Master book list

Anthropology 10 Archaeology 13
Architecture 15
Art and Design 18 Autobiography and Memoirs 22
Biography 25
Children's Books 31 Diaries and Letters 36 Drama 41
Economics 47
Feminism 49
Fiction 51
Crime Fiction and Thrillers 51
Novels 54
Science Fiction 66 Short Stories 67 Film 71
Food and Drink 74
Geography and the Environment 77
History 79
American History 79 Ancient History 82
Asian, African and Middle Eastern History 84 British History 87
European History 90 Latin American History 92
World History 93 Home and Garden 94 Humour 96
Literary Criticism 99
Mathematics. Science and Technology 102 Media 107
Medicine and Psychiatry 109
Music 111
Mythology 114
Natural History 117
Occult and Paranormal 121
Philosophy 123
Poetry 127
Politics 133
Psychology 136
Reference 138
Religion 142
Sex and Love 145 Sociology 147
Travel and Exploration 150
Index 155
Introduction
The intention of this book is to furnish an -imaginary library" of some three thousand volumes in which a reasonably literate
person can hope to find both instruction and inspiration, art and amusement. It was Andre Malraux who first coined the term
"muse'e imaginaire" to describe the choice of the world's art which a man might make to furnish his own private museum.
Modern printing, Malraux proceeded to argue, has actually made such a collection a practical possibility. Masterpieces which
men of the eighteenth century and before had to travel to see are now within the reach of all who can afford a postcard or a
newspaper supplement. Mechanical reproduction has removed art from the hands of the few and made it accessible to all.
Printing has done the same for books: the paperback is scarcely more expensive than the fine art print.
Our problem is no longer one of access; it is more likely to be one of choice. How are we to choose among the thousands of
available titles? To enter a library is immediately to be seized by a kind of panic; one risks starving among such plenty. The
confession that one does not know what to read next, or where to begin in an unfamiliar subject, is shameful in a society in
which nobody wishes to be a beginner and where naivete is likely to earn the scorn accorded to all newcomers. This book seeks
to be a kind of reader's ticket to that immense library which man (dedicated or venal, brilliant or dogged, wise or witty) has put
together ever since he first began to leave a written record of his experiences and his opinions.
Our first notion was to supply lists of unadorned titles in each of the standard library categories. But to give no information
about the books proposed would be to leave the reader in the bemused condition of a guest at a crowded party to whom the host
has nothing more to say than "You know everybody here, of course". So we decided that it was essential to give a brief account
of each recommended book, however laughable or superficial an authority might find it. We have tried to be as specific as
possible in the information conveyed, in order to avoid the kind of Shorter Notice which once said of Ezra Pound's Cantos that
some were good and some were bad.
The method we adopted, in order to make our cull, was to ask our collaborators (for whose generosity and learning we cannot
say enough) to make lists in the categories in which they were expert. (The categories began as standard Dewey headings, but
gradually shifted and changed to accommodate a wider range both of interests and of books. They are now perhaps arbitrary,
but, we hope, comfortably commodious.) We limited our collaborators to a given number of books, though we recognized that
this limitation, like giving only so many visas to a huge concourse of worthy people, was bound to lead to unhappy exclusions.
Many good things found no place in our narrow lifeboat. In particular, we have excluded technical books accessible only to
specialists: a necessary restriction, reflecting the inevitable distinction between a menu and a list of all available forms of
nutriment. We then circulated the lists among friends and those who were willing to lend us their time, so that no single person
was, in the end, exclusively responsible in any given department. (The editorial decision was, however, final.
Acknowledgements our collaborators deserve; the blame is ours.) Mavericks and texts of perhaps marginal value thus
scrambled their way aboard, sometimes at the expense of worthy work which more blandly covered similar ground. It is,
therefore, no scandal not to find your favourite (or your own) book in these pages: we are not judging, though we have been
obliged to choose.
This is in short, an imaginary library, not the imaginary library.
It can, and should, be supplemented by further reading and broader research. (We have indicated, wherever possible, books
with informative bibliographies: often these will provide an ancillary or alternative list, the part thus standing for the whole.) If
first publication leads to a sort of informed common pursuit whereby new volumes are proposed for future editions, something
more interesting, more exciting, may well be on the way. As for how The List of Books can best be read, we propose no
prescription. One may browse; one may plough. We have made the index a straightforward author index, trying to imagine who
a frustrated reader might be looking for, rather than merely supplying a dutiful rehash of earlier material, in alphabetical and
inverted order, Purists, For the satisfaction of. (For those who relish indexes, the wittiest we know is in C. D. Broad's Five
Types of Ethical Theory.)
