Biography: general Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first biography of John Calvin since 1975 and the only life of the great reformer to analyse his impact on subsequent generations of theologians, politicians, economists and philosophers. This biography is theologically unbiased and is written as much for historians and general readers as for those interested in Calvin the Church reformer.Trade Review"A most welcome study filling a real need for a scholarly biography that is historically sensitive and theologically well-informed." Religious Studies Review "Not since Wendel's Calvin has one volume given as much breadth and depth to the life and thought of Calvin as this one... A splendid resource for both novices and Calvin scholars. McGrath's work will endure as a balanced, sensitive, historical-theological treatment." Sixteenth Century Journal "A full range of Calvin students and scholars will be grateful for this book. Wide in scope, detailed in coverage, yet clear in focus, McGrath's work will find a secure niche for many years to come." Christianity Today "A Skillful combination of biography, theology and history. A number of maps, charts and (monochrome) reproductions of paintings and other art works enhance the attractiveness of this handsome volume, which should serve students as a useful and readable introduction to John Calvin's life and times." Critical Review "An absorbing study. It cannot be stated too strongly that Beyond Borders deserves high praise. Better than any other book known to the author." The Expository Times "The best study of Calvin in English." Teaching HistoryTable of ContentsList of Illustrations. Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Paris: The Formation of a Mind. 3. The Years of Wandering: Orleans and the Encounter with Humanism. 4. From Humanist to Reformer: The Conversion. 5. Geneva: The First Period. 6. Geneva: The Consolidation of Power. 7. Christianity according to Calvin: The Medium. 8. Christianity according to Calvin: The Message. 9. The Invasion of Ideas: Calvin and France. 10. The Genesis of a Movement. 11. Commitment to the World: Calvinism, Work and Capitalism. 12. Calvin and the Shaping of Western Culture. Appendix I: A Glossary of Theological and Historical Terms. Appendix II: Referring to Works by Calvin. Abbreviations. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsisaeo Only book published in the last 50 years that treats chronologically and at length the whole Browning corpus. aeo Questions the idea that Browning was an objective, dramatic poet, whose works are distinct and separate from himself. aeo Relates Browning the poet to Browning the man. .Trade Review"The best introduction to the entirety of Browning's career. The most significant aspects of life, writing, theme, development, contemporary reception, and 20th-century criticism are presented with great clarity and efficiency. Ryals's mastery of his subject is unrivaled." Choice. "Only a handful of scholars could have written this book, and it is surely now the best introduction to the entirely of Browning's career... Ryals's mastery of his subject is... unrivalled... to be recommended as the best first book to read on Browning." Choice "This biography, more successfully than any that has preceded it, achieves a fine balance between its sensitive commentary on the poet's life and the poet's art, and it further illuminates these subjects by locating them in a rich and wide-ranging cultural and historical context."Nineteenth-Century Literature. "... a thoroughly admirable contribution - an introduction for the general reader, at a modest price, of the corpus fo Browning, described and summarized and commented upon in such a way as to provoke reading of the texts to verify the riches the critic announces he has found" John Stasny, Victorian Poetry. "Clyde de L. Ryals has published two distinguished studies of Browning's works, and his knowledge of the field is second to none. ... Eminently readable, Ryal's study covers a huge amount of ground, offeringclear and reliable summaries of the poet's works and days. This kind of book is obviously much more useful to the current generation of students than the earlier handbooks compiled by Alexandra Orr and William." Victorian StudiesTable of ContentsList of Illustrations. Preface. Abbreviations. 1. Growing up in Camberwell. 2. Into the World. 3. Taking Stock: Sordello. 4. Bells and Pomegranates. 5. Courtship and the Early Years of Marriage. 6. At Home and Abroad, 1850-54. 7. Men and Women. 8. The Last Years Together. 9. In London Again. 10. The Ring and the Book. 11. Memory and Desire. 12. Redefining Poetry. 13. Fame is the Spur. 14. An Idyllic Interlude. 15. Looking Backwards and Forwards:The Parleyings. 16. Death in Venice and Burial in London. Epilogue. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisPaley presents a moving personal account of her experiences teaching kindergarten in an integrated school within a predominantly white, middle-class neighborhood. In a new preface, she reflects on the way that even simple terminology can convey unintended meanings and show a speaker's blind spots.Trade ReviewA wonderful, useful book--short, warm, and to the point. Using entertaining, well-chosen incidents from her own teaching experience, Vivian Paley examines a question that concerns teachers on all levels: How do I use my own behavior as a teacher to help my students learn to deal constructively with racial and social differences? It would be hard for anyone to read this book without growing a little and smiling a lot. -- Kate Long * Phi Delta Kappan *This timely new edition of Vivian Gussin Paley's White Teacher is like a breath of fresh air. Originally published in 1979, it's a book that has important things to say about how teachers perceive and deal with race. In its rather anecdotal, unanalytical way, it sheds light on how all teachers, including those early-years education, negotiate their way through the complexities of living in a pluralistic society. -- Reva Klein * Times Higher Education Supplement *Inspirational and motivating...It is a book commendable to teachers, parents, and anyone else who wishes to understand him/herself better and is willing to continue to grow. * Educational Studies *In this humane and beautifully written account, Paley describes her progress in learning to deal more openly with her pupils'--and her own--perceptions of race. The reader, following Paley's progress with a succession of bright, charming, and sometimes exasperating children, sees how she became a better and more mature teacher. * San Francisco Examiner *White Teacher is really a nonfictional bildungsroman, a chronicle of both Paley's educational progress and that of the kindergartners under her charge...The stories, beyond even the lessons she draws from them, are very fine...White Teacher documents an admirable dedication...[It is an] eloquent little book. -- Julia M. Klein * New Republic *White Teacher, black children: Paley approaches this largely unexplored minefield with candor and incisiveness...The wit and sureness of her observations are compelling...Repeatedly, Paley uses anecdotes to convey judgmental errors, tentative adjustments, barriers overcome, as well as a feel of the classroom--a quiet accumulation of insights which both beginning and veteran teachers will value. * Kirkus Reviews *Paley's mistakes and blind spots are as vivid as the life-sized children in this portrayal of a journey toward valuing and talking about differences, and helping children to do the same. While this account does not boast of arrival...it should be of interest to anyone committed to nurturing children or to understanding human development in a pluralistic society. * Harvard Educational Review *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this moving and eloquent portrait, Heilbron describes how the founder of quantum theory rose to the pinnacle of German science. He shows how Planck suffered morally and intellectually as his lifelong habit of service to his country and to physics was confronted by the realities of World War I and the brutalities of the Third Reich.Trade ReviewAn important book to which all students of science as a human institution should be referred… This story of a fruitful but ultimately tragic life is extremely well told and needs to be more widely known. -- John Ziman * Times Higher Education Supplement *Heilbron gives a very readable, and very balanced, account of the successes and disasters of this great physicist, without attempting to pass judgment. But the character of the man comes clearly through the narrative. -- Rudolf Peierls * New York Review of Books *A fascinating account of the life of one of the founders of modern physics. [Heilbron] takes every opportunity to draw parallels between the evolution of science and the social upheavals which accompanied the process. -- Tania Monteiro * New Scientist *The Dilemmas of an Upright Man is a reissue of the life of Max Planck… Hollywood would title it Triumph and Tragedy. Planck’s quantum theory transformed physics, but his career period was rocked by two world wars. He stayed in Nazi Germany throughout… Although he could have escaped, he wouldn’t leave. Some contemporaries found his obduracy hard to understand. * Science News *

