Book Description
This first biography of General George A. Custer was published late in 1876, only months after the disaster at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. A Complete Life was the beginning of a legend, and Frderick Whittaker did more than anyone else except Libby Custer to make the flamboyant Boy General a permanent resident of the national consciousness.
Quite aside from its contribution to the public image of Custer, this important book placed him and his associates against a concrete background of onrushing events. Drawing on newspaper reports and the general's own words, Whittaker captures the excitement of the era. Continuing the story of Custer from Volume 1, which dealt with his childhood in Ohio, cadetship at West Point, courtship of Elizabeth Bacon, and service as a cavalryman in the Civil War, Volume 2 takes Custer west to head up the newly created Seventh Cavalry and fight the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Kiowas, and Sioux. Whittaker gives full scope to Custer's brushes with authority, his changeable relations with his troops, and his famous expeditions, ending with a memorable description of his last stand at the Little Big Horn in June 1876.
Customer Reviews:
I just want to share summaries with other costomers.......2002-12-18
I just want to share summaries with other costomers
I just want to share summaries with other costomers.......2002-12-18
I just want to share summaries with other costomers
Informative; Authentic; Required reading for Custerophiles!.......1998-08-30
Published six months after Custer's death, Frederick Whittaker's "A Complete Life of General George A. Custer" traces the American icon's life from his boyhood in Ohio through his cadet years at West Point, his Civil War exploits, his impressive rise to the rank of Major General of cavalry in the Army of the Potomac and his transition to the peacetime army. All the foundation elements of the Custer story are stated in Vol. I of Whittaker's book. They are supported by the first person accounts of Custer and other of his peers, and in my opinion, clearly define the reasons for Custer being rightfully considered a genuine, homegrown American hero based on his Civil War exploits alone! [See also: "Custer Victorious"/Urwin; "Custer and His Wolverines"/Longacre; "Touched by Fire"/Barnett] My reading of this book was enriched by the fact that, as a Custer contemporary, Whittaker was not only in touch with the the 19th century ambience, but that he had the added advantages of active service as a trooper in the 6th New York Cavalry and access to Custer's papers, Civil War memoirs and personal anecdotes through his collaboration with Custer's widow, Elizabeth. As a result, the book is replete with knowledgeable commentaries on the customs, mores and military standards of the times. Of special interest to me were the final three chapters devoted to Custer's transition from the wartime to the peacetime army [Book Six, Chapters 1-3]. In these chapters Whittaker gives a clear and perceptive overview of the postwar military structure; the social psychology of the men Custer would come to command; the negative public perception of the postwar enlistee; the deficiencies in the formation of the 7th Cavalry; and the intense political intrigues which seem to surround and infect the military, particularly in peacetime. [For a contemporary example, see "Patton: A Genius for War"/D'Este]. In a clear and interesting fashion Whittaker enunciates the undercurrents which produced the "four D's" (demoralization; disobedience; dipsomania; desertion) which Custer had no part in creating but over which he was expected to exert appropriate control. Whittaker makes it clear that it was Custer's efforts in this direction, coupled with his own naivete, that set the stage for many of his future difficulties with the command structure. Whittaker's "A Complete Life of General George A. Custer" is the spiritual and intellectual great granddaddy of most subsequent writings on the subject. I found that, in spite of its venerability, the book is still productive of provocative thought pieces. As an example, it contains perhaps the first published mention of Custer having been offered a full colonelcy in the 9th Cavalry, a black regiment, which he allegedly refused , ". . .preferring a lower step to a lower grade of service. . ." One may speculate as to how the acceptance of that command might have influenced Custer's subsequent career. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the acceptance of command of a black regiment (the 94th Massachusetts) provided an upward step for Col. Robert Gould Shaw, and Gen. John J. Pershing's early command experience with the all-black 10th Cavalry Regiment (and the resulting sobriquet "Black Jack") may well have called attention to this officer and advanced his career. In spite of Whittaker's lapses into florid prose and blatant hero-worship, I found Volume I of his complete biography of Custer to be emminently readable and informative. I would highly recommend this as a "must-read" for both Custerophile and casual history reader alike.
Book Description
Considered by many to be Abraham Robinson's magnum opus, this book offers an explanation of the development and applications of non-standard analysis by the mathematician who founded the subject. Non-standard analysis grew out of Robinson's attempt to resolve the contradictions posed by infinitesimals within calculus. He introduced this new subject in a seminar at Princeton in 1960, and it remains as controversial today as it was then. This paperback reprint of the 1974 revised edition is indispensable reading for anyone interested in non-standard analysis. It treats in rich detail many areas of application, including topology, functions of a real variable, functions of a complex variable, and normed linear spaces, together with problems of boundary layer flow of viscous fluids and rederivations of Saint-Venant's hypothesis concerning the distribution of stresses in an elastic body.