"They said it couldn't be done—and it couldn't" is a joke at least as old as George Jean Nathan. The last man who knew
everything died at the end of the eighteenth century: he will never be replaced. The Tower of Babel is an example that should
be enough to deter anyone who seeks to make a self-importantly impertinent edifice of human intelligence—but there is no
evidence that the suburbs of Babel, with their rows of modest bungalows whose occupants are too timid to attempt a second
floor, are man's happiest environment. In fact, the collation of these lists has been enough to pull down most people's vanity,
and certainly ours; for the more one looks at what is available in an unfamiliar field, the more urgent the desire one feels to
abandon the affectations of the editor and assume the modesty of the student. We hope to revise The List of Books every
second year, and we shall be vigilant for new titles to add to it. The next edition will carry a section devoted to important
additions, in each category, and we welcome (though we cannot promise always to acknowledge) suggestions—perhaps in the
form of short reviews—for additions to these imaginary shelves.
F.R.; K.M.; London, 1980
Acknowledgements
The Editors and the Publishers would like to thank the following people without whose witty, wise and erudite contributions
(ranging from suggestions and advice to complete reviews) this book would never have reached its present form.
Valerie Alderson; Brian Aldiss; John Alexander; Roger Baker; Georgina Battiscombe; Robert Benewick; Ruth Binney;
Nikolaus Boulting; William Boyd; Michael Broadbent; Henry Brougham; R. Allen Brown; Sandy Carr; Jeremy Catto; John
Clark; W. Owen Cole; Leo Cooper; Jane Cousins; Nona Coxhead; Sarah Culshaw; Marcus Cunliffe; D. C. Earl; G. R. Elton;
Barry Fantoni; Antony Flew; Anthony Fothergill; Christopher Hale; Ragnhild Hatton; Tim Heald; Roger Hearn; Christopher
Hill: Christopher Hird; Richard Hollis; Richard Holmes; Antony Hopkins; Philip Howard; Joel Hurstfield; Tom Hutchinson;
Angela Jeffs; Emrys Jones; H. R. F. Keating; Brian Klug; Alan Knight; Eric Laithwaite; Peter Levi; Sir Bernard Lovell; John
Lynch; Rosemary McLeish; Valerie McLeish; Sir Philip Magnus; Stephen Mennell; Peggy Miller; Patrick Moore; Michael
Morris; Raymond Mortimer; John Nicholson; Robert Nye; John Paterson; Stewart Perowne; David Robinson; John Robinson;
Sheila Rowbotham; Martin Sherwood; Maurice Shock; Paul Sidey; Tony Smith; Vernon Sproxton; John Stevenson; Brian
Street; Jonathan Sumption; John Russell Taylor; Ion Trewin; J. C. Trewin; Lord Vaizey; Gwynne Vevers; Jonathan Walters;
Colin Wilson
Books of the decade, 1970 — 80
These lists cream the crop: one was compiled by the editors. the other by our American colleagues. By and large they represent
some of the best, the most influential or most significant books published in each of our categories since 1970. Where books
appear in both lists. we have left them there: duplication is an indication of one kind of specialness, at least.