Read more less

Book SynopsisDrawing on letters, poems, notebooks, and secret diaries, Koerner tells the story of one of the most famous naturalists who ever lived, the Swedish-born botanist and systematizer, Carl Linnaeus. Koerner’s narrative goes against the grain of scholarship old and new by analyzing not how modern Linnaeus was, but how he understood science in his time.Trade Review[Koerner’s] Linnaeus is not the typical one of scholarship and legend. And in recovering him, she has done something few do. She has shown a way in which the eighteenth century and its ‘enlightened’ projects grew out of the seventeenth century and its ‘baroque’ ones… The text is written with wit and irony… The prose is spare, precise, calm and repays rereading. It is, indeed, Linnaean in spirit… By reflecting him in so many personae—‘as a son and student, traveler, physician, botanist, economist, theologian, teacher, husband and father’—Linnaeus: Nature and Nation brings ‘the flower king’ back to life… Thanks to Koerner, Linnaeus has become one of my favorite eighteenth-century figures. -- William Clark * Times Literary Supplement *Most Linnaeus scholarship has, understandably, focused on the work that inspired his contemporary renown. Linnaeus: Nature and Nation offers something different. It is neither a conventional biography nor a reinterpretation of Linnaeus’s best-known scientific accomplishments, although it includes elements of both. Instead, in a series of linked essays, Lisbet Koerner repositions Linnaeus primarily as a Swede rather than as a member of an international intellectual community. She emphasizes his deep family roots in the Swedish church and countryside, rather than his links to the larger world… As Koerner puts it, ‘He hoped to ride elks, write with swan feathers, and read by the light of seal-fat lamps.’ And if there were desires that could not be fulfilled in this way, Linnaeus hoped to persuade valuable tropical plants to adapt to his cold northern climate. -- Harriet Ritvo * Nature *This is a book about what Koerner calls the ‘long-forgotten future of the past.’ It is about a complex vision of modernity whereby nations at the margins of progress seek their own way forward. The path was not plain in the eighteenth century, and it is not, Koerner suggests, so clear now. -- Thomas W. Laqueur * New Republic *In Linnaeus, Lisbet Koerner discovers a complex man—paternalistic, patriotic, self-important and slightly mendacious. Jealous of British colonial and scientific success, Linnaeus promoted schemes for naturalising food crops such as tea, rice and olives to improve Swedish economic self-sufficiency. * New Scientist *Carl Linnaeus’ legacy is generally considered his system of plant classification. However, scientific historian Koerner explores the naturalist from a new angle. She argues that Linnaeus’ scientific goals helped lead to economic growth and independence for his homeland, Sweden. * Science News *Carl Linnaeus (1707–78) is the subject of Lisbet Koerner’s brilliant, beautifully crafted, and unsettling book… A certain gentle irony pervades this book and its view of history… This is a book about what Koerner calls the ‘long forgotten future of the past.’ It is about a complex vision of modernity whereby nations at the margins of progress seek their own way forward. -- Thomas W. Laqueur * Taxon *The great Swede, who was born in 1707 and died in 1778, is now the subject of a succinct and impressively researched biography by Lisbet Koerner. Single-handedly, Linnaeus standardized the naming and classifying of plants and animals based on morphological characteristics with his now famous binomial nomenclature—the first name is the organism’s genus, the second its species… In this well-written book, the author concentrates on two big themes: Linnaeus’ concerns about his own nation and his contributions to science. -- Raymond L. Peterson * Washington Times *In an extraordinarily thorough research of Linnaeus’s Swedish and Latin publications, manuscript correspondence, diaries, and lecture notes, Lisbet Koerner relates the quest for natural knowledge to the ultimate goals of nation-building and eighteenth-century cameralist economics… Students of Linnaeus will find this book indispensable, with flashes of brilliant insight. -- Martin S. Staum * American Historical Review *Linnaeus is remembered as the botanist who established the plant classification system still used today, but actually, according to science historian Koerner, he was a jack-of-all-trades. He was also a doctor, teacher, economist, and theologian… Koerner, drawing on a wide spectrum of sources, places her fascinating subject firmly within the context of eighteenth-century European thought, and reveals Linnaeus’ grand plan for applying his systematization of nature to politics and economics in the hope of transforming Sweden into a self-sufficient state… [An] agile and incisive reconsideration of a significant and misunderstood man of science. -- Donna Seaman * Booklist *A rich biographical study that documents the strange, often unfortunate relation between the well-known scientific thinking and the forgotten economic theories of famed Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus… Astute and engaging; not only a useful treatment of the economic relatives of Linnaeus’ well-known taxonomy, but also a taxonomy of its own, that of genus Linnaeus, species intellectual imagination. * Kirkus Reviews *Koerner’s biography of Carl Linnaeus shows that this scientist was interested in a great deal more than just vegetation. Placing Linnaeus’s botanical studies in the larger context of his life’s work, Koerner explores his ideas about the relationship between nature and national economics… Throughout, Koerner wisely relies on passages from Linnaeus’s own writing to illustrate her arguments; much of what she recounts would otherwise be hard to believe. And overall, her arguments are well crafted: she deftly balances his shortcomings against his good intentions and knowledge. -- Marianne Stowell Bracke * Library Journal *[A] scholarly look at [Linnaeus’s] life and times, including some of the scientist’s more foolish projects… Koerner’s perspective is interesting and yields some new insights. * Publishers Weekly *Table of ContentsIntroduction. "To Apply Nature to Economics and Vice Versa" "A Geography of Nature": Natural Philosophy "A Clapper into a Bell": Floral Names "The Lapp Is Our Teacher": Medicine and Ethnography "God's Endless Larder": Theology "A New WorldPepper, Ginger, Cardamon": Economic Theory "Should Coconuts Chance to Come into My Hands": Acclimatization Experiments "The Lord of All of Sweden's Clams": A Local Life "His Farmers Dressed in Mourning": The Fate of Linnaeus' Ideas in Sweden Conclusion. "Without Science Our Herrings Would Still Be Caught by Foreigners": A Local Modernity Appendix: Chronology of Linnaeus and Linnaeana Appendix: Biographical References Abbreviations Notes Works Cited Acknowledgments Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisCardano was an Italian doctor, natural philosopher, and mathematician who became a best-selling author. He was also a leading astrologer, who trafficked with some of Renaissance Europe’s most powerful people. Grafton follows this astrologer’s extraordinary career and explores the discipline of astrology in the hands of a brilliant practitioner.Trade ReviewCardano's Cosmos provides the pleasures characteristic of Anthony Grafton's other books devoted to the intellectual history of early modern Europe: As in Defenders of the Text and New World: Ancient Texts, we are regaled with donnish anecdotes and high-table factoids… Beyond doubt, Grafton is now our leading guide to the history of humane letters and scholarship between the Renaissance and the rise of Romanticism. In the end, Cardano's cosmos is nothing less than a world of wonders… [Grafton] shows us that the 16th-century thinkers found in astrology much of what we now look for in psychology, political theory, moral philosophy and economics—'fundamental tools for analyzing and controlling' our societies and ourselves. -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post *In Anthony Grafton's open-minded study Cardano's Cosmos, the question of how scientific Girolamo Cardano really was comes up often, giving the book much of its interest… Grafton's ambitious book aims to estimate the place of astrology in Renaissance society and perhaps to modify its place in our own. -- Alastair Fowler * Times Literary Supplement *[Cardano's Cosmos] accords Cardano all the respect the crusty Italian's industry and intelligence once warranted without question… [The] book delivers satisfaction on all…accounts… The combination of telling detail and intellectual sweep in Cardano's Cosmos is irresistible, and it shapes Grafton's book as Cardano once shaped his disparate empirical data into system. We do not accept the system now, but Cardano himself, as his biographer makes movingly clear, still 'deserves to be heard.' -- Ingrid D. Rowland * New York Review of Books *In this eloquent study of a sixteenth-century astrologer who combined mathematics, astronomy, and medicine in counseling people at every level of society, Princeton University historian Grafton offers readers both a microscopic investigation of an individual's mind and a wide-angled survey of the millennial intellectual traditions which nourished it. * Natural History *A fine biography and a feast of intellectual history. * Amazon.com *A fascinating picture of a very complicated man. -- Fernando Q. Gouvea, Mathematical Association of AmericaAn ambitious young man from Milan, life-saving physician, traveler, mathematician, scholar of antiquity, 16th-century academic superstar and victim of the Inquisition, Girolamo Cardano embodied in one life much of what makes the Italian Renaissance fascinating to modern readers. The polymathic and resourceful Grafton places Cardano's life and works at the center of a detailed investigation of Renaissance astrologers, their work, their beliefs, their clients and their impact… Explaining how European readers regarded astrology and its rival arts, Grafton also relates the often ferociously personal intellectual battles that were fought. A writer of superb perspective and clarity, Grafton aims both at other historians and at lay readers. The latter will have to wade through some abstruse detail but will likely find the varied, informative, sometimes bizarre journey more than worth the effort. * Publishers Weekly *This is a honey of a book, marked by Grafton's usual erudition, lucidity, and wit. Above all, it insists on presenting astrology not as an 'irrational' and intellectually questionable activity, but rather as a complicated and well-established body of theory and practice, similar to, say, contemporary medicine. The book situates astrology within the map of the contemporary study of nature (human and otherwise), where it clearly belongs, and rightly emphasizes the complexity and multiplicity of that map. The richness of Cardano's autobiographical writings allows Grafton to follow (at least through Cardano's eyes) the process of his own 'self-fashioning' and the way in which he built a successful career as a high-level practitioner and internationally known man of letters. -- Katherine Park, Samuel Zemurray, Jr. and Doris Zemurray Stone Radcliffe Professor of the History of Science, Harvard UniversityGrafton's book is an engaging scholarly study of Cardano's work on astrology, and its place in his life and society. * Short Book Reviews *Table of Contents* Preface *1. The Master of Time *2. The Astrologer's Practice *3. The Prognosticator *4. The Astrologer *5. Becoming an Author *6. Astrologers in Collision *7. The Astrologer as Political Counselor *8. Classical Astrology Restored *9. Rival Disciplines Explored *10. Cardano on Cardano *11. The Astrologer as Empiricist * Notes * Bibliography * Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisEdwin J. Cohn and his associates' expertise in the study of blood put them in a unique position to carry out the search for essential new blood products at the onset of World War II. This book discloses how the wartime emergency called into play Cohn's talents as a leader who drew together chemists, clinicians, and others to attain a complex goal.Trade Review[An] engrossing history-biography of Cohn… Surgenor also provides historical insights into the origins of protein biochemistry as a discipline, the founding of the Biochemistry Department at Harvard, the mobilization of the country with respect to blood collections during and after the war, the transformation and modernization of the Red Cross, and beginnings of federal funding for basic and applied research… This book chronicles one of the less publicized ‘big science’ projects of the last century. -- J. M. Tomich * Choice *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 1989 Michael Bishop and Harold Varmus were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery that normal genes under certain conditions can cause cancer. In this book, Bishop tells us how he and Varmus made their momentous discovery.Trade ReviewJ. Michael Bishop has written his book 'to show that scientists are supremely human.' The book is also a lucid explanation of how science has been harnessed to fight the human afflictions of cancer and infectious disease. And the story ends with a wide-ranging overview of today's challenges to the scientific enterprise. Overall, a must-read for all those interested in science and scientists--even those with absolutely no interest in winning a Nobel Prize! -- Bruce Alberts, President, National Academy of SciencesDespite his book's encouraging title, Bishop--who won a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1989--cautions that "I have not written an instruction manual for pursuit of the prize." Instead, he has written an amiable reflection on the experience of being a Nobelist, intertwined with some history and anecdotes about the award, and balanced by a wide-ranging review of his own career as an "accidental scientist"...Along the way, Bishop reflects on the history of our knowledge of microbes, cancer, the politics of funding research and present-day disenchantment with science. His main purpose in writing this book, Bishop says, is to show that "scientists are supremely human"--which he does with grace and charm. * Publishers Weekly *J. Michael Bishop is that rare scientist who is widely read in literature and poetry. Most importantly, he remembers what he reads and thinks deeply about it, as well as about all else in his rich life. The Nobel Prize he won and richly deserved, his political activism, his understanding of cancer and microbiology, his devotion to the practice of science--all these provide fodder for his writerly craft. Quite a wonderful book! -- David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate and President, California Institute of TechnologyHow to Win the Nobel Prize is typical Bishop: modest, funny, insightful and offering an extremely clear and brief explanation of the basic scientific achievement that won the 1989 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for himself and longtime colleague, Harold Varmus, now president of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. -- David Perlman * San Francisco Chronicle *In these pages Bishop reveals himself as a good writer blessed with enviable clarity, someone sensible and levelheaded who likes people and is enamored of his science. -- John Tyler Bonner * New York Times Book Review *At its heart this analysis of science and the scientific world is a jewel. How to Win the Nobel Prize is an inspirational book, full of careful analysis and judgement. -- John Oxford * Times Higher Education Supplement *Bishop is a gifted communicator and teacher, and he sets about his task of educating scientists and the public by describing his career in science and science politics...In the end, Bishop's book provides a road map for scientists and the public to build a robust scientific community that serves our society well. -- Andreas Trumpp and Daniel Kalman * Nature Cell Biology *This book is a highly readable compilation of narratives by an erudite and eloquent biomedical scientist, Michael Bishop...This biographical sketch is replete with wise advice to young scientists (the importance of luck, timing patronage, resolve, and risk-taking)—and also very insightful about alternative routes to scientific discovery. -- Mel Greaves * Journal of the History of Medicine *Table of Contents* List of Illustrations * Preface *1. The Phone Call *2. Accidental Scientist *3. People and Pestilence *4. Opening the Black Box of Cancer *5. Paradoxical Strife * Notes * Credits * Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisBetween the cultural ephemera, folklore, song, and history embedded in Moses’s paintings and the potent advertising shorthand for Americana that her images rapidly became, this book reveals the widespread longing for the memories, comforts, and small victories of a mythic, intimate American past tapped by the phenomenon of Grandma Moses.Trade ReviewTo most Americans [Grandma Moses’s] art was real art, the genuine, accessible thing, as opposed to the Abstract Expressionist painting being promoted in certain quarters as the internationalist face of American culture in the 1950’s. It’s a little startling to revisit the art wars waged in the popular press of that era, as one can do in Designs on the Heart… Public battles over ‘highbrow’ versus ‘lowbrow’ had a heated, personal urgency rarely inspired by art today. -- Holland Cotter * New York Times *Asking Karal Ann Marling to write a catalogue for a museum exhibition…is a little like asking Jamie Oliver to fix a snack. That you will get anything less than a feast is unimaginable… Marling [is] a stunningly astute observer of American visual culture… Like the best works of cultural criticism, Designs on the Heart will leave the reader saying ‘Of course! How could I not have thought of this before, it’s so self-evidently true? And yet, I would never have asked these questions or connected these dots myself.’ And, like the best works of historical scholarship, it will leave readers asking new questions about our own cultural icons. -- Lauren F. Winner * Books & Culture *Delightful. Marling’s book is neither a straight biography nor a coffeetable picture book. Rather, it is an affectionate analysis of the ‘Grandma’ phenomenon, albeit laced with plenty of photos, biographical stories and images of Moses’ art. -- Mary Abbe * Minneapolis Star-Tribune *In Designs on the Heart: The Homemade Art of Grandma Moses, Karal Ann Marling sets out to explain Grandma Moses’ continuing status as an American icon and her art’s eternal popularity. The book contains photos of Moses and her environs, as well as plenty of color plates of her work. -- Jay Strafford * Richmond Times-Dispatch *How Grandma Moses was discovered in the village of Hoosick Falls, New York, and how she went on to become a worldwide cultural phenomenon are questions answered in an extraordinary and compelling story revealed in Karal Ann Marling’s new book, Designs on the Heart: The Homemade Art of Grandma Moses. -- Peter McLaughlin * Berkshire Living *Karal Ann Marling has long provided astute and sympathetic commentary on diverse facets of American popular culture. Designs on the Heart continues in this vein: a great read full of interesting insights about an American artist that we all really ‘know’ but really don’t know much about. Grandma Moses remains an icon of American art today, and Karal Ann Marling’s new book helps explain why. -- Erika Doss, Professor of Art History, University of Colorado, and author of Spirit Poles and Flying Pigs: Public Art and Cultural Democracy in American CommunitiesIt is no mean feat to recast a national icon in a new light, but Karal Ann Marling manages to do so. Marling’s text is a provocative delight—lively, insightful, and mercifully free of jargon. It is an important contribution to the appreciation of a singular artistic personality; equally significant, it provides new illumination to a telling episode in American taste. Students of both art history and American Studies—as well as the legions of Grandma Moses admirers—should find it a valuable addition to the literature. This is the way art history ought to be written. Another Marling triumph. -- Charles C. Eldredge, Hall Distinguished Professor of American Art and Culture, University of Kansas, and author of Georgia O’Keeffe: American and Modern

