Talk:Clifton Fadiman

Error
Boris Sidis had no grandchildren. Boris had two children, William and Helena, neither of whom had children. Boris' wife, Sarah, came from the large Mandelbaum family. Sarah's sister, Bessie, was Clifton Fadiman's mother.

This source correctly identifies Clifton as Sarah's nephew, William's cousin, and Bessie as William's aunt. This source does not. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nabuking (talk • contribs) 12:51, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

old
"Fadiman here and elsewhere frequently reveals the philistinism of a popular American intellectual and the level of his appreciation of canonical works renders much of his criticism useless for serious readers."

That needs either to be toned down, sourced, or removed. MikeLHenderson 13:37, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Mother's family
I have marked {citation needed} the mother's maiden name Mendelbaum, but clarification is needed or other articles need correction.

Our biography Boris Sidis calls him maternal grandfather of Clifton Fadiman; gives wife name Sarah Mandelbaum. First, Mendelbaum may be Mandelbaum. Second, this suggests Boris & Sarah were great uncle & aunt; grandfather was a brother of Sarah. Our biography William James Sidis, son of Boris & Sarah, calls Fadiman his nephew.

If Clifton's mother Mendelbaum or Mandelbaum was the daughter of Boris Sidis & Sarah Mandelbaum, that should be stated explicitly with source given. Else we appear to be sloppy (at best) and we may be wrong in fact. --P64 (talk) 17:13, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

Error about Fadimand and Sidis family
According to Amy Wallace's book about William James Sidis, Clifton Fadiman was the nephew of Sarah and Boris Sidis (not their grandson, as stated in this article and in the article about Boris Sidis). Boris Sidis and Sarah Mandelbaum Sidis had two children, William James and Helena Sidis. According to other biographical entries, Clifton Fadiman's mother was Grace Elizabeth Fadiman. This article says her name was Grace Mendelbaum (?), so she was clearly not Boris and Sarah Sidis's daughter (Helena Sidis). Her maiden name was most likely Mandelbaum, and she was most likely Sarah Mandelbaum Sidis's sister; this would make Clifton Fadiman Sarah Sidis's nephew, as Wallace indicates. 24.158.146.194 (talk) 16:43, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Correct spelling of Fadiman's father's name?
The article spells Fadiman's father's name "Isadore".

This website https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2017/summer/feature/clifton-fadiman-didn%E2%80%99t-mind-being-called-schoolmasterish, on the other hand, spells it "Isidore".

I hope someone knowledgeable on the subject can ensure that this article has it right.