British choice
Attenborough, D.: Life on Earth (1979)
Berger. J.: Ways of Seeing (1972)
Berryman, J.: Selected Poems (1972)
Boston Women's Collective: Our Bodies, Ourselves (1972)
Brown, D.: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1972)
Clarke, R. and Hindley, G.: The Challenge of the Primitives (1975)
Davidson, A.: Mediterranean Seafood (1972)
Gerbi, A.: The Dispute of the New World: The History of a Polemic, 1750-1900 (1973)
Greer, G.: The Female Eunuch (1970)
Halberstam, D.: The Best and the Brightest(1972)
Harvey, J.: The Master Builders: Architecture in the Middle Ages (1971)
Hill, C.: The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (1972)
Hindley, G. (ed): The Larousse Encyclopaedia of Music (1971)
Johnson, H.: The World Atlas of Wine (1971)
Koestler, A.: The Case of the Midwife Toad (1971)
Ladurie, E. le Roy: Montaillou (1975)
Lovell, B.: In the Centre of Immensities (1979)
Mendelssohn, K.: Science and Western Domination (1976)
Morison, S.: The Great Explorers (1978)
Papanek. V.: Design for the Real World (1971)
Schumacher, E.: Small Is Beautiful (1973)
Sendak, M.: Where the Wild Things Are (1970)
Skinner. B. F.: Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971)
Solzhenitsyn, A.: The Gulag Archipelago (1974)
Steadman. R.: America (1974)
Thome, C.: Allies of a Kind (1978)
Ward, B.: The Home of Man (1976)
Wilson, C.: The Occult (1971)
Woodward, B. and Bernstein, C.: All the President's Men (1974)
American choice
Bellow, S.: Mr. Sammler's Planet (1970)
Bettelheim, B.: The Uses of Enchantment(1977)
Boorstin, D. J.: The Americans: The Democratic Experience (1973)
Boston Women's Collective: Our Bodies, Ourselves (1972)
Brand, S.: The Last Whole Earth Catalog (1975)
Brown, D.: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1971)
Clavell, J.: Shogun (1975)
Collier, P. and Horowitz, D.: The Rockefellers: An American Dynasty (1976)
Comfort, A.: The Joy of Sex(1972)
Cooke. A.: Alistair Cooke's America (1973)
FitzGerald. F.: Fire in the Lake (1972)
Halberstam, D.: The Best and the Brightest (1972)
Haley, A.: Roots (1976)
Hardwick, E.: Seduction and Betrayal: Women and Literature (1974)
Hellman, L.: Pentimento (1973)
Herr, M.: Dispatches (1977)
Howe, I.: World of Our Fathers(1976)
Jong, E.: Fear of Flying(1973)
Kluger, R.: Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education (1976)
Lash, J. P.: Eleanor and Franklin (1972)
McCullough, D.: The Path between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal,1870-1914 (1977)
Marquez, G. G.: One Hundred Years of Solitude (1970)
Milford, N.: Zelda: A Biography (1970) Morgan, M.: The Total Woman (1973)
Pirsig, R. M.: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974)
Singer, I. B.: Enemies: A Love Story (1972)
Skinner. B. F.: Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971)
Terkel, S.: Working (1974)
Thomas, L.: The Lives of a Cell (1974)
Toffler, A.: Future Shock (1971)
Updike, J.: Rabbit Redux (1971)
Vidal, G.: Burr A Novel (1973)
Vonnegut, K.: Slaughterhouse Five (1973)
Ward, B.: The Home of Man (1976)
Wolfe, T.: Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers (1970)
Woodward, B. and Bernstein, C.: All the President's Men (1974); The Final Days (1976)
Wouk, H.: The Winds of War(1971)
Editors' choice
Each editor was asked, independently, which twenty-five books he would pack for a desert island holiday. This list is the
combined result. Several books were common choices; apart from them, each editor was surprised by several of the books on
the other's list.
Aeschylus: The Oresteia
Albee, Edward: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Attenborough, David: Life on Earth
Aristophanes: Thesmophoriazusae
Austen, Jane: Emma
Berlioz, Hector: Memoirs
Burke, Kenneth: A Grammar of Motives
Byron: Letters and Journals
Cavafy, Constantine: Collected Poems
Dante: The Divine Comedy
Donne, John: Poems
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor: The Brothers Karamazov
Durrell, Gerald: My Family and Other Animals
Durrell, Lawrence: Reflections on a Marine Venus
Eliot, George: Middlemarch
Eliot, T. S.: Four Quartets
Flaubert, Gustave: Madame Bovary
Ford, Ford Madox: Parade's End
Frazer. Sir James: The Golden Bough
Gibbon, Edward: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Heller, Joseph: Catch 22
Hockney, David: Hackney
Homer: The Odyssey
Innes, Michael: Operation Pax
Jarrell, Randall: Pictures from an Institution
Jonson, Ben: The Alchemist
Kafka, Franz: The Trial
McCabe, J. and Kilgore, A.: Laurel and Hardy
McCarthy, Mary: The Groves of Academe
Montaigne, Michel de: Essays
Nabokov, Vladimir: Pale Fire
Nietzsche, Friedrich: Thus Spake Zarathustra
Orwell, George: Collected Essays
Pascal, Blaise: Pensees
Proust, Marcel: Remembrance of Things Past
Rabelais, Francois: Gargantua and Pantagruel
Renoir, Jean: Renoir, My Father
Runciman, Steven: A History of the Crusades
Shakespeare, William: Collected Works
Singer, Isaac Bashevis: A Crown of Feathers
Stendhal: The Charterhouse of Panna
Thesiger, W.: The Marsh Arabs
Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War
Tolstoy, Leo: War and Peace
Villon, Francois: Poems
White, E. W.: Stravinsky
Wittgenstein, Ludwig: Philosophical Investigations
Getting to grips with the twentieth century
If books reflect historical, sociological and cultural growth, the ones recommended here may, we hope, help to account for or
explain some of the directions human existence has taken in our century. Some of these books are dated, many are infuriating
or partial; all are landmarks.
