Perhaps too wide-ranging, but proficiently covers enormous cultural and literary territory.
Another thorough survey of Spanish history and culture by accomplished British scholar Kamen (Empire: How Spain Became a World Power, 2003, etc.), focusing on the essential experience of mass exile over four decades in forming Spanish identity.
Throughout its modern history, writes the author, Spain has impoverished itself by expelling its cultural minorities: among others, the Jews in 1492, the Muslims in 1609; Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits in the 16th century; the diaspora of the intellectual elite in the 1930s. “In other nations, the people arrive,” writes Kamen, “in Spain they depart.” Working chronologically, the author guides the reader through successive stages of migration from the country, forced or otherwise, as the sense of alienation didn’t always mean expulsion from the homeland but also included the desire to become an expatriate or internal exile. Once power was consolidated by Isabella and Ferdinand, they were not prepared to deal with the political rivalry of the conversos, or Jews who had converted to Christianity because of decades of anti-Semitism in medieval Spain. The newly established Inquisition decided questions of “heresy” (up until the 19th century) and essentially isolated the country from its European neighbors. The strongest chapters examine the Jewish and Muslim expulsions, the cultural vacuum they produced and the Sephardic customs the exiles left and took with them. One of Kamen’s central theses is that some of the most important and memorable works of art and literature by Spaniards have been written in exile. In the Romantic era, absolutism annihilated the Spanish literati, while the intellectual elite would again be forced out with the reaction to the Spanish American War and through the anarchic violence of the Spanish Civil War. Kamen also ably navigates Hispanic culture and uneasy relations with the United States.
Perhaps too wide-ranging, but proficiently covers enormous cultural and literary territory.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-073086-4
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2007
A sharply different deconstruction of the prevailing orthodoxy, worthy of attention.
Leverett (International Affairs/Pennsylvania State Univ.; Inheriting Syria: Bashir's Trial by Fire, 2005) and his wife, Hillary, argue that, unless it changes, “the United States’ Iran policy is locked in a trajectory…that will ultimately lead to war.”
The authors take on what they identify as “a powerful mythology” that continues to influence U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic—primarily, the proposition that because it is unpopular, the regime “is in imminent danger of being overthrown.” They offer an alternative to the prevailing view that Khomeini and his supporters hijacked the liberal revolution that began in 1978 and “betrayed the aspirations of those who actually carried out the campaign that deposed the shah.” The Leveretts take issue with American policymakers who propose that the U.S. should advocate the overthrow of the present regime in favor of liberal democracy. They believe in the possibility of negotiating with the present regime. The authors dispute the view that the mullahs have done nothing for the population and lack support, showing how literacy, health and medical care have been upgraded and the economy developed. They highlight present concerns about the Iranian nuclear program, which they claim are exaggerated. They identify the continuing influence of the neoconservatives, who brought about the second Iraq war, and “liberal internationalists,” who are ready to deploy military force in support of human rights. They believe that the time has come for an initiative like Nixon's visit to Beijing to begin a change in course.
A sharply different deconstruction of the prevailing orthodoxy, worthy of attention.Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9419-0
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Metropolitan/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.
A highly instructive exploration of “current affairs and…the immediate future of human societies.”
Having produced an international bestseller about human origins (Sapiens, 2015, etc.) and avoided the sophomore jinx writing about our destiny (Homo Deus, 2017), Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) proves that he has not lost his touch, casting a brilliantly insightful eye on today’s myriad crises, from Trump to terrorism, Brexit to big data. As the author emphasizes, “humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better. Every person, group, and nation has its own tales and myths.” Three grand stories once predicted the future. World War II eliminated the fascist story but stimulated communism for a few decades until its collapse. The liberal story—think democracy, free markets, and globalism—reigned supreme for a decade until the 20th-century nasties—dictators, populists, and nationalists—came back in style. They promote jingoism over international cooperation, vilify the opposition, demonize immigrants and rival nations, and then win elections. “A bit like the Soviet elites in the 1980s,” writes Harari, “liberals don’t understand how history deviates from its preordained course, and they lack an alternative prism through which to interpret reality.” The author certainly understands, and in 21 painfully astute essays, he delivers his take on where our increasingly “post-truth” world is headed. Human ingenuity, which enables us to control the outside world, may soon re-engineer our insides, extend life, and guide our thoughts. Science-fiction movies get the future wrong, if only because they have happy endings. Most readers will find Harari’s narrative deliciously reasonable, including his explanation of the stories (not actually true but rational) of those who elect dictators, populists, and nationalists. His remedies for wildly disruptive technology (biotech, infotech) and its consequences (climate change, mass unemployment) ring true, provided nations act with more good sense than they have shown throughout history.
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-51217-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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