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- Excelent, you must get it now.
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Abraham Robinson
Joseph W. Dauben
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Non-standard Analysis
ASIN: 069105911X |
Book Description
One of the most prominent mathematicians of the twentieth century, Abraham Robinson discovered and developed nonstandard analysis, a rigorous theory of infinitesimals that he used to unite mathematical logic with the larger body of historic and modern mathematics. In this first biography of Robinson, Joseph Dauben combines an explanation of Robinson's revolutionary achievements in pure and applied mathematics with a description of his odyssey from Hitler's Germany to the United States via conflict-ridden Palestine and wartime Europe. "This masterpiece of scientific biography presents the eventful life and the pioneering work of a remarkable figure of twentieth-century pure and applied mathematics as well as symbolic logic. [A] well-written and most carefully researched text [that is] enlightening and delightful to read. Dauben alternates two narratives, biography and the progression of science, not omitting daily and academic life, and their background in general and cultural history, of the stations of Robinson's odyssey.... The book is bound to become an indispensable source for future historical work." --Detlef Laugwitz, Mathematical Reviews "Robinson, who expressed a certain Opreference for "glamour,"' led a life that is interesting for its own sake. Dauben's account of it is engrossingly intimate." --Albert C. Lewis, Isis
Customer Reviews:
Excelent, you must get it now........2000-03-26
This is a detailed and extensive biography of Abraham Robinson, from his chilhood to his life in Yale. A well-writen and most carefully researched text that is a plesure to read. I love this book, specialy chapter four, Robinson war years, and chapter eigth, when he was is UCLA. You don't have to read Robinsons "Non-Standard Analysis" to apreciate this book, but knowing the implication in modern mathematics of it will help. All in all, a superb biography and specially great for epistemology of non-standard analysis.
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Selected Papers of Abraham Robinson, Volume 1: Model Theory and Algebra
Abraham Robinson , and
H.J. Keisler
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0300020716 |
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Jackie Robinson (Welcome Books)
Philip Abraham
Manufacturer: Children's Press (CT)
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Helen Keller (Real People)
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Time For Kids: Jackie Robinson: Strong Inside and Out (Time For Kids)
ASIN: 0516236059 |
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Abraham Went Out: A Biography of A.J. Muste
Jo Ann O. Robinson
Manufacturer: Temple Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Civil Rights
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ASIN: 0877225605 |
Customer Reviews:
Not so good biography.......1998-10-26
While Ms. Robinson offers a good short bio of Muste in Peace Heroes of Twentieth-Century America, here her writing is worse. Muste was a pacifist who supported many solid causes and some questionable ones, like when he opposed World War II. The biography is written in a less than clear style and jumps around far too much to be really readable.
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Abraham Lincoln As A Man Of Letters
Luther Emerson Robinson
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1432630806 |
Book Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.
Product Description
First edition
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Complete theories (Studies in logic and the foundations of mathematics)
Abraham Robinson
Manufacturer: North-Holland Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: B0006EUO8I |
Book Description
This trailblazing book provides a comprehensive view of the ethical issues that cut across the addiction field, from Employee Assistance Programs to treatment and aftercare. By addressing probing questions that illuminate today's complex ethical landscape, LeClair Bissell and James Royce explore how standard guidelines for professional conduct benefit counselors and clients alike.
Customer Reviews:
Good Book.......2006-08-14
Ethics is the most important aspect of the profession of addiction treatment. there are many out there that are harming their clients due to not practicing ethically. This book provides a framework for ethics of the field, however you must always continue to treat each client and situation in an individual and creative manner. Aspire to be the best and most ethical in all areas of your practice and you will be rewarded immensely. Recommended as an introduction to ethics.
Ethics For Addiction Professionals-Second Edition.......2006-08-13
I think that this is an excellent book that helps to provide the necessary guidance to an addiction professional. It would be great, if perhaps, there could be a workshop created by these individuals. I am recommending that a workshop be developed within my agency, and I will be using this book as my primary resource.
Served its purpose!.......2006-07-05
I needed this book for a class. The book served its purpose. Although it is a bit out of date the info continues to be relevant. Got an A in the class!
A great start.......1999-10-15
Bissell and Royce have provided a much needed resource in this area. Especially pertinent are the sections addressing the competence of "recovered" addicts to counsel others. I would like to have seen some space devoted to analysis of case studies, such as the ones that were merely presented in the appendix. Perhaps in a future volume?