Read more less

Book SynopsisFritzsche traces twentieth-century history through the remarkable diaries of an ordinary Berliner. Franz Göll wrote of hungry winters during WWI, the Berlin bombing, rapes by Russian soldiers, shockwaves cast by Darwin, Freud, and Einstein, the flexing of U.S. superpower, and the strange lifestyles that marked Germany's transition to modernity.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary portrait of an ordinary twentieth-century Berliner's life. As an accomplished historian and a fine writer, Fritzsche uncovers the multiple resonances in Göll's political, social, and intellectual worlds. His deft and systematic handling of the intensely self-reflective Göll is quite simply fascinating. -- Konrad H. Jarausch, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe account Fritzsche weaves out of Göll's idiosyncratic yet strangely representative diaries makes for fascinating, exciting reading. There are wonderful nuggets throughout, such as Göll's thoughtful reaction after seeing a pro-euthanasia film in 1941—the only such account by an actual member of the German public of which I am aware—and Göll's response to the notorious Nazi 'degenerate art' exhibition in 1937. This compelling book is for anyone who wants to view history from a more personal level. -- Stephen Brockmann, Carnegie Mellon UniversityInstructive and fitfully absorbing...Readers...will be fascinated by the strange private world of an eccentric obsessive. -- Ian Brunskill * Wall Street Journal *A fascinating glimpse beneath the historical wave...Göll's diary is an amazing artifact in itself: in hundreds of plain, hand-written notebooks (now stored in a Berlin archive), it stretches from the era of Kaiser Wilhelm II to the age of Ronald Reagan. Göll lives through the aftermath of World War I, attends the Nazis' "Degenerate Art" exhibit in 1938, survives the bombing of Berlin during the Second World War, reflects on the rise of the nuclear age, and tries out, well into his fifties, the sexual revolution. All the while he works on his aquarium, travels around Germany, and reads widely and ravenously...Fritzsche helpfully summarizes and explains the diaries, putting them in a broader context and isolating the major themes; he reflects, too, on the very modern project of writing a diary. -- Josh Rothman * Boston Globe online *This is a perceptive analysis of a 20th-century individual who cherished his perceived difference and who was at the same time representative of the masses, for better or worse. -- Ulrike Zitzlsperger * Times Higher Education *In a time when public self-disclosure and blogging seem almost de rigueur, examining the diaries kept by a German everyman for the better part of the 20th century is both curious and refreshing...Though Fritzsche doesn't present extensive English translations of Göll's writings (the originals were impossibly voluminous), the quotations he includes are superb and include many of Göll's poems. He meticulously contextualizes them, convincingly argues the noteworthiness of their rediscovery, and reveals them as subjective attempts to fashion coherence out of increasingly violent times...They are also a sobering record of modern life's impact. Göll's diaries, begun in 1916, when he was 17, and continued until his death in 1984, offer an invaluable and absorbing look at the preoccupations of a turbulent century. * Publishers Weekly *Fritzsche's astounding book opens our eyes, once again, to the disappointing sight of an ordinary human being. And an ordinary human being is just that: ordinary. -- Susanne Klingenstein * Weekly Standard *

