A principal virtue of this scholarly but animated and accessible biography of the Scottish polymath Adam Smith is that it puts paid to any notion Smith was either a single-issue crusader or an ivory-tower intellectual. As Ross (coeditor of the great Scot's correspondence) makes clear, Smith was an engaged man of the world equally at home with clergy, literati, peers of the realm, merchants, and politicians. Nor did Smith confine himself to classical economics, an academic discipline he helped establish and define, but also lectured and wrote on astronomy, ethics, jurisprudence, philology, rhetoric, and other of the liberal arts. A lifelong bachelor, he was born in Kirkcaldy in 1723. Educated at Glasgow University and Oxford's Balliol College, Smith was invited to Edinburgh in 1748 to give courses in belles lettres and history. Appointed a professor at Glasgow three years later, he became an intimate friend of philosopher David Hume, whose empiricist doctrines influenced his first published book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759). He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1760 and began his magnum opus, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, soon after. Published in 1776, it proved a landmark treatise that expounded on division of labor, free trade, self- interest, and a host of other precepts of laissez-faire capitalism. Though wary of government and opposed to mercantilism, Smith became Scotland's commissioner of customs, a financially rewarding post. He died in 1790, and at his behest, more than a dozen unfinished manuscripts were burned to prevent posthumous publication. With a minimum of pedantic intrusions, Ross makes a masterly job not only of putting Smith in the context of his turbulent times, but also of shedding light on his humane subject's wide- ranging contributions to Western thought. (20 halftones, not seen)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-19-828821-2
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1995
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
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
