editorial skill and breadth of knowledge, combined with natural curiosity, had served him well as editor of a variety of journals and publications, among them the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Technical Digest. Walter Berl was a man for all seasons. He will be greatly missed.

Michael Michaelis, President and Publisher

EDITORIAL

With the possible exception of Big City Telephone Directories, publications have a close relation with their Editors, whose job is to promote the corporate interest, watch over the interests of their contributors and advance the interests of their readers.

By a curious turn of events, three journals (The American Scholar, The New Yorker and the COSMOS Journal) have had a change in Editorship during the past year. Since 1932 The American Scholar has been the flagship of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Early this year, its Senate replaced the Editor, Joseph Epstein, after 24 years of service. In his swan song editorial he wrote:

“Soon after becoming Editor of The American Scholar I was presented with a recently completed reader’s survey, which I found comically baffling. Some readers thought there wasn’t enough science in the magazine, others thought there was too much; some thought there was too much literary criticism, others felt that literary criticism should be at the heart of the magazine; some wanted more about movies and popular culture, others hoped we would dispense with popular culture altogether. It was at this point that I said the devil with these readers—and the devil with surveys. I decided that, in editing this magazine, my own motto would be “I interest myself.” My view was that I was not a dull boy, and, therefore, what interested me would interest other intellectually lively people. If I was mistaken about this, it would be better to find out early, be fired, and seek work in plumbing, where there was at least a chance to make a serious buck.”

More recently The New Yorker experienced a similar switch in leadership. After six years of frenetic activity, the Editor, Tina Brown, turning down a multimillion dollar contract offer, said in her farewell Comment entitled ‘Something Old, Something New’:

“So it can seem preposterous—pure chutzpah—to insist on publishing a magazine that is written and edited for that supposedly vanishing paragon: the intelligent general reader... We believe that the world is full of people—in every zip code, of every income and interest and identity—for whom fresh, witty and thoughtful writing is one of life’s necessities... There is a place for specialization, fragments, for ‘targeting’ but no culture can survive without a glimpse of the whole....”

The COSMOS Journal, a mere seven-year old stripling, has been seeking similar goals, even though its contents are more modest in volume and its readership smaller in number, though no less discriminating. Its policy toward Editors and staff is to keep them small in number (i.e. one) and modest in salary (i.e. zero). But, in return, it offers editorial freedom in both structure and content. While the average stay of Editors has been brief (2.3 years), their enthusiasm, if not their length of service, has been high and infectious.

I am starting my editorial stewardship with a few changes. As the ‘Table of Contents’ shows, articles are divided into five categories (Overviews, Science/Technology/Exploration, Humanities, Cosmos Club Affairs and Books). No intellectual field is excluded, even though in any one journal issue one can only cover a limited number of interesting topics. One category is devoted to matters of direct concern to the Cosmos Club, emphasizing persons and undertakings that are specific to the Club and would not be expected to be published elsewhere.

A deliberate effort is made to wrap the contents in as pleasing a package as design ingenuity and budget allocations allow.

Authors and I will welcome interactions with the Cosmos Club members. In contrast to journals that are published more frequently than once a year, readers cannot take issue with, or comment favorably on, articles that they have just read. They are urged to send their views to the Editor (via mail, email or fax) as concise ‘Comments to the Editor’ for inclusion in the COSMOS Journal website, www.cosmos-club.org/journals/. They should be sent to: COSMOS Journal, 2121 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008; phone: (202) 387-7783 (Ms. Clark); fax: (202) 234-6817; or margaret@cosmosclub.org.

Walter G. Berl, Editor

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