From alpha to omega, an engrossing account.
How one book changed English history.
You may think Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth is the most important work of English literature, but Bobrick (Angel in the Whirlwind, 1997, etc.) is out to show you that the English translations of the Bible have actually been far more influential. And from the very first chapter, his argument is delightful and informative. We meet John Wycliffe, a theologian and philosopher who stirred up particular controversy with his challenges to the traditional doctrine of the Eucharist: Bobrick paints a charming portrait of 14th-century Oxford, where Wycliffe spent most of his adult life living in thatched cottages with mud floors, dining on thin soup, owning few books, and participating in some of the world’s first town and gown rivalries. A reformer before the Reformation, Wycliffe disdained indulgences, hated the corrupt wealth of many monasteries, and wanted English people to be able to read the Bible in English for themselves. He inspired the 1382 Wycliffe Bible, translated from the Latin by Nicholas Hereford and other disciples. Next we meet Tyndale, who in the 16th century translated the Bible into accessible and brisk prose. Then comes King James. Around the end of Elizabeth’s reign, there was agitation for a new translation. James convened a committee to translate the Bible anew, giving us the King James Version, which, says Bobrick, “held undisputed sway in the English-speaking world for more than two centuries.” The English Bibles were not just literarily influential; they were politically influential too—for, according to Bobrick, the radical doctrine that each individual was to interpret Scripture as he sees fit led directly to the English revolution. Five useful indices—which chart, inter alia, the chronology of the Bible from Old Testament times, the chronology of English Bibles, and comparative translations—are included.
From alpha to omega, an engrossing account.Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-684-84747-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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