An intriguing untangling of a complex theorist, with a Marxist spin.
A new work that seeks to reconcile an academic socialist author with the foundational works of socialism.
Leonard (Legal Studies as Cultural Studies, 1995) here undertakes the ambitious project of re-evaluating and resituating Indian philosopher Spivak’s works in the context of writings by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Lenin and Mao Zedong. Spivak is the author of many Marxist, deconstructionist, feminist and post-colonial works, and Leonard shows her as a figure that represents the Marxist intellectual in capitalist society as a whole. He clearly delineates his position using a 1965 Spivak editorial from the Chinese newspaper Renmin Ribao titled “All Our Work is for the Revolution,” which Leonard edited for inclusion here. He characterizes this editorial as a contribution to the type of socialism outlined in Mao’s writings, and then presents “a careful examination, study, analysis, review, commentary on, and evaluation or ‘hearing’ of the ‘texts’ of Spivak.” In his analysis, he draws on Lenin’s contention that works from a revolutionary society are “infested” by the “miasmas of [capitalism’s] decaying corpse”: “Our problem is therefore not whether this miasma can speak [in Spivak’s writing]—for it can, and it does—but rather what it is, at once, trying to say and trying not to say about the strange relationships at work in the murky depths of…the capitalist system.” This work isn’t an ideal introduction to Spivak, steeped as it is in Leonard’s own interpretations, but it is a valuable text for those interested in an in-depth Marxist/Maoist reading of an author. Leonard’s approach to Spivak is politically and intellectually illuminating, and both author and his subject certainly deserve consideration from the careful reader.
An intriguing untangling of a complex theorist, with a Marxist spin.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1490349800
Page Count: 488
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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