A prodigious, fascinating effort that needs a stronger unifying narrative to make it more readable.
A comprehensive, detailed study of life, the economy, and politics in the United States on the eve of the Civil War.
First-time author Hahn aims to provide a context for the Civil War that goes beyond the well-known issues of slavery and states’ rights. He analyzes the political climate and cultural changes of the United States just prior to the Civil War and considers “how the people…worked and lived” in an attempt to reach a fuller understanding of the times without being overly biased by contemporary views. Hahn makes clear that the country was not just growing at an unprecedented rate, it was also developing a radically new society—a democracy in an era of empires and a literate, progressive society in a world of hidebound traditions. Hahn catalogs these developments with a prodigious array of census data and contemporary accounts from letters, newspapers, and even novels. Early chapters cover resources, technology, infrastructure, domestic life, and education. Later ones deal with communication, religion, finance, and military preparedness. Hovering over it all, of course, is slavery, and the author examines economic facts as well as prevailing attitudes in the North and South. To unify his themes, Hahn ends with a discussion of the 1860 presidential election and the inevitable consequences of the election of Abraham Lincoln. This book has some significant flaws, however. There are no charts, graphs, or maps. All of the quantitative information is relayed in the text. This frequently makes for ponderous reading. Hahn also tends to overstuff chapters without supplying adequate transitions. As a result, the information becomes choppy and disjointed.
A prodigious, fascinating effort that needs a stronger unifying narrative to make it more readable.Pub Date: Dec. 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-0692253670
Page Count: 538
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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