Read more less

Book SynopsisBoym provides a view of Russia that is historically informed, replete with unexpected detail, and stamped with authority. Alternating analysis with personal accounts of Russian life, she conveys the foreignness of Russia and examines its peculiar conceptions of private life and common good, of Culture and Trash, of sincerity and banality.Trade ReviewVisitors and outsiders have long lamented that the real lives of Soviet citizens were hidden behind a veil of official rhetoric. The private self was kept separate from the public self as a sort of defensive or coping mechanism. Boym, who was raised in Leningrad but has lived in the West for 13 years, analyzes the dichotomy between the common meeting places of public life and the no-places of private life and discerns a cultural tradition that still persists. Her themes are the communal apartment (which deprived all residents of a private life), graphomania (the compulsion to bad writing), and the spiritual self in Russian philosophy. Examples are drawn from film, literature, painting, and philosophy of the 19th and, primarily, 20th centuries. -- Marcia L. Sprules * Library Journal *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Theoretical Common Places Rubber Plants and the Soviet Order of Things Archeology of the Common Place A Labyrinth without a Monster The Mythologist as Traveler 1. Mythologies of Everyday Life Byt: Daily Grind and Domestic Trash Poshlost': Banality, Obscenity, Bad Taste Meshchanstvo: Middle Class, Middlebrow Private Life and Russian Soul Truth, Sincerity, Affectation Kul'turnost': The Totalitarian Lacquer Box Soviet Songs: From Stalin's Fairy Tale to "Good-bye, Amerika" 2. Living in Common Places: The Communal Apartment Family Romance and Communal Utopia Art and the Housing Crisis: Intellectuals in the Closet Welcome to the Communal Apartment Psychopathology of Soviet Everyday Life Interior Decoration The Ruins of Utopia A Homecoming, 1991 3. Writing Common Places: Graphomania History of the Literary Disease The Forgotten Classics The Genius of the People and the Conceptual Police Glasnost', Graphomania, and Popular Culture A Taxi Ride with a Graphomaniac 4. Postcommunism, Postmodernism The End of the Soviet World: From the Barricades to the Bazaar Glasnost' Streetwalking: Fallen Monuments and Rising Dolls Stalin's Cinematic Charisma, or History as Kitsch Trashy Jewels of Women Artists Merchant Renaissance and Cultural Scandals The Obscure Object of Advertisement Conclusion: Nostalgia for the Common Place Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume, the conclusion of Leon Edel's splendid edition, rounds off a half century of work on James by the noted biographer-critic. In the letters of the novelist's last twenty years a new Henry James is revealed. Edel's generous selection shows us, as he says, a looser, less formal, less distant personality, a man writing with greater candor and with more emotional freedom, who has at last opened himself up to the physical things of life.The decade embracing the turn of the century is the most productive period of James's career. Happily settled in an English country house and now dictating to a typist, he is able to write The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove, and The Golden Bowl in three years. The letters show clearly how his fiction turned from his world-famous tales of international society to the life of passion in his last novels. His new friends and correspondents include Conrad, H. G. Wells, Stephen Crane, Edith Wharton, and several young men to whom he writes curious, half-inhibited love letters. Mrs. Wharton, with her chauffered chariot of fire, introduces him to the thrill of motoring and welcomes him into her cosmopolitan circle; to him she embodies the affluence and driving energy of the America of the Gilded Age. For the first time in over twenty years he revisits his homeland, traveling not only in the East but through the South to Florida and west to California. He is dismayed by the materialism he finds and the changed ways of life. Back in England, he plunges into several projects; for the New York edition of his works he revises the early novels and writes his famous prefaces. His relations with agents and publishers as well as family and friends are fully documented in the letters, as are his trips to the Continent and visits with Edith Wharton in Paris. His last years are darkened by a long siege of nervous ill health and by the death of his beloved brother William. But he carries on, moves back to London, and continues to work. Among the most eloquent of all his letters are those describing his anguished reaction to the Great War. To show his allegiance to the Allied cause, he becomes a British citizen, six months before his death. The volume concludes with his final and fading words dictated on his deathbed.Table of ContentsIntroduction Brief Chronology 1. Withdrawal from London 1895-1900 2. The Edwardian Novels 1900-1904 3. The American Scene 1904-1905 4. Revisions 1905-1910 5. Terminations 1911-1915 Appendixes I. William James on Henry James II. Edith Wharton's Subsidy of The Ivory Tower III. The Autobiographies IV. "A Curse Not Less Explicit Than Shakespeare's Own" V. The Deathbed Dictation VI. Holdings of Henry James's Letters Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisGarrison's letters offer an insight into the mind and life of an outstanding figure in American history, a reformer-revolutionary who sought radical changes in the institutions of his day, and who, perhaps more than any other single individual, was ultimately responsible for the emancipation of the slaves.Trade ReviewThese early letters are those of a propagandist already committed to the overthrow of slavery…This first handsome volume of letters provides fresh insights into the mind of an American radical who undertook 'to reform the morals of the age.' * Times Literary Supplement *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume covers the five-year period in which Garrison's three sons were born and he entered the arena of social reform with full force.Trade ReviewThis second volume of The Letters of William Lloyd Garrison is, like its predecessor, a model of editorial excellence…Ruchames has supplied authentic and accurate texts for all these documents and has provided full but unobtrusive annotation…This volume illuminates one of the most complex and controversial phases of the abolitionist crusade. * Journal of American History *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA unique document in the history of the Kennedy years, these letters offer a firsthand look at the working relationship between a president and one of his close advisers, John Kenneth Galbraith. Here is an intimate picture of the lives and minds of a political intellectual and an intellectual politician during a rich moment in American history.Trade ReviewLetters to Kennedy is about as far removed from the familiar tell-all biographies or nutty assassination conspiracies as it is possible to go… The letters confirm Galbraith’s skill as a writer, his abiding contempt for the State Department as an institution and Richard Nixon as a politician, and in particular, his prescient opposition to American military involvement in Vietnam, even before it had begun. -- Tim Cornwell * Times Higher Education Supplement *[This] book is a goldmine for political sophisticates… In one letter to Kennedy in 1961… Galbraith warned Kennedy that the situation in ‘South Vietnam is exceedingly bad… Unless I am mistaken, Diem has alienated his people to a far greater extent than we allow ourselves to know. This is our old mistake. We take the ruler’s word and that of our own people who have become committed to him… But I fear that we have one more government which, on present form, no one will support.’ It would be 14 years, and 55,000 American soldiers dead, and a million Vietnamese lives wasted in war, before that letter’s gloomy forecast was apparent to Washington. Then, as now, Galbraith’s was a voice worth heeding. -- David Nyhan * Boston Globe *Venerable Canadian-born economist Galbraith was one of John F. Kennedy’s closest advisers, and U.S. ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963. These letters—polished, witty, thoughtful—offer advice on matters from speeches (Galbraith contributed the memorable ‘Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.’) to economics and public policy. * Globe and Mail *John Kenneth Galbraith was a friend of, adviser to and an Ambassador to India for John F. Kennedy. He also was—and is—a fine writer and thinker… The letters he wrote to Kennedy between 1959 and 1963…are intrinsically interesting and often extremely amusing…[and] document exchanges about important themes… His warning memorandum in April 1962 about the dangers of deeper involvement in Vietnam holds up remarkably well… There is a sage counsel about the American economy, a wise caution against foreign policy ‘adventurism’, in the immediate run-up to the Bay of Pigs, and a dissenting view that, in building up the European Common Market against the Soviet Union, the United States was actually building up an economic bloc against itself. This makes interesting reading today, as the euro prepares to challenge the dollar. Most intriguing however, is the picture the letters give of the relationship between older adviser and young President… Clinton could certainly do with such wise and witty advice. -- Timothy Garton Ash * The Times *This book consists of the letters that, for just over two years, the most irreverent member of JFK’s personal entourage regularly sent back to Washington… James Goodman, the new book’s editor, has performed a useful service in presenting the letters in sequence—while at the same time offering valuable and exhaustive explanatory notes. -- Anthony Howard * Sunday Times *A valuable addition to the history of the Kennedy administration. Galbraith’s observations about economics, politics, and diplomacy—the State Department, India, China, Vietnam, and the third world generally—are interesting as evidence not only of what Galbraith thought but of what JFK was willing to hear. -- Robert Dallek, Boston UniversityKen Galbraith’s letters to Jack Kennedy are a timely reminder that Camelot had a brighter side. Elegant, droll, amusingly self deprecating, they range widely over politics, economics, and, especially, foreign affairs. Galbraith’s prescient warnings about the foredoomed venture on which America was embarking in Vietnam are alone good reason for buying this book. -- William E. LeuchtenburgLetters to Kennedy is a marvelous collection. Galbraith is at his best writing to his president—wise as well as clever and pithy. The book is an invaluable addition to literature on the Kennedy era. -- Ernest R. MayA most unusual combination: substantive historical documentation on India, on Vietnam, and on the conduct of foreign and economic policy, joined with inside political gossip in the context of a fascinating friendship between two notable figures, all told in witty and engaging letters… I don’t suppose there has been anything quite like the Galbraith–Kennedy relationship since Voltaire and Frederick the Great. -- Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.The Galbraith and Kennedy correspondence contains a great deal of fascinating historical materials on subjects ranging from the fine points of presidential speechmaking to the looming conflict in Vietnam. But more than that, it wonderfully conveys the admixture of optimism, irony, wit, and self-regard that was the essential spirit of the New Frontier. Galbraith and his skillful editor, James Goodman, have produced a uniquely instructive volume on the Kennedy presidency. -- Sean WilentzTable of ContentsIntroduction Politics Economics Foreign Affairs A Word of Thanks Editor's Note Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisLandes traces the life and career of Ademar of Chabannes—a monk, historian, liturgist, and hagiographer who lived at the turn of the first Christian millennium. Using over 1,000 folios of autograph manuscript that Ademar left behind, Landes has been able to reconstruct in great detail the development of Ademar’s career and the events of his day.Trade ReviewRelics, Apocalypse, and the Deceits of History is an intelligent and imaginative study of an author who accounts for a large proportion of the surviving narrative sources for Aquitaine in the first third of the eleventh century and is consequently central to our understanding of important movements such as the Peace of God, pilgrimage, and the cult of saints. Ademar left a substantial corpus, much of it autograph. This provides the cornerstone of Landes's challenging methodology whereby he calibrates shifts in Ademar's literary identity--as copyist, historian, liturgist, and mythographer--against a detailed biographical reconstruction which is in turn interwoven with the religious, social, and political currents affecting the 'millennial generation'. Landes excels in applying skilled palaeographical, codicological, and textual analysis to wider issues...This is an ambitious, original, methodologically exciting, and closely argued work of great interest. -- Marcus Bull * English Historical Review [UK] *On August 3, 1029, Ademar of Chabannes suffered a humiliating defeat when his plans for a triumphal procession of the relics of St. Martial and the chanting of his new liturgy in Martial's honor turned into a fiasco. He spent the next five years writing forgeries and fictions about his contemporaries which have misled historians up to the 20th century. He left behind more than 1,000 folios of manuscripts. This account by Professor Landes of Boston University sheds new light on the cult of saints, apocalypticism, scriptoria and their manuscripts, and historiography. * Theology Digest *A brilliant work which synthesizes the immense technical skills Landes has acquired with his talent as an historian. Because Ademar left so many manuscripts in so many fields of endeavor and because he was so thoroughly a part of the major historical movements in Aquitaine during the first third of the eleventh century, Landes is able to break new ground in a methodological sense with regard to the writing of various aspects of the social and religious history of the French kingdom in pre-Crusade Europe. Particular emphasis here is given to popular religion, the peace movement, apocalyptic thought and social patterns. Relics, Apocalypse, and the Deceits of History, moreover, is at once an intellectual biography, a personal biography, and a social history. Thus, Ademar the man, Ademar the monk, Ademar the scholar, Ademar the Christian, and Ademar the public figure are all thoroughly integrated in Landes' remarkable study. -- Bernard S. Bachrach, University of MinnesotaLandes convinced me without any qualms of the importance of his approach. He is absolutely right to stress the importance of Ademar's corpus, substantial portions of it autograph. It is not just that Ademar is an important source for our writing and history. As Landes says, the fact that Ademar wrote and revised so much allows us to see into the creative process of a single man who lived at a watershed. We can see into his mind. And because Ademar was tortured and flawed, we have, as Landes also points out in a wonderful phrase, 'the autograph record of a man going mad.' Uncommon enough for any period, this is a motherlode for the middle ages. -- Geoffrey Koziol, University of California at BerkeleyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations I. Ademar and Aquitaine at the Turn of the Millennium 1. An Embarrassment of Riches: Ademar's Autograph Corpus 2. The Social and Political Climate of Aquitaine at the Turn of the Millennium 3. The Politics of Popular Enthusiasm and the Origins of the Vita Prolixior II. Early Career: The Formation of a Monastic Historian, 989-1028 4. Ademar's Youth: Monastic Withdrawal from a Turbulent World 5. A Monk in Church Politics: From Copyist to Historian 6. Writing History in an Apocalyptic Age: Alpha 7. Jerusalem Pilgrimage, Abbacy Lost, History Gained: Beta 8. Assassination, Witchcraft, and the Crucible of Ambition III. The Apostolic Controversy: From Apostolic Impresario to Master Forger, 1028-1031 9. The Consecration of the Basilica Regalis and Ademar's Conversion to the Cult of Saint Martial 10. The Year of the Apostolic Liturgy: Gamma 11. Impresario on the Ropes: The Debates with Benedict of Chiusa 12. Dilemmas of a Masterful Failure: The Circular Apology 13. Birth of a Solitary Forger: Confection of the Apostolic Corpus IV. The Millennial Generation 14. The Terrible Hopes of the Millennial Generation and the Weeping Crucifix 15. Ademar and the Millennial Generation: Apostolic Relics and Apocalyptic Pilgrimages 16. Epilogue: On Timing, Editing, and Forgery Appendices A. Chronology, 987-1034 B. Manuscripts in Ademar's Corpus C. Identifying Ademar's Handwriting D. Manuscript Descriptions D1. BN lat. 5239 D2. BN lat. 3784: A Monastic Compendium D3. Leiden, Vossianus Oct. 15: A Liberal Arts Florilegium D4. BN lat. 2400: An Ecclesiastical Miscellany D5. BN lat. 6190, folios S3-57: First Draft of the History D6. BN lat. 5943A: Historical Works E. Apocalyptic Signs and Ademar's Description of I009-1010 F. Ademar's Trips to Limoges, 1024-1034 G. Length of Simneon's Stay in Angouleme H. Poisonings in Beta I. Analysis of the Sources on Witchcraft Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisCritics have maintained that John Rawls's theory of justice is unrealistic and undemocratic. Andrius Gališanka's incisive intellectual biography argues that in misunderstanding the origins and development of Rawls's argument, previous narratives fail to explain the novelty of his philosophical approach and so misunderstand his political vision.Trade ReviewGališanka tracks the development of Rawls’s philosophical work as it evolved from his early inquiries into theology and the roots of evil to his secular justification for distributive justice…Leaves us with a compelling account of Rawls’s evolution and reminds us how philosophically rigorous the justification of Rawlsian high liberalism is. -- Seyla Benhabib * The Nation *This book is a pathbreaking achievement. Drawing extensively on John Rawls’s private papers and integrating them expertly with the published writings, Andrius Gališanka develops a new and striking account of Rawls’s intellectual development from his college years to the publication of A Theory of Justice. It is certain to change our understanding of the core motivations and ultimate aims of one of the greatest political philosophers of all time. -- Charles Larmore, Brown UniversityDrawing on important new archival materials, Andrius Gališanka has written a landmark study of one of the giants of twentieth-century political philosophy. Powerfully highlighted by the author’s deep research and judicious analysis, this will be a crucial volume for intellectual historians, political theorists, and philosophers who engage with Rawls, and of broad interest to those seeking to understand the origins and implications of his theory of justice. -- Angus Burgin, Johns Hopkins UniversityJohn Rawls’s influence on moral and political philosophy is difficult to overstate. His books and articles have been intensely studied since the appearance of A Theory of Justice in 1971. But even those familiar with Rawls’s work may know little about how painstakingly he rehearsed his arguments prior to publication. Andrius Gališanka presents a careful study of everything Rawls wrote in the thirty years leading up to A Theory of Justice, with findings welcome even by Rawls experts. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the intellectual development of the twentieth century’s most important moral and political thinker. -- Paul Weithman, University of Notre DameThis compelling intellectual biography of John Rawls—which makes extensive use of the philosopher’s archives—has a great many virtues. Andrius Gališanka documents how Rawls’s commitment to respect for persons originating from his brand of Protestantism, in addition to his persistent search for what follows from considered judgments, made possible a classic of our time. -- Samuel Moyn, Yale UniversityScholars of the work of liberal academic political theorist John Rawls will find this book highly useful. * Choice *

