Strikingly relevant and shrewdly observed, Mary McCarthy's _On the Contrary_ collects articles, talks, reviews, travel notes, a short story, and a personal reminiscence by the legendary writer and contrarian. Included is her review of Hannah Arendt's seminal book, _The Human Condition,_ a bitingly funny take on Simone de Beauvoir's account of her visit to the United States in 1947, a candid essay addressing her experience with communism, and her no-holds-barred review of the Kinsey Report. McCarthy brings her deeply informed literary insights, provocative political arguments, and prescient cultural investigations to bear on everything from fiction to fashion, religion, sex, and politics.