Acheson, D.: Present at the Creation (1967)
Anderson, P.: Considerations on Western Marxism (1976)
Austin, W.: Music in the 20th Century (1966)
Banham, R.: Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (1960)
Beauvoir, S. de: The Second Sex (1949) Beckett, S.: Waiting for Godot (1952)
Berry. B. J. L.: The Human Consequences of Urbanization (1973)
Brittain, V.: Testament of Youth (1933)
Brownlow, K.: The Parade's Gone By (1968)
Bruce, L.: The Essential Lenny Bruce (1975)
Capote, T.: In Cold Blood (1966)
Carr, E. H.: The Russian Revolution (1979)
Carson, R.: Silent Spring (1962)
Cherry-Garrard, A.: The Worst Journey in the World (1912)
Clark, R. M.: The Scientific Breakthrough (1974)
Clarke, R. and Hindley, G.: The Challenge of the Primitives (1975)
Eliot, T. S.: The Waste Land (1923)
Esslin, M.: The Theatre of the Absurd (1961)
Fanon, F.: The Wretched of the Earth (1961)
Friedan, B.: The Feminine Mystique (1962)
Friedman, M.: Capitalism and Freedom (1962)
Frith, S.: The Sociology of Rock (1978)
Graves, R.: Goodbye to All That (1929)
Halberstam, D.: The Best and the Brightest (1972)
Harrison, J.: Marxist Economics for Socialists (1978)
Hebblethwaite, P.: The Christian-Marxist Dialogue and Beyond (1976)
Ionesco, E.: The Bald Prima Donna (1948)
Jones, E.: The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud (1953)
Joyce, J.: Ulysses (1921)
Kafka, F.: The Diaries of Franz Kafka (1948)
Kafka, F.: The Trial (1937)
Keynes, J.M.: The General Theory of Employment. Interest and Money (1936)
Klee, P.: On Modem A n(1943)
Kolko, G.: Main Currents in Modern American History (1976)
Le Corbusier: Towards an Architecture (1923)
Lichtheim, G.: Europe in the 20th Century (1972)
Lorenz, K.: On Aggression (1963)
McAleavy, H.: The Modern History of China (1967)
Macartney, C. A. and Palmer, A. W.: Independent Eastern Europe (1962)
McGlashan, A.: Gravity and Levity (1976)
Mailer, N.: Marilyn (1973)
Mailer, N.: The Naked and the Dead (1948)
Malaparte, C.: Kaput (1964)
Niebuhr, R.: Moral and Immoral Society (1932)
Orwell, G.: Animal Fann (1946)
Orwell, G.: The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)
Papanek, V.: Design for the Real World (1971)
Pirandello, L.: Six Characters in Search of an Author (1929)
Piven, F. F. and Cloward, R. A.: Poor People's Movements (1977)
Reich, W.: The Sexual Revolution (1930)
Rosen, S.: Future Facts (1976)
Rosenberg, H.: The Anxious Object (1964)
Schumacher, E.: Small Is Beautiful (1973)
Sinclair, A.: Prohibition: The Era of Excess (1962)
Solzhenitsyn, A. I.: The Gulag Archipelago (1974)
Stem, J. P.: The Fuhrer and the People (1975)
Taylor, A. J. P.: English History, 1914-1945(1965)
Terkel, S.: Work (1974)
Wing, J. K.: Reasoning about Madness (1978)
Home reference books
There is a place in most home libraries for a small collection of general reference books. We provide two basic lists, by no
means mutually exclusive; one British and one American.
British
Every collection should contain a dictionary, such as The Concise Oxford English Dictionary or Chambers Twentieth
Century Dictionary, plus/or Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (P. Proctor) and The Complete Plain Words
(Ernest Gowers).
Many people will also find a constant use for The Concise Dictionary of 26 Languages (compiled by Peter M. Bergman).
Still concerned with words, the collection should contain The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations or The Penguin
Dictionary of Quotations.
There should be an atlas, such as The Times Atlas of the World: Concise Edition or New Concise Atlas of the Earth, the
indexes of which can be used as a world gazetteer. For annually updated information on world affairs get The Statesman's
Year Book, Europa Year Book or Whitaker's Almanack.