Read more less

Book SynopsisBasil the Great was born into a family noted for piety. About 360 he founded a convent in Pontus and in 370 succeeded Eusebius in the archbishopric of Caesarea. His reform of monastic life in the east is the basis of modern Greek and Slavonic monasteries.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe young Thomas Eakins''s most revealing letterspublished here for the first timeThe most revealing and interesting writings of American artist Thomas Eakins are the letters he sent to family and friends while he was a student in Paris between 1866 and 1870. This book presents all these letters in their entirety for the first time; in fact, this is the first edition of Eakins''s correspondence from the period. Edited and annotated by Eakins authority William Innes Homer, this book provides a treasure trove of new information, revealing previously hidden facets of Eakins''s personality, providing a much richer picture of his artistic development, and casting fresh light on his debated psychosexual makeup. The book is illustrated with the small, gemlike drawings Eakins included in his correspondence, as well as photographs and paintings.In these letters, Eakins speaks openly and frankly about human relationships, male companionship, marriage, and women. In viviTrade Review"Although there are a number of excellent biographies, critical works, and published collections of the work of seminal American artist Thomas Eakins, this is the first collection of his letters from his years as a student in Paris (1866-70)... Highly recommended for scholars and art history students as well as general readers and young adults."--Library Journal "Homer has been writing and lecturing about Eakins for 40 years, and his familiarity adds much to his annotations of these letters; he captures their essence even in the briefest synopses. Homer's second volume, collecting later Eakins letters, should continue to present this lucid perspective and, more important, promises further firsthand insights."--Edith Newhall, ArtNewsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Thomas Eakins: The Artist and His Letters 1 Chapter 1: 1866 9 Chapter 2: 1867 79 Chapter 3: 1868 187 Chapter 4: 1869 237 Chapter 5: 1870 293 Chapter 6: The Spanish Notebook (1870) 299 Chapter 7: Letters & Theories after 1870: A Summary 309 Collection Code Key 321 List of Owners of Thomas Eakins Letters 323 Selected Bibliography 331 Index 333 Letter Credits and Permissions 341

Read more less

Book SynopsisMichelangelo is best known for great artistic achievements such as the Sistine ceiling, the Piet, and the dome of St Peter's. He not only filled hundreds of sheets of paper with drawings, sketches, and doodles, but also, composed his own words. This book examines this interplay of words and images, providing insight into his life and work.Trade ReviewOne of the The Daily Beast's (Brad Gooch) Favorite Books of the Year for 2010 "But for sheer joy of reading, reach for Michelangelo: A Life on Paper, by Leonard Barkan ($49.50). The writer is a professor of comparative literature at Princeton, and his view of the artist usually regarded as superhuman, a Sistine-style colossus, is through the intimate, sometimes all-too-human medium of his words--private letters, poems, notes to self--as well as drawings. Personable in tone, astute in observation, Mr. Barkan's book is that rare thing, a historical study as absorbing as a novel."--Holland Cotter, New York Times "In Michelangelo: A Life on Paper (Princeton University Press, 366 pages, $49.50), scholar Leonard Barkan has not only found something new to say about this well-picked-over artist; he has come up with a new approach to his subject, producing one of the most absorbing books of the year. Like many Renaissance artists, Michelangelo often used the same piece of paper for multiple purposes. A given sheet might contain sketches, wording for a contract, fragments of verse and a shopping list--what Mr. Barkan vividly describes as a 'riot of activities.' Until now, scholars have approached these sheets piecemeal, focusing on the parts of greatest interest to them--the figure sketches, say--to the exclusion of the others. Mr. Barkan's simple but, as it turns out, revolutionary idea was to ask himself: 'What can we learn by taking each sheet as an organic unity and regarding everything on it as equally relevant?' Mr. Barkan's book blends art history, biography and detective work to give us an unparalleled insight into the mind of Michel angelo as a creator, citizen, papal lackey, businessman and family man."--Eric Gibson, Wall Street Journal "Leonard Barkan's ingenious, lavishly illustrated study does not linger over the familiar aspects of the Divine One's life and work. It focuses instead on the artist's 'life on paper,' the hundreds of sheets that have survived containing drawings, poems, doodles, instructions to assistants and 'notes to self.' For Barkan, a professor of comparative literature at Princeton, these sheets are a treasure trove of aesthetic delights; traces of the historical context of Renaissance art making; and, most important, a window onto the personality and artistic practice of a figure who came to define genius... Barkan is a tentative but deeply learned interpreter. His close readings of these complex traces are marvels of erudition, even though he understands that claims about the meaning of these images will never be proven... Barkan is a sensitive and thoughtful guide through this fragile legacy of a monumental figure. Michelangelo, he writes, 'remains stuck in the paradox of a godlike creativity that cannot bring him closer to God.' This biography of the artist's 'life on paper' reveals both his solitude and his efforts at communion. Barkan's reading of the richly evocative paper trail reminds us how much we still have to learn about this towering, quivering man."--Michael S. Roth, Washington Post "A sumptuous art book full of brain food, Michelangelo is a book and concept that has been hiding in plain sight for centuries. Princeton University Comp Lit Professor Leonard Barkan has decided to shift his eye, and attention, two inches to the left and right to take seriously all the scribbling, doodling, lines of poetry, and notes to workshop assistants, in the margins of Michelangelo's drawings on paper. (The volume includes more than 200 museum-quality reproductions of the artist's most private papers, many in color.) As quirkily brilliant--and ultimately more satisfying and helpful than--Derrida's '80s meditations on Nietzche's laundry list, Barkan's book is both fun and a paradigm shift."--Brad Gooch, Daily Beast "With a similar spirit of pure joy in language's capacity to illuminate great art and great artists, Leonard Barkan in Michelangelo: A Life on Paper gives us a more human Michelangelo who looks and sounds a lot like us today, but with all the genius left intact."--Bob Dugan, Big Think "Barkan explores the full complexity of Michelangelo as revealed in hundreds of pieces of paper on which the artist combined both writing and drawing. This is the first study to fully explore the intriguing interplay of words and images, providing numerous insights into the artist's life, work, and unconscious motivations... His brilliant analysis of individual sheets vividly highlights the important role played by the written word in Michelangelo's artistic process and creativity. The book provides a rare and intimate look at how Michelangelo's artistic genius expressed itself, especially in moments of unselfconscious expression when the artist shifted from drawing to words and vice versa. Illustrated with more than 200 excellent reproductions, many in color, this sumptuous volume is beautifully produced."--Choice "Barkan's analyses are rich and complex--this is a book that rewards close reading... The book is beautifully produced, with excellent reproductions."--Bernadine Barnes, European LegacyTable of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xiii Chapter 1: Hieroglyphs of the Mind 1 Chapter 2: O n the Same Page 35 Chapter 3: Picture Writing 69 Chapter 4: Making a Name 97 Chapter 5: Crowded Sheets 127 Chapter 6: Private in Public 173 Chapter 7: V at. lat. 3211 235 Chapter 8: Drawing the Line 287 Notes 305 Credits 353 Index 357

