Balwill had reservations about america that were partly cultural. He was in touch with some good people in the united states, rond the partisan review group,. Philip rave wrote a letter from london for them. They tried to encourage him to come to America, partly to have his te b cured. But he died before could make it. I wish we had all well on the miscessippi a but most of what he writes about america is either rather slight or rather condescending. T has to be admitted, you didn't have enough historic sense of its rise and importance. That's how it begins. The opening sentence is, it was a bright, cold day in april