For biographical information consult Who Did What (historical and international) and Who's Who (contemporary and
British); much international coverage is provided by a good one-volume encyclopaedia such as Columbia Encyclopaedia or
Hutchinson's New 20th Century Encyclopaedia. The historical aspect of recent developments is summarized in Chronology
of the Modern World.
Finally, two useful books on general medical and legal matters: Reader's Digest Family Health Guide and Know Your
Rights (neither, of course, is meant to supplement professional advice). In any case, every home should have a book on first
aid, such as The Pocket Medical and First Aid Guide (Dr James Bevan).
American
Every collection should contain a dictionary, such as Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (the second edition is the
recommended unabridged version; the seventh is the desk edition) or The Random House College Dictionary.
The collection might also contain Roget's Thesaurus of Synonyms and Antonyms and Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.
There should be an atlas. Two good ones are The New York Times Atlas of the World and the Rand McNally New
International Atlas, the indexes of which can be used as a world gazetteer. Annually updated information on world affairs is
contained in The World Almanac and Book of Facts.
For biographical information consult Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World. There is also a Who's Who for
each state.
Two reliable encyclopaedias for home use are Encyclopaedia Britannica and The World Book Encyclopedia. An excellent
one-volume encyclopaedia is The New Columbia Encyclopaedia.
Every home should have a book on first aid, such as Basic First Aid or Standard First and Personal Safety, both published
by the American National Red Cross.
Also useful: Know Your Rights: A Guide to Everyday Law, by Ronald Irving and Charles Anthony.
Anthropology
Anthropology was born as a formal discipline in the 19th century, when a previously haphazard interest in the cultural and
social behaviour of remote peoples was supplied with a theoretical basis and scientific procedures. At first it was very closely
linked with its sister-subject sociology; both were concerned with man the organizer, with the forces and movements which
mould human society. Gradually, however, the disciplines began to grow apart: sociology became ever more political (and
analytically "scientific"), anthropology more historical (and descriptively "artistic"). The books in this list follow the bias
towards study of the cultures of "primitive" peoples; but there are also representatives of a more modern trend towards treating
man as a single phenomenon (with local and historical variants) and extrapolating from the techniques and discoveries of
"primitive" anthropology a series of proposed solutions to the self-destructive energy of technological man. Once again the
wheel has come full circle: sociology and anthropology go hand in hand, and their concern is social change. their scenario
nothing less than the future of the human race itself.
See AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Mead); GEOGRAPHY (Forde, Sauer); HISTORY/AMERICAN (Josephy); HISTORY/BRITISH
(Thomas); MATHEMATICS (Bronowski): MYTHOLOGY (Frazer. Kirk, Huxley, Levi-Strauss); RELIGION (Castaneda)
Agee, J. and Evans, W. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941) Study in words and photographs of three poor tenant families
in the southern USA in 1936. Overpraised in its time, and the prose now seems self-consciously "poetic"; but the pictures
especially are haunting, moving, devastating.
Agee, James, American, 1909-1955.
Permit Me Voyage. Rec: Bloom
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (with Walker Evans). Rec: Bloom Boston PL Hungry Mind NYPL Utne
A Death in the Family. Rec: Time
Asad, Talal (ed) Anthropology and the Colonial Encounter (1973)
9
A new generation of anthropologists turned on their teachers and accused them of compliance with colonialism. This collection
of essays lays out their case.
Bailey, F. G. Stratagems and Spoils (1969) R *
Descriptions of the devious and clever ploys that men get up to in different societies in order to get the (differently defined)
spoils. Also: Gifts and Poisons
Benedict, Ruth, American, 1887-1948.
Patterns of Culture. Rec: Boston PL
Boas, Franz The Mind of Primitive Man (1911)
One of the great revolutionary works (revised 1937); hard but essential. Boas was the first to proclaim that mankind is
indissolubly one, and that all races have the potential to produce and create equally. The Nazis burned this book and civil rights
activists everywhere bear it like a banner.
Boas, Franz, American, 1858-1942.
Chinook Texts. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Bowen, E. S. Return to Laughter (1954)
Warm, amusing account of the everyday problems that an anthropologist encounters "in the field".
Chagnon, A. A. Yanomamo: The Fierce People (1977)
Aggression as a way of life. Text is as lively as the title; the sociological implications are wide and sharp. See Thrasher
PSYCHOLOGY (Lorenz); SOCIOLOGY (Whyte)
Clarke, R. and Hindley, G. The Challenge of the Primitives (1975) * As the future of technological society grows ever more
doubtful, some anthropologists are suggesting that a return to "primitive" concepts of kinship with nature may provide viable
alternatives. This book readably and succinctly distils the essence of this hopeful philosophy.