Read more less

Book SynopsisDisplayed on European stages from 1810 to 1815 as the Hottentot Venus, Sara Baartman was one of the most famous women of her day. This book tells the entwined histories of an illusive life and a famous icon. It raises questions about the possibilities and limits of biography for understanding those who live among different cultures.Trade Review"Professors Clifton Crais and Pamela Scully of Emory University have done an excellent job not only of telling this rebarbative story but of putting it into the context of its time... No one, however, has succeeded as well as Crais and Scully in illuminating not only her important role as icon and symbol but, so important, the human being behind them. Because of their diligent research and their deep understanding of the era in which she lived--along with their sensitivity to our own time and concern--they have truly given us the 'living breathing person' that was 'Sara Baartman, the human being who was ultimately destroyed by an illusion.'"--Martin Rubin, Los Angeles Times "[Crais and Scully] chase down obscure references to Baartman's life in South Africa and discover a rich if difficult life. The authors dig deep into the limited remaining evidence but the biography wears its research lightly, a backdrop to this well-written and fascinating story of a woman who remains an elusive figure."--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "The authors...look beyond Baartman's life as a curiosity and an exhibit to explore her life as a woman. Crais and Scully place Baartman's contributions in such areas as the rights of the unlawfully detained, global feminism, and later--when her body was returned to South Africa from France--the politics of indigenous identity. Readers who enjoyed African Queen (2007), by Rachel Holmes, will appreciate this further examination of the life of an extraordinary woman."--Vanessa Bush, Booklist "This is a thrilling, provocative and interesting exploration. The reader learns about how Baartman's life was transformed once she became the Hottentot Venus, and is given a vivid snapshot of what the sociopolitical and ideological climate of Europe was when Baartman reached its shores. Crais and Scully literally recover Baartman--the public spectacle and the 'scientific discovery'--as so much more. Not only is this book a fascinating read, it will also have done much to restore the historical record in Europe and the US. It is an important and necessary contribution to the existing discourse on Sara Baartman's impact on contemporary ideas of race, sexuality and the European conception of primitivity."--Kaila Adia Story, Times Higher Education "Clifton Crais and Pamela Scully explore the curious juxtaposition of celebrity and degradation that followed Sara Baartman after she was brought to Europe and put on exhibit, an 'ethnopornograhic freak.' But Crais and Scully are interested in much more than the Hottentot Venus; their aim is to honor Baartman, and they do so with biography that is speculative as well as research-driven."--Joe Taylor, Foreword Magazine "This biography faced a formidable research challenge in resurrecting a forgotten woman... With such a seemingly unknowable subject, the authors refrain from putting words into Sara's mouth. Rather they reconstruct her life and times, placing her in context... Remarkable."--Lucy Sussex, The Age "The authors stitch together the pieces of Baartman's life--no small task with so little known about the woman herself--and at times veer necessarily toward the speculative. They ... admirably attempt to look past the symbol to the woman herself, who led an extraordinary life amid rapidly shifting social and scientific cultures."--Julie Biando Edwards, Library Journal "This meticulously researched book drags Baartman out of the ugly mythology that characterised her European life and restores her to humanity. It is a model biography because the sources for her real life are scarce and the authors, both academics, had to tease a rich life out of very frail strands of information."--Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald "[Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus] stands out for the lengths it goes to present the person behind the myth. Crais and Scully uncovered details unknown or long forgotten about her life before she became the Hottentot Venus, her personal dealings when she was off the stage, and some of the characters who fill out her story. The authors gather these facts together with a narrative style that richly evokes the smells, sights, sounds, and mores of the worlds in which Baartman dwelled."--Susan Frith, Johns Hopkins Magazine "In this beautifully written and multilayered biography, Emory University professors Crais and Scully distinguish between the woman and the exhibit in order to restore the ghost to her own narrative. Tapping a wide range of archives, the authors reconstruct the Gonaqua society into which she was born and the Cape society where she worked as a domestic servant in the late 18th century before moving on to more familiar European territory."--C. Higgs, Choice "The authors are to be commended on an illuminating analysis of the complexities of contact between Europeans and other cultures in the somewhat misnamed Age of Enlightenment. They have produced a gripping biography of an extraordinary woman."--Barbara Bush, Women's History Review "[T]he book is a significant contribution to the literature on Baartman which will become essential reading for anyone interested in her life, as a living woman or academic subject. The impressive archival work that has been used to recapture so much of Baartman's elusive life is illuminating; although necessarily speculative in parts, on the whole, the book's arguments have been grounded in a well-contextualised and evocative history of the Cape region, London and Paris. Given abiding interest in Baartman's life, the book's accessible style will recommend it to a wide audience, both within and outside the halls of academia."--Sadiah Qureshi, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History "Ghosts are by nature elusive; their tales designed to haunt. Yet this rich 'ghost story' cum biography is elegantly turned, contesting accepted notions. It is a valuable contribution."--Maureen Isaacson, Sunday Independent "Crais and Scully's extensive new research has produced a rich and interesting biography that is a worthwhile read even for those familiar with the story. As well as providing the most detailed account of Baartman's life, the book is an illuminating insight into the broader contexts of colonial society at the Cape... The real achievement of Crais and Scully's book lies in its readability and the fresh insights it provides into the life of one of Africa's most famous women."--Sadiah Qureshi, History Today "The excellent historical illustrations throughout help the narrative, making the descriptions read like a movie script."--Margaret H. McFadden, Salem Press "Crais and Scully ... point us in the direction of more nuanced studies of the relationship between exploitation, complicity and negotiation, and of the relationship between individual lives and the larger social, political and economic landscape in which they are lived. This is an excellent and provocative study that invites debate."--Shireen Hassim, Labor Bulletin "The great strength of this book is its readability with vivid, even poetic, descriptions of everything from the African landscape and urban community to the theater district of London."--Martin S. Staum, Journal of Modern History "Crais and Scully have crafted an admirable book--informative, thought-provoking, and a pleasure to read."--Stacey Hynd, Journal of the Historical AssociationTable of ContentsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix DRAMATIS PERSONAE xiii Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1: Winds of the Camdeboo 7 CHAPTER 2: Cape of Storms 27 CHAPTER 3: London Calling 58 CHAPTER 4: Before the Law 82 CHAPTER 5: Lost, and Found 103 CHAPTER 6: Paris, City of Light 116 CHAPTER 7: Ghosts of Sara Baartman 142 EPILOGUE: Family 170 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 181 NOTES 183 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 207 INDEX 229

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of informal interviews and memoirs of sixteen prominent members of the mathematical community of the twentieth century, many still active.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2012 Book Merit Award in the Professional, Reference category, New York Book Show "What do a Beatles expert, a professional magician and a Los Angeles dentist have in common? If they're Joseph Gallian, Arthur Benjamin and Leon Bankoff, it's mathematics. The words of these and other researchers, mentors and teachers in the maths community feature in this compilation by educator Donald Albers and mathematician Gerald Alexanderson. There is much to relish in these accounts--not least geometer Thomas Banchoff's friendship with Salvador Dali, who explored the nexus of atomic science, maths and art late in life."--Nature "Albers and Alexanderson pick up where they left off from their earlier books, Mathematical People and More Mathematical People, with profiles of 16 unique individuals involved in all areas of mathematics teaching and research... A handy way to learn about contemporary mathematic ideas and interrelated areas of research, the book seems more like a dinner party filled with intriguing personalities than a textbook... Strongly recommended for readers interested in mathematics and anyone wanting to understand the creative process."--Elizabeth Brown, Library Journal (starred review) "A beautifully illustrated collection of interviews and biographical etudes of 16 mathematicians of different backgrounds, varied professional interests, diverse level of achievement--all incredibly interesting as human beings... [A]n awfully good and entertaining read."--Alexander Bogomolny, CTK Insights "This book is an assortment of interviews and memoirs of 16 contemporary mathematicians with a variety of backgrounds. The volume includes some unique, never-published photographs of the mathematicians--at work and/or with their families--that add a nice personal touch. As this reviewer read about these individuals, she found herself wanting to know more about them, and even considering inviting one to be a guest speaker at a math club meeting... [Fascinating Mathematical People] would be a useful supplementary resource for an undergraduate history of mathematics class; it would also be a valuable work for students to browse on their own."--J.A. Bakal, Choice "[T]his is a book to discontinuous reading: one picks it at leisure, takes a look at the contents and chooses what to read. No order is required, nor any systematic dedication, but in the end one sure will read it all."--Jesus M. Ruiz, European Mathematical Society Newsletter "Interesting personal sketches of mathematicians at work and at home... For students considering a career in mathematics, this book can be an enlightening read. For readers who are already mathematicians, it gives insight into some mathematical history of the twentieth century."--Dorothy Janice Radin, Mathematics Teacher "It is packed with anecdotes and suitable for the general reader or historian. A range of themes are introduced in the preface raising the potential for a more specialized biographical insight. An enjoyable read and learning experience."--Wallace A Ferguson, Mathematics TodayTable of ContentsForeword by Philip J. Davis vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii Sources xv One: Lars V. Ahlfors 1 Two: Tom Apostol 17 Three: Harold M. Bacon 43 Four: Tom Banchoff 52 Five: Leon Bankoff 79 Six: Alice Beckenbach 96 Seven: Arthur Benjamin 107 Eight: Dame Mary L. Cartwright 129 Nine: Joe Gallian 146 Ten: Richard K. Guy 165 Eleven: Fern Hunt 193 Twelve: Dusa McDuff 215 Thirteen: Donald G. Saari 240 Fourteen: Atle Selberg 254 Fifteen: Jean Taylor 274 Sixteen: Philippe Tondeur 294 Biographical Notes 319 Glossary 321 Index 325