Book Description
Quantity food presentation made easy . . . and irresistible!
When it comes to preparing and presenting food in quantity, having limited time or resources doesnt have to mean limiting the imaginationif you know the secrets of Arranging Food Beautifully.
This unique guide equips you with a stunning array of practical and effective techniques for presenting hot and cold food attractively on trays, buffets, and steam table lines. Expertly blending art and skill, it shares countless ideas on how to use color, composition, texture, props, and garnishes to enhance the presentation of items from every part of the menu. Whether you work in a catering, deli, institutional, hospitality, or other foodservice setting, youll delight in these simple suggestions that take minutes and cost pennies. Clear step-by-step instructions, plus dozens of how-to illustrations and photographs make the job easy, and taste panel-approved recipes show you exactly how to get started. From tasteful touches to bold thematic inspiration, youll find a cornucopia of creative possibilities in Arranging Food Beautifully.
Customer Reviews:
Arranging Food Beautifully.......2007-03-08
I will be using this book as a reference for the Dining Room of the Club. The pictures are very good as well as the instructions for accomplishing Food Artwork.
A good start, but..........2006-09-11
I bought this book looking for something to pass along to employees and friends that dealt with food-styling and decoration. Specifically I was looking for tips on decorating steam tables and the food contained therein.
This book claims to cover this but falls apart shortly after it begins. So...
What this book does right:
1) It gives a few simple recipes that are wonderful canvasses on which to decorate...
2)There are a number of color plates illustrating some basic concepts of art and color...
What this book does wrong:
1) It gives recipes; if I wanted recipes I could opt for a book like "Food for 50" or a competent professional cookbook; yes they are more expensive but they also have a lot more recipes and concepts.
2) The color plates are used to illustrate only finished examples and basic concepts. It would have been so much better to keep the "food porn" to a minimum and instead illustrate steps and garnishes from the book.
3) The pencil illustrations, while very artsy, do little to illustrate "how-to" and instead contribute to the "porn" aspect of the book.
I would say, if you're looking for a book on garnishing get one of the books by Harvey Rosen or a book from Wei-Chuan publishing. If you are looking for buffet recipes get a copy of "Food for 50" or "Modern Garde Manger"... While not a complete waste of money I'd pass this one by...
Disappointed.......2003-09-22
This book was very disappointing. If you are just starting out in the food service industry, then I guess this is okay for you; but if you are Veteran in the business, you probally already know how to arrange a table for presentation. This book also contained far too many recipe, perhaps it should be classified as a cook book. Definetly not worth the money!
Not especially helpful with garnishing.......2001-09-07
I agree with the other reviewer. While this is a lovely book, it was not what I was expecting or hoping for. I found it lacking in illustrations.
Arranging Food Beautifully.......2000-09-07
I am starting a catering business and I was looking for a book which was focused on presenting foods on the buffet table. This book did include several helpful photographs but the book had too many receipes and not enough helpful hints on presentation.
Average customer rating:
- Not Only the Beautiful Ones
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Endangered and Threatened Animals of Texas: Their Life History and Management
Linda Campbell
Manufacturer: Texas Parks and Wildlife Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1885696043 |
Book Description
Texas possesses an incredibly rich and diverse natural heritage. Its natural assets include 181 species of mammals, 247 species of freshwater fish, and 576 species of birds, living in mountains, deserts, forests, prairies, wetlands, and coastal beaches. While state and federal agencies can provide technical guidance in managing these natural resources, the survival of ecosystems and species will depend on informed Texans who care about and want to help protect the unique natural diversity found only in Texas.
This book describes all the mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates in Texas that are listed as endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Following a description of each animal and its habitat and life history, the author covers the threats to the animal, the reasons for its decline, recovery efforts in its behalf, and resources for more information and public involvement.
As the state agency responsible for the stewardship of the state's wildlife resources, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), through the Endangered Species Program of the Resource Protection Division, seeks to provide current, accurate, and useful information to landowners and managers, educators, and the public concerning endangered and threatened species. This book is an important part of that ongoing effort.
Customer Reviews:
Not Only the Beautiful Ones.......2000-04-01
Sure, everybody is concerned about the endangered status of whooping cranes, ocelots, and bald eagles -- and so is Linda Campbell. But her book --Endangered and Threatened Animals of Texas -- deals with many more species than those high-profile ones with which the public has already become familiar. Toads, bats, snakes, even cave-dwelling spiders are every bit as important to the great web of life as are their more celebrated fellow creatures; and Linda Campbell is quick to point this out. Her book, in addition to its beautiful photography and well-researched zoological data, contains workable management plans for the conservation of ALL of the Lone Star State's threatened species -- even the less cuddly ones. Anyone who truly wants to know what animals are in danger, and what they can do to help preserve them, should read this book.
