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A STUDY OF HISTORY

Name: A STUDY OF HISTORY
Author: Arnold J. Toynbee
ISBN: 0195050819

VOLS: VII THROUGH X

by Arnold J. Toynbee ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1954

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This does not presume to be a review or even an analysis of the final four volumes of the stupendous study projected in 1921, and in process- with a period of interruption caused by the war- from that day to this. American readers know the earlier volumes chiefly through the abridgement by D. C. Somervell of volumes I through VII, a text which even in that concentrated form changed the thinking and rechanneled the philosophy of history for most readers. The period of relative inactivity, so far as his Study of History was concerned was a period when the world was transformed, when discoveries in archaeology altered conceptions of the ancient world, when the cataclysm of revolution and war gave new dimensions to the modern world, when scientific discoveries gave new dimensions to the spiritual and material universe. Dr. Toynbee felt his way back to his project, recast his plan, and the current four volumes are the outcome. Universal States; Universal Churches; Heroic Ages; Contacts Between Civilizations in Space — In Time; Law and Freedom in History; The Prospects of the Western Civilization; The Inspiration of Historians- such are the main headings under the basic plan of the book. Conclusions, problematical in 1929, seemed closer of arrival in 1950, unpalatable though they might be. "A now ubiquitous Western Society held the fate of all Mankind in its hands at a moment when one man in Moscow and one man in Washington...could detonate an atom bomb....An inquiry into the prospects of the Western Civilization was a necessary part of a 20th century study of History." To any budding historian or serious scholar, a close study of Toynbee is basic to the challenge historical research poses today.

Pub Date: June 15, 1954

ISBN: 0195050819

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1954

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.