Germany since 1997 has nothing to do with the former journal's socio-political concept and design. Encounter In the English-speaking world, Lasky was best known for his role as Editor-in-Chief of Encounter. He succeeded Irving Kristol, the original editor and founder, in 1958 and helped turn the young magazine into one of the most highly regarded periodicals in Europe. Lasky steered Encounter to represent the point of view of the anti-Communist, anti-Totalitarian Left, and reportedly favored the journal's political side over its more purely cultural endeavors. He remained at Encounter until the magazine folded in 1991. Both Encounter and Der Monat had long received funding from the CIA-sponsored Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF). Lasky denied knowledge of CIA funding in a 1966 letter (written jointly with Irving Kristol and Stephen Spender) to The New York Times. However, Lasky confessed privately to Frank Kermode (recruited as editor in 1965) that he had known about CIA funding for some years. In 1967, Ramparts and other publications revealed the CIA's relationship to the CCF and its publications, embarrassing many who were involved. Other activities and private life Lasky was the author of many books including Utopia and Revolution, Voices in the Revolution, On the Barricades and Off, and The Language of Journalism. He was married twice, to Brigitte Lasky (née Newiger) with whom he had two children, Vivienne Lasky and Oliver Lasky, and to German novelist Helga Hegewisch. Lasky died in May 2004 of a heart ailment. A portion of Lasky's unpublished memoirs appears in News from the Republic of Letters, as well as in The Berlin Journal, Spring, 2007. Lasky Center for Transatlantic Studies In October 2010, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich opened the Lasky Center for Transatlantic Studies, a research center associated with the university's American Studies department. The Lasky Center is home to Lasky's personal library and papers. Its director is Christof Mauch. Published works 1962. ‘Africa for beginners, a traveller’s notebook’ library of Congress 62-15206 1988. The Use and Abuse of Sovietology. Transaction Publishers. 1988. On the Barricades, and Off. Transaction Publishers. 2000. The Language of Journalism: Newspaper Culture. Transaction Publishers. 2004. Utopia and Revolution: On the Origins of a Metaphor. Transaction Publishers. 2005. European Notebooks: New Societies and Old Politics, 1954-1985. Transaction Publishers. 2006. Voices in a Revolution: The Collapse of East German Communism. Transaction Publishers. 2007. Media Warfare: The Americanization of Language. Transaction Publishers. 2014. Profanity, Obscenity