Read more less

Book SynopsisThrough biographies of China's most colorful and famous personalities, this book displays the five-thousand-year sweep of Chinese history from the legendary sage emperors to the tragedy of Tiananmen Square. It is written for the general public curious about China and for the student beginning to study its rich cultural heritage.Trade Review"[A] spirited and highly intelligent book... A splendid reflection on the nature of the Chinese relationship to history, culture, and morality... What gives Wills's [book] its originality and its effectiveness is the artful span of examples he has chosen, examples that not only range across time ... but are also chosen to illuminate major themes and continuities within the Chinese universe... There is high drama, cruelty, and excess in many of these stories... And there is also wit and charm mixed with the telling of great events."--Jonathan Spence, The New York Times Book Review "[T]his remarkable book ... spans the 3,000 recorded years of Chinese history... We experience the wrenching difficulties faced by ... each emperor, philosopher, poet, historian, monk, military general, and revolutionary whose life story is told here with such skill and compassion... students of history will find themselves clinging to the edge of their seats, as if the outcome were still to be determined."--Wilson Library Bulletin "A tapestry displaying a vast array of noble dreams and failures, of initial utterances and long-distance echoes, of recurrent patterns and abrupt innovations intended to intrigue and inform educated readers looking for a way into three thousand years of Chinese history."--Jerry Dennerline, The Journal of Asian Studies "This book ... chronicles 5,000 years of Chinese history in short biographies of its most important figures... Time and again these vignettes of history reflect the moral earnestness of the Chinese and individual struggles between villainy and idealism."--Asia Week "Although intended for the inspired tourist or casual reader who wants a quick introduction to Chinese history, this collection of biographies is in no way superficial. Each of the 20 chapters offers a figure typical of his/her times and an elaboration of the contexts and backgrounds that shaped these individuals."--Library Journal "Tremendous."--Aaron Pickering, Education About AsiaTable of ContentsList of Illustrations IX Preface XI Acknowledgments XV Note on Romanization XVll A Summary Time Line xix 1. Yu 3 2. Confucius (Kongzt) II 3* The First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shihuang) 33 4* Sima Qian 51 5* WangMang 72 6. Ban Zhao 90 7. Zhuge Liang 100 8. Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch 114 9* Empress Wu 127 10. Su Dongpo 149 11. Yue Fei 168 12. Qiu Chuji, the Daoist 181 13. Wang Yangming 201 14. Zheng Chenggong (Coxinga) 216 15. The Qianlong Emperor 231 16. Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King 259 17. Liang Qichao 274 18. The Kuomintang Legacy 301 19. Mao Zedong 335 20. Names in the News 360 Afterword to the 2012 Edition 381 Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading 387 Index 397

Read more less

Book SynopsisFollowing Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. government rounded up more than one hundred thousand Japanese Americans and sent them to internment camps. One of those internees was Charles Kikuchi. In thousands of diary pages, he documented his experiences in the camps, his resettlement in Chicago and drafting into the Army on the eve oTrade Review"Jim and Jap Crow is an interesting and thoughtful exploration of a turbulent and vitally important decade."--Charlotte Brooks, Journal of American HistoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Preface: "Contraction and Release" xi Introduction: An Age of Possibility 1 Chapter 1: Before Pearl Harbor: Taking the Measure of a "Marginal" Man 18 Chapter 2: "A Multitude of Complexes": Finding Common Ground with Louis Adamic 49 Chapter 3: "Unity within Diversity": Intimacies and Public Discourses of Race and Ethnicity 74 Chapter 4: "Participating and Observing": Dorothy Swaine Thomas, W. I. Thomas, and JERS 108 Chapter 5: The Tanforan and Gila Diaries: Becoming Nikkei 136 Chapter 6: From "Jap Crow" to "Jim and Jane Crow": Black and Blue (and Yellow) in Chicago and the Bay Area 162 Chapter 7: "It Could Just as Well Be Me" Japanese American and African American GIs in the Army Diary 192 Conclusion: Tatsuro, "Standing Man" 218 Notes 237 Index 263

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn One Hundred Semesters, William Chace mixes incisive analysis with memoir to create an illuminating picture of the evolution of American higher education over the past half century. Chace follows his own journey from undergraduate education at Haverford College to teaching at Stillman, a traditionally African-American college in Alabama, in the 1Trade Review"Chace here recounts a young man's maturation and offers insight into the challenges of university administration... Chace is a gifted storyteller, appealingly honest in analyzing what he did well and where he went wrong."--Evelyn Beck, Library Journal "An unusual book, 100 Semesters is part memoir, part analysis and part how-to manual... Chace's prose is clear and compelling, a pleasure to read as much for its style as for its ideas. It is, in a word, eloquent."--Mark E. Hayes, Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Hopeful yet sober, Chace's memoir provides an invaluable perspective on the challenges facing higher education."--Booklist (starred review) "A thoughtful commentary on both the promises and challenges colleges and universities have and continue to face... [T]his is a much-needed, authentic commentary on the changes which happened throughout American higher education from one who was a direct participant in academia... Highly recommended."--Choice "A very useful, if not crucial addition, to the libraries of aspiring humanists and administrators in U.S. higher education. Although neither a call to arms nor a road-map for change, Chace's book is a rich, timely, and sober reflection on higher education's upper half at the start of the twenty-first century."--Tim Lacy, History and EducationTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1: I Knew Exactly What I Was Doing 6 Chapter 2: Haverford--the Guilty Reminder 11 Chapter 3: And All Will Be Well 22 Chapter 4: The Readiness Is All 35 Chapter 5: Berkeley: Thoroughly Unready 47 Chapter 6: The Discipline of Literature 57 Chapter 7: A New Kind of Proletariat 69 Chapter 8: Going South 77 Chapter 9: Reading in Jail 88 Chapter 10: Poetry and Politics 97 Chapter 11: The Storehouse of Knowledge 110 Chapter 12: Unfolding the Origami of Teaching 121 Chapter 13: Tenure and Its Discontents 134 Chapter 14: Tenure Tested 143 Chapter 15: Teaching and Its Discontents 153 Chapter 16: The English Department in Disarray 165 Chapter 17: Why Join the Administration? 177 Chapter 18: Exchanging Reflection for Action 188 Chapter 19: Diversity University 198 Chapter 20: Marching to a Different Drummer 208 Chapter 21: The Puzzle of Leadership 222 Chapter 22: Looking at Success; Looking at Failure 240 Chapter 23: Learning and Then Leaving 252 Chapter 24: A School with Aspirations 270 Chapter 25: Being a Proprietor 287 Chapter 26: Real Power and Imaginary Power 306 Chapter 27: "A King of Infinite Space" 327 Index 339

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A measured, perceptive portrait of Regine Olsen, Kierkegaard's jilted fiancee, reanimating her not as the philosopher's immortalized muse but as a living, breathing person."--Publishers WeeklyTable of ContentsTranslator's Acknowledgment ix Preface xi Tuning In 1 Part 1 1855 The Painful Departure 13 "You my heart's sovereign mistress" 16 The Virgin Islands 24 Governor J. F. Schlegel and His Wife 29 The Attack on the Church 34 "The flies are to such a degree impertinent out here" 37 Patient No. 2067 41 1856 His Last Will and Testament 51 "My Regine! ... Your K." 55 "She nodded twice. I shook my head." 70 Repetition and the Repetition 71 Regine Frederikke Olsen's Death 80 Cane Garden's Blessings 82 "Food for worms and that's the end of it" 88 "... for you know how little fuss there is with Fritz and me" 91 Henrik Lund and "Uncle Soren" 95 Regine's First Letter to Henrik Lund 102 The Sealed Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Schlegel 107 The Secret Place in Regine's Heart 114 The Plague's Paradise 118 The First Love 126 "... it's exactly a matter I'd like to take up a little: blind love!" 128 "But I am constantly afraid of her passion" 130 "... so she eggs the merman on" 132 "... an unsettled point between us"-Regine's Second Letter to Henrik Lund 135 "One unnamed whose name will sometime be named" 138 "Then I return to you ..." 143 1857 "The Seducer's Diary" 146 Tropical Yuletide 153 The White Gold-A Dark Chapter 154 "We have had a Negro-uprising on St. Croix!" 158 Regine and "the Blacks" 163 Birch and His Brother 168 "Meet her without being observed" 172 "... I am an exceptional lover" 176 Either/Or 178 "The priest people in Hellevad" 181 "The day is bad, but the night is worse" 183 "... then I stand there so untouched by it all" 186 1001 Nights 188 1858 "You imagined it was Cornelia" 194 "What does this silence mean?" 195 "... I shall the second time with God's help become more cruel" 201 "... my besetting sin, making eternities!" 204 "God preserve me from their Christianity" 208 "... as though I were 16 again and not 36" 212 "What an enormous loss, that Mrs. Heiberg has left the theater!" 215 Fritz and His Tormentors 217 "-and when I grew dizzy through gazing down into her infinite devotion" 220 1859 "They played mostly dance music" 224 The French Officer-A Little Weakness 227 The Collectively Unutterable and Some Stolen Reflections 229 Birthdays-and Other Fatalities 234 Part 2 1860-1896 "... I am not looking forward to coming to Copenhagen" 241 Homecoming and the Time That Followed 242 Regine's Copenhagen and Environs 246 "... a word or two about the dear Fritz" 250 "I cannot be quit of this relationship" 252 "so close to me that it was almost a collision" 256 "... my heart is deeply grieved over my poor native land" 259 Regine's Boarding House 262 The Schlegels' "Place on the Corner" 263 "Alas, I am indeed somewhat spectral" 267 Regine's Myth and Brandes's Biography 271 Fireburn: Fritz's Reencounter with the West Indies 276 Exit to Eternity 279 Part 3 1897-1904 "Then comes a dream from my youth's spring ..." 285 The Right to Regine's Love Story 287 "... he is the riddle, the great riddle" 290 " 'our own dear, little Regine' " 293 Postscript and Acknowledgments 297 Notes 299 Illustration Credits 309 Name Index 311

