ABSTRACT
I did not meet the Europeans until after the war when the first contingent came here and when I went to Europe in 1949. But two Americans, H. J. Kaplan and Nicola Chiaromonte, served as links to Europe. H. J. Kaplan or Kappy, as he was called, was one of the most congenial, good-natured writers I have known, with a quick wit and without the usual acidity or malevolence. His early work was impressive, and I think it was unfortunate that he permitted his psychological and economic needs to take him away from writing into the more immediately gratifying career of a successful State Department middle-rank officer. His talents seemed to have been overpowered by his more worldly abilities and his Francophilia. He was also indirectly and innocently involved in one of the most bizarre incidents in my life, a momentary encounter with the CIA.