Book Description
Written by Joel Gerson, the industryÆs leading authority on skin care, MiladyÆs Standard Textbook for Professional Estheticians brings instructors and students, all the latest industry education required to successfully prepare students for state licensing exams and professional careers in the diversified areas of skin care, including the cosmetic industry. Students will acquire a thorough understanding of both the theory and practice of all pertinent subjects dealing with skin care and the application of cosmetics.
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Gardens of a Golden Afternoon: The Story of a Partnership: Edward Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll; Updated Edition
Jane Brown
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Lutyens, Edwin Landseer
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ASIN: 0140175636 |
Book Description
Single-parent families are now more common than their so-called "nuclear" counterparts, but single parents whether mother, father, or grandparent experience special challenges and stresses that are not always easy to address. This slim, accessible guide written by a well-known family therapist provides practical ideas for facing and overcoming these challenges. Easy-to-use techniques include sharing decision-making with children, developing family rituals and traditions, listening effectively to children of different ages, balancing the pressures of work and home, making the family a team, finding time to play, discovering common ground, and negotiating and establishing boundaries.
Customer Reviews:
Small bites of wisdom to ease single parent family life.......2003-09-05
Highly experienced -- and very wise -- child and family psychologist Barry G. Ginsberg, Ph.D., has written a short book that covers a vast territory. Any single parent who is struggling with the burden of childrearing all alone, whether new to the role or not, would pick up insights here. There are really more than "50 wonderful ways" described clearly and realistically in these pages. What parent couldn't benefit from being reminded of what matters and what can be let go of in the interests of a more positive and happy family life? Ginsberg has left nothing important out -- and has included many anecdotes, specific suggestions, and more. Busy parents will particularly relax in the presence of Ginsberg's warm and supportive tone.
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Marc Chagall: Origins and Paths (Art & Design)
Marc Chagall ,
Roland Doschka ,
Francoise Dumont ,
Meret Meyer , and
Belgium) Salle Saint-Georges (Liege
Manufacturer: Prestel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Chagall, Marc
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ASIN: 3791319892 |
Book Description
A fascinating memoir of refugee flight and survival, intellectual yet highly personal, by one America's eminent literary critics.
The Vienna Paradox is Marjorie Perloff's memoir of growing up in pre-World War II Vienna, her escape to America in 1938 with her upper-middle-class, highly cultured, and largely assimilated Jewish family, and her self-transformation from the German-speaking Gabriele Mintz to the English-speaking Marjoriewho also happened to be the granddaughter of Richard Schüller, the Austrian foreign minister under Chancellor Dollfuss and a special delegate to the League of Nations. Compelling as the story is, this is hardly a conventional memoir. Rather, it interweaves biographical anecdote and family history with speculations on the historical development of early 20th-century Vienna as it was experienced by her parents' generation, and how the loss of their "high" culture affected the lives of these cultivated refugees in a democratic United States that was, and remains, deeply suspicious of perceived "elitism." This is, in other words, an intellectual memoir, both elegant and heartfelt, by one of America's leading critics, a narrative in which literary and philosophical reference is as central as the personal.
Customer Reviews:
"5 Star Diamond".......2007-03-14
Marjorie Perloff's memoir was a complete pleasure from start to finish - it was a lucky accident for me that I came upon this gem.
Absolutely delightful - charming in all ways, along with being particularly outstanding in combining the author's areas of professional expertise as a first class literary critic with her memories of an earlier Vienna and the traces that remain. This is not meant to slight at all her sharp remembrances of the events of growing up and the succinct clarity with which she describes them.
Her memoir has many sections that point the reader to new areas for exploration: the Neue Gallery in NYC with its scintillating art collection (Schiele and Klimt), Arnold Schoenberg's writings and music, and the brilliant Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard, just to mention a few.
The other reviews do a thorough job of providing more details about this book. I'll add that Ms. Perloff, the complete professional, includes an excellent index, helpful notes to accompany the text, and thoughtful illustrations that augment the memoir. A quote from the book jacket's inside cover is particularly apt: "This is, in other words, an intellectual memoir, both elegant and heartfelt, by one of America's leading thinkers, a narrative in which literary and philosophical reference is as central as the personal."
Autobiography as Literary Criticism.......2004-12-11
I picked up a copy of The Vienna Paradox: A Memoir, by Marjorie Perloff because the idea of a memoir about Vienna intrigued me, and because I've always been enthralled by the critical mind of this noted and innovative literary scholar. After I'd read it, I ordered some more copies to bestow on friends, most of whom have no particular interest in Vienna whatsoever.