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A richly illuminating study ... [and] a timely meditation on the vicissitudes of abstract, purist ideals under the pressure of savage real-world events."--George Prochnik, New York Times Book Review "[A] finely grained portrait."--Robert E. Norton, Times Literary Supplement "A thorough and fascinating chronicle."--Brendan Simms, Wall Street Journal "Robert Lerner ... relates this amazing story with both carefully researched detail and engaging verve."--Michael D. Bailey, Montreal Review "A labour of love inspired by youthful sightings of its charismatic subject... Lerner's admirable study suggests that our understanding of the mind of the 20th century might be enriched by looking back at Kantorowicz's brilliant, if recondite scholarship, alongside this tribute to its author."--Stoddard Martin, Jewish Chronicle "Lerner's accessible, conversational tone and deft use of quotation bring Kantorowicz to life, showing the man behind the scholar and the development of a brilliant mind over a lifetime. Throughout, Kantorowicz's voice is sharply present. Lerner admits that, posthumously, motivations are impossible to discern, but his discernment is a gift in this unflinching treatment of Kantorowicz's legacy."--Letitia Montgomery-Rodgers, Foreword "[Robert Lerner] sets Kantorowicz in the context of his time, uniting heroic archival research, including numerous interviews with Kantorowicz's associates and friends, with discerning judgments to trace his remarkable odyssey. The result is a valuable contribution to modern European and American intellectual history."--Jacob Heilbrunn, The National InterestTable of ContentsList of Figures ix Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 1. Old Posen and Young Ernst 8 2. "With Rifle and Gun" 23 3. Fine Fever 41 4. Heidelberg 55 5. St. George 68 6. The Castle Hill 84 7. Frederick II 101 8. Center of Attention 117 9. Becoming a Professional 133 10. Frankfurt 145 11. Year of Drama 158 12. Oxford 172 13. "Leisure with Dignity" 184 14. Flight 201 15. "Displaced Foreign Scholar" 214 16. "Without Any Desire for Europe" 225 17. Laudes Regiae 240 18. Fight for Employment 252 19. "Hyperborean Fields" 268 20. "Scarcely Wants to Go to Germany" 284 21. "Land of Lotus-Eaters" 294 22. The Fundamental Issue 312 23. Advanced Study 329 24. The King's Two Bodies 344 25. "Eka Is Sick of Eka" 358 26. Last Years 376 Afterword 386 Index 389

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“A richly illuminating study … [and] a timely meditation on the vicissitudes of abstract, purist ideals under the pressure of savage real-world events.”—George Prochnik, New York Times Book Review“A thorough and fascinating chronicle.”—Brendan Simms, Wall Street Journal“[A] finely grained portrait.”—Robert E. Norton, Times Literary Supplement“[Robert Lerner] sets Kantorowicz in the context of his time, uniting heroic archival research, including numerous interviews with Kantorowicz's associates and friends, with discerning judgments to trace his remarkable odyssey. The result is a valuable contribution to modern European and American intellectual history.”—Jacob Heilbrunn, National Interest“Lerner’s biography is worthy of great praise, and it is very unlikely that it will ever be superseded.”—Walter Laqueur, Jewish Review of Books

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers""One of Next Big Idea Club's Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of Spring""[William] James would have liked this book. [John] Kaag ties James’s ideas directly to the challenges and puzzles of his own life — and his readers’ lives. . . . James’s ideas have rippled through the past century more powerfully than those of any other American thinker. Kaag’s little book reminds us why."---James T. Kloppenberg, Washington Post"This short book is an excellent introduction to William James and his philosophy."---John Banville, Literary Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A more lucid artist than Naum Gabo would be hard to find. His discussions of what the consciousness of man has created, what differentiates Science from Art, what Nature has meant to him, and what influences have shaped his own style are stated with deceptive clarity. The reader cannot help relating Gabo’s literary style to the crystalline constructions for which he is famous." * Art in America *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"For Kathleen Raine, Blake was an eighteenth-century herald of a change in thinking that only now is coming to fruition. . . . Blake and Antiquity is the work of a scholar who serves the lovers of literature." * MANAS *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisEvelyn Barish began this book partly to inquire into a silence--Ralph Waldo Emerson's failure to discuss or mourn his father, who died when the boy was seven years old. As she probed the meaning of this loss, she found herself tracing the development of an American prophet, producing a detailed intellectual biography of Emerson's early years up toTable of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. v*Acknowledgments, pg. vii*Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Works, pg. ix*Abbreviations of Names, pg. xv*Introduction, pg. 3*Chapter 1. PARENTS, pg. 10*Chapter 2. AUNT, pg. 36*Chapter 3. YOUTH, pg. 54*Chapter 4. ROMANCE, pg. 72*Chapter 5. HUME, pg. 99*Chapter 6. HISTORY, pg. 116*Chapter 7. THE ANGEL OF MIDNIGHT, pg. 132*Chapter 8. HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL, pg. 145*Chapter 9. THE MOONLESS NIGHT, pg. 158*Chapter 10. THE HOUSE OF PAIN, pg. 177*Chapter 11. THE FRUITS OF SUMMER, pg. 198*Chapter 12. MARRIAGE, pg. 211*Chapter 13. ADAM'S ANSWER, pg. 229*EPILOGUE, pg. 250*Index, pg. 259

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book provides a full-scale interpretation of Marianne Moore's poetry and prose, starting with her early experiments and exploring the range and variety of her artistic achievement. It portrays the self-discipline and the fidelity to experience that were the source of her originality. Laurence Stapleton's study of unpublished manuscripts, incluTable of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. v*List of Illustrations, pg. vi*Acknowledgments, pg. vii*Preface, pg. ix*1. How It All Began, pg. 1*2. On Her Own, pg. 31*3. "Some of Her Prose", pg. 52*4. Arrivals and Departures, pg. 68*5. The Poet's Advance, pg. 110*6. "My Fables", pg. 158*7. The Poet's Pleasure, pg. 184*8. The Reader's Response, pg. 213*Notes, pg. 231*Bibliography, pg. 263*Indexes, pg. 273

Read more less

Book SynopsisWilliam McCuaig explores the intellectual turbulence of the late Italian Renaissance through a full examination of the work of one scholar--the humanist Carlo Sigonio (1523-84), whose insistence on critical methods for reconstructing the past revolutionized the study of ancient Roman history and the Italian Middle Ages. An internationally publishedTable of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. v*Preface, pg. vii*Abbreviations, pg. xiii*Chapter One. Life of Carlo Sigonio, pg. 1*Chapter Two. Roman Studies kn the Sixteenth Century Part One, pg. 96*Chapter Three. Roman Studies in the Sixteenth Century Part Two, pg. 174*Chapter Four. Sigonio Versus the Censors, pg. 251*Chapter Five. Rewriting Cicero: The Consolatio of 1583, pg. 291*Appendix. Letters on the Consolatio, pg. 327*Bibliography, pg. 345*Manuscripts, pg. 369*Index, pg. 373

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the definitive biography of Emile Cohl (1857-1938), one of the most important pioneers of the art of the animated cartoon and an innovative contributor to popular graphic humor at a critical moment when it changed from traditional caricature to the modern comic strip. This profusely illustrated book provides not only a wealth of informationTrade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1991Table of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*CONTENTS, pg. vii*ILLUSTRATIONS, pg. ix*LIST OF CHARTS AND DIAGRAM, pg. xvii*PHOTOGRAPHIC SOURCES, pg. xix*PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, pg. xxi*CHAPTER ONE: A Caricaturist's Life, pg. 3*CHAPTER TWO: Art for Two Sous, pg. 43*CHAPTER THREE: The Moving Image, pg. 90*CHAPTER FOUR: Cinema chez Gaumont, pg. 115*CHAPTER FIVE: "Hollywood" in France and New Jersey, pg. 153*CHAPTER SIX: The Father of the Animated Film, pg. 198*CHAPTER SEVEN: Graphic Humor and Early Cinema, pg. 221*CHAPTER EIGHT: "Incoherent Cinema", pg. 257*NOTES, pg. 313*CATALOGUE OF FILMS, pg. 341*BIBLIOGRAPHY, pg. 377*INDEX, pg. 397

Read more less

Book SynopsisPresented here in a new and complete translation is the Japanese classic Okagami, an historical talc that mirrors a man's life and the times in which he lived. Dating from the late eleventh or early twelfth century, it focuses on Fujiwara Michinaga, the leading political figure in the great family that dominated the court during most of the Helan pTable of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. vii*Translator's Preface, pg. ix*Introduction, pg. 1*Chapter One, pg. 65*Chapter Two, pg. 90*Chapter Three, pg. 127*Chapter Four, pg. 162*Chapter Five, pg. 184*Chapter Six, pg. 215*Appendix A. Persons and Places Mentioned in the Text, pg. 241*Appendix B. Translations from Other Okagami Textual Lines, pg. 295*Appendix C. Chronology of the Okagami Period, pg. 305*Appendix D. The Fujiwara Role in Japanese Court History from Kamatari to Michinaga, pg. 335*Figure 1. Heiankyo, pg. 357*Figure 2. The Greater Imperial Palace (Daidairi), pg. 358*Figure 3. The Imperial Residential Compound (Dairi), pg. 359*Figure 4. The Emperor's Residence (Seiryoden), pg. 360*List of Works Cited, pg. 361*Index, pg. 367

Read more less

Book Synopsis"The primary aim of this book is to give its readers an idea of the places Thoreau describes in his own books. The importance of those places will depend upon the readers' critical views of Thoreau. To those who read him literally, the maps will provide a convenient way of following his travels in Massachusetts, Maine, Canada, Cape Cod, Minnesota--Table of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. v*List of Illustrations, pg. vi*Acknowledgments, pg. vii*Introduction, pg. ix*Thoreau's Travels, Map 1, pg. 1*A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Maps 2, 3, pg. 5*Walden, Maps 4, 5, 6, pg. 5*The Maine Woods, Maps 7, 8, 9, pg. 13*Cape Cod, Maps 10,11,12,13, pg. 18*A Yankee in Canada, Maps 14,15,16,17, pg. 26*The Journal, Maps 18,19, 20, pg. 33*The Minnesota Journey, Maps 21,22,23, pg. 41*Notes on the Maps, pg. 46*A Chronology of Thoreau's Travels, pg. 49*Index, pg. 52

Read more less

Book SynopsisBy a judicious use of psychoanalytic concepts, Richard Onorato interprets the Wordsworth revealed in the poem The Prelude and relates the problems of poetic autobiography to those of personality. Originally published in 1971. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print boTable of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*Preface, pg. vii*Contents, pg. xi*I. The Nature of the Problem, pg. 1*II. From "Tintern Abbey" to The Prelude, pg. 29*III. Beginnings That Became The Prelude, pg. 88*IV. Imagination and Revelation, pg. 136*V. Memories and Imaginings, pg. 164*VI. The World beyond the Vale, pg. 220*VII. Men and History, pg. 286*VIII. Conclusion: Arab, Wanderer, Druid, Christian, pg. 368*Appendix, pg. 405*Bibliography, pg. 421*Index, pg. 429

Read more less