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ON LANGUAGE

Name: ON LANGUAGE
Author: Rod Mengham
ISBN: 0-316-56671-3

DESCENT FROM THE TOWER OF BABEL

by Rod Mengham ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 1994

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In this challenging, provocative, and original multi- disciplinary study, Mengham (English/Cambridge) goes beyond linguistics, semantics, and philology, to consider language in the evolution of social life, from its mystical role in religion to its historical one in culture and its material one in economics. Mengham starts with an insightful analysis of the symbolism of Babel, the diversity and variety of languages, the special qualities of literary and even schizophrenic language, concluding that Babel represented a fortunate fall indeed. The shadow of Babel, representing primitive and unified language, hovers over the entire book. Mengham's primary interest is written language: its origins, variety, divergence from spoken language, spiritual and political significance, and its utility in preserving culture, carrying ideology, and extending power into alien cultures. He observes, for example, how the power of Paul's universal Greek helped Christianity overcome the Essenes, who used the dying Hebrew and Aramaic in the Dead Sea Scrolls. He offers grammars, lexicons, and dictionaries as expressions of universal authority in language, overcome by the differentiated language of class, nationality, and gender that arose during the age of revolutions in the 19th century. Among the most interesting and original observations are the parallels he draws between the history of language and the history of coinage; they occasion a chapter on the language of distribution, which parallels an earlier chapter on the distribution of language. His conclusion points up the dangers presented by the standardization of language in commercials and by the various processes of mechanization such as computers, an impoverishment of language resembling the form before Babel. With rich allusions to myth, superstition, religion, anthropology, a challenging and rewarding book, well worth the stretch it requires.

Pub Date: April 4, 1994

ISBN: 0-316-56671-3

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1994

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

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

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.