by Jeff Riggenbach ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2014
A well-researched study of American intellectual history through one of its most committed advocates.
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A sweeping biography of Joan Kennedy Taylor coupled with a history of the American individualist movement she helped craft.
Riggenbach, a senior fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute, has previously written two book-length histories: In Praise of Decadence (1998) and Why American History Is Not What They Say: An Introduction to Revisionism (2009). His third effort tackles Joan Kennedy Taylor, a friend and an admittedly little-known author/actress/psychotherapist who, despite her contributions to feminist and libertarian theory, is “not considered to be among the major theorists or practitioners of the libertarian and feminist creeds.” Her life, however, was deeply entangled in the unfolding of both: Riggenbach lucidly details her encounters with Ayn Rand and her schooling in objectivist philosophical principles; her commandeering of the important journal Persuasion until 1968; her long-coming break with the Republican Party; and her preoccupation in her later years with feminist theory and activism. The work splinters into essentially three parallel narratives: the historical ebbs and tides of American individualism, Taylor’s participation in its resurgence in the late 20th century and a biographical account of her own personal life. All three are handled with meticulous care, combining the investigative rigor of journalism with the intellectual breadth of academic scholarship. Particularly fascinating is an account of Taylor’s revisionist account of feminism’s history that, quite unconventionally, places it within the fold of individualist thought. The author concedes that, since his work uses Taylor’s life as a means to explicate individualism as a whole, it “does not qualify, strictly speaking, as a biography”; nevertheless, the narrative can sometimes become mired in personal details, including conflict with Taylor’s domineering mother or her failed first marriage. While interesting in themselves, these detours don’t help illuminate the intellectual movements at the center of the book’s purpose. Still, as someone who had a personal friendship with Taylor for a quarter-century, Riggenbach is well-positioned to provide such insights. Overall, the work is a model of historical clarity, reintroducing a woman whose not-so-minor life will enthrall readers. A foreword by Charles Murray is an added bonus.
A well-researched study of American intellectual history through one of its most committed advocates.Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0991417100
Page Count: 518
Publisher: Cook & Taylor
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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