"Why are you giving me this book?" one of my more suspicious friends asked me. "What is there about this book that sets it apart from all the immigrant narratives, from all the nostalgic recounting of `old Vienna,' from all the other autobiographies that people turn to when they begin to realize that time is passing and whatever they don't set down will be forgotten?" The central distinction is this: Perloff doesn't just record her own experiences or those of her family and friends, she uses those experiences - the experiences of her extended family, experiences of other famous emigrants from Vienna, together with information about books, museums, websites, as well as restaurants, street guides and all kinds of other information - for other purposes than telling about her self. She's not seeking her own `roots,' but draws on those roots to examine some of the important and pressing questions that only a critic of the world with great experience, perspective and expertise can ask.
What Perloff is exploring with her delineation and examination of the civilization in which her family was nurtured and from which it was expelled is far more complex than just where she comes from, or even what really were the negative effects of the Holocaust. She is asking what are the functions, the potential and the limitations of civilization: what should we value in culture, what should we discard, what can we know, what can we improve, and what are the individual limitations. At one point Perloff quotes Wittgenstein
if we think of the world's future, we always mean where it will be if it keeps going as we see it going now and it doesn't occur to us that it is not going in a straight line but in a curve, constantly changing direction. (33)
The lessons from history are not imperatives for the future, and therefore every detail must be examined, and it is the role of the artist and the critic to perform this examination, and to edify . Therefore Perloff delineates the achievements, on all sides, of her family - their successful careers in Austria and elsewhere, their connections, their accomplishment throughout - but she also notes their failure to perceive and/or act within Austrian society to counter or prevent what was to come. Except for some foreign bank accounts that came in handy for the family after their escape in August of 1938, there seems to have been little understanding of the dangers inherent in the historical situation. If Grandfather Schuller was allowed into Italy because of a welcome from Mussolini to his former negotiator, it was not political foresight that made Schuller prepare an escape route for a Jew, but belief in Austria transcending personal considerations that saved him.
The technique of postmodern pastiche is everywhere, but it is not here an indication of the eradication of values. Perloff is an expert at weaving together associations, websites, museums, biography, memoir, gossip, lunch, poetry and making sense of them all. This pastiche is born from the sensibility of the multicultural, world-wise individual, comfortable everywhere in the universe. Perloff, in opposition to the refugee, the outsider, really believes in a society, but it is an ur society, which incorporates and transcends the differences. Her criticism of European disdain for American society, and American naiveté as to European society, is an attempt to bring the two together.
More than anything else, there is a love story in this autobiographical account -- it is a love story with America, that country that whatever its cultural limitations in comparison to the hoch kultur of Vienna, gave her and her family shelter and opportunity to thrive to such an extent that politics could be safely and comfortably ignored. Written after September 11, when the US is besieged not only by enemies without but also by the intelligentsia within, this book serves as a reminder of perspective. So that although it begins with the story of Arnold Schoenberg who despite his appreciation for the United States, never found in it a lasting and appreciative audience, it concludes with Adorno, who longed for the taste of European culture and returned there after the War.
The Viennese-Jewish-Refugee Identity Crunch.......2004-06-16
Marjorie Perloff, the noted and prolific literary critic and comparativist, has written a thoughtful introspection about the intersection of her life with the complexities of the fading Vienna of the 20's and thirties. It's a dizzying array of contrasts and passages: not only her (and her family's) adjustment to American society of the 1940;s and 1950's, but the passage of Arnold Schoenberg, and the contrast of John Cage and Schoenberg. Perloff sheds a personal light on the ambivalences towards Jewishness and the imperatives of conversions. The photographs of girls in dirndls and her prestigious grandfather in morning suit are stunning reminders of the power of illustration and the evocation of period. Though this is memoiristic, Perloff remains a literary critic and there are efforts to re-address Adorno and Gombrich (for example)in terms of their own refugee pasts. Marjorie Perloff changed her name from Gabriele to Marjorie, her school from PS 7 to the fashionable Fieldston, her academic address from Catholic University ultimately to Stanford. The book is about what change means, how it reiterates, to someone whose life was abruptly forced, by the Anschluss, into a totally new mode of looking at the world and thinking about it.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on January 1, 2005. The length of the article is 549 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Marjorie Perloff. The Vienna Paradox: a Memoir.(Book Review)
Author: Douglas Clayton
Publication:
World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2005
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 79
Issue: 1
Page: 111(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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