Oxford philosopher/historian Berlin's strangest book, one that he set aside 25 years ago and had no wish to return to until editor Hardy intervened. Nor is this labeled as part of his "history of ideas" series (Against the Current, 1982; The Crooked Timber of Humanity, 1991; etc.). Hardy encountered a collection of draft material dating from the 1960s that Berlin had written about J.G. Hamann (1730-88), beloved by Kant and Goethe, and decided to collate it, along with missing passages later found on dictabelts. Berlin makes clear from the beginning that he has little sympathy for Hamann, despite his importance as an enemy of the Enlightenment, leader in the romantic revolt against universalism and the scientific method, and spearhead of the rise of modern irrationalism. (The closest 20th-century equivalent would be D.H. Lawrence with his mysticism of the blood and hatred of all philosophers and artists who to his mind insulted the natural forces he worshipped.) Hamann was part of the great tide of German mysticism erupting from Jacob Bohme. A trauma in his young manhood led Hamann to reread the Bible entire, and he arose from this experience seeing God everywhere, in everything, and regarding human beings' hunger for classification and order as a terrible distortion of the divine spirit. Berlin describes him as the only "wholly original critic of modern times," but points out his spiritual shortcomings and intense stupidity, which somehow contributed to his genius. Critical yet fair scrutiny gives new life to an attractive, even Blakean figure who anticipated the Industrial Revolution's dark satanic mills.
Pub Date: May 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-374-19657-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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