much critical talk has centered on the ranting german, dr. staub. writing from a wartime point of view in 1945, clifton fadiman avowed that staub showed how barbaric the german nation was. after four decades had allowed passions to cool, edward wagenknecht demurred that james' portrait of the doctrinaire pedant was jingoistic and unfair. whatever the reader may make of these opinions, there's no question that staub's letter is much different from the others and far more disturbing in its implications.