John Leonard: ``smartest man who ever lived''
Literary and cultural critic John Leonard, an early champion of Toni Morrison, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and many other authors, and so consumed and informed by books that Kurt Vonnegut once praised him as ``the smartest man who ever lived,'' has died at age 69, his stepdaughter said Thursday.
``I am not perfect. I am the most imperfect man. Any man who says that he is perfect, trust me, it's a lie. I have tried. I have lied... I am trying to be a better human being,'' John told reporters at I Me Aur Main press meet.