Cohen, Abner Two Dimensional Man (1974)
Accessible introduction to the thinking of anthropologists on symbolism, politics and their interrelationship.
Coon, C. S. and Hunt, E. E. The Living Races of Man (1965) 10* Authoritative study of the racial composition of all peoples of
the world. Also: The Origin of Races; Seven Caves
Dalton, George Tribal and Peasant Economies (1976)
Accessible textbook on all aspects of social economics.
OP
Dodds, E. R. The Greeks and the Irrational (1951) 0 *11"
Seminal case-study of a society moving from "mythology" to "religion". Different approaches to the irrational world lead to
different kinds of social behaviour; by studying these (and literature, philosophy, their embodiment) we discover the governing
systems and beliefs of an ancient society. Sounds narrow; is stimulating, wide-ranging. See MYTHOLOGY (Harrison, Kirk,
Slater)
Douglas, Mary Purity and Danger(1966)
Classic example of anthropologists' attempts to see meanings in the apparently trivial detail of everyday life—you'll never look
at "dirt" in the same way again. Also: Rules and Meanings-, Natural Symbols
Douglas, Mary, English, 1921- .
Purity and Danger: an analysis of concepts of purity and taboo. Rec: TLS
Du Bois, W. E. B., American, 1868-1963.
The Souls of Black Folk. Rec: Counterpunch NF Hungry Mind ML Nonfiction NYPL
Dumont, Louis Homo Hierarchichus (1966)& Class, caste, hierarchies in general—the enabling structures of society, or its
main inhibitors? Clear, readable introduction.
Eisley, Loren The Immense Journey (1957)
Intense, poetic, unforgettable essays by a distinguished anthropologist who later published several volumes of poems. The title
refers to the long journey of man, from the beginnings in the primordial ocean to today—and beyond?
Epstein, A. L. Politics in an Urban African Community (1958)
0P
Readable account of the changes brought to the 1950s Zambian copper belt by urbanization. Also: Ethos and Identity
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. The Nuer (1940) d P
The classic text on fieldwork, studied by every student of anthropology. Also: Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the
Azande, etc
Frankenberg, IL Communities in Britain (1966)
Anthropologists' studies in Britain, of rural communities and of urban groups, neatly and usefully summarized.
Firer-Hahnendorff, Christoph von The Sherpas of Nepal (1964) 0
Readable field-study, a model of how such books can be made both authoritative and accessible to the general reader. Also: The
Naked Na gas, etc
Geipel, John The Europeans (1969)
Ethno-historical survey of the various peoples of Europe: anthropology dominates, but archaeology, social history, linguistics
and genetics are also brought into play. For modern Europeans—and immigrants to Newer Worlds—a fascinating study of how
we came to be the way we are.
Gennep, Arnold van Rites of Passage (1977)
Points of transition in the development of an individual or a society are often traumatic, often accompanied by therapeutic or
apotropaic ritual. A systematic study of such rituals in various primitive societies. See Mead.
Glob, P. V., Danish, 1911-1985.
The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Greenway, John Down among the Wild Men (1972) & Popular anthropology at its readable best: partly a witty
autobiographical account of fifteen years' study of Old Stone Age aborigines in Australia, partly a scientific account of his
findings and conclusions. Also: Literature among the Primitives; The Inevitable Americans; Ethnomusicology, etc
Gulliver, P. H. Social Control in an African Society (1963) IP
Fascinating field-study, with important general implications. See Dumont.
Hall, E. T. The Silent Language (1959)
a
Hall was one of the first to write about what has become a cliche—we communicate not by ordinary language alone, but also
by "body language" and by other signals that are not expressed in words. A fascinating, essential book. See PSYCHOLOGY
(Argyle)
Hanley, Gerald, Irish, 1916-1992.
Warriors: Life and Death Among the Somalis. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Kitzinger, S. Women as Mothers (1978)
Wide-ranging, well-written study of motherhood in different societies. Author's premise is that the "maternal instinct" does not
exist as such; the role of mother varies as a direct response to the needs of society. Also: The Good Birth Guide. See
PSYCHOLOGY (Rutter)
Kroeber, A. L. Configurations of Culture Growth (1945)
An attempt by one of the most influential of 20th-century anthropologists to trace the growth and decline of human thought and
art. Also: Anthropology