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HISTORY

Name: HISTORY
Author: Bernard Lewis
ISBN: 0671620703

REMEMBERED, RECOVERED, INVENTED (TOUCHSTONE BOOKS)

by Bernard Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 9, 1975

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
NOTES ON A CENTURY
by Bernard Lewis with Buntzie Ellis Churchill

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CRISIS OF ISLAM
by Bernard Lewis

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MULTIPLE IDENTITIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
by Bernard Lewis

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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.