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THE LIFE OF ADAM SMITH

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

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NUTCRACKER

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

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

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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