Lewis, a member of Princeton's Near Eastern Studies Department and one of the great scholars of Semitic history, demonstrates that the best elementary generalizations about a subject are provided by the most deeply learned. The three short essays which form this book originally comprised a set of lectures at Yeshiva University in 1974; they present a set of broad postulates about how societies use history, illustrated with reference to Jewish and Islamic history. Lewis distinguishes between "remembered" history (that which supplements the traditions of a society or keeps alive a sense of solidarity with origins) and "invented" history (that which is purposefully used to change the future by changing the perception of the common past). Between or outside of these lies "recovered" history — the more specialized result of scholarly endeavor. Lewis shows how "recovered" history is necessarily influenced by the other two as the scholar responds to the pressures of his own societal or political experience. He doesn't shrink from a certain partisanship as be warns of of the questionable value placed by Jews on Israeli heroism (as embodied in the newly refurbished cult of the Masada) and takes Muslim historians to task for recent enthusiasm for denouncing the work of Western scholars on the Middle East. Unlike E.H. Cart or R.G. Collingwood, Lewis doesn't venture into broad issues of historical theory or epistemology; he stays firmly on the path of common sense illuminated by uncommon knowledge.
Pub Date: April 9, 1975
ISBN: 0671620703
Page Count: 111
Publisher: Princeton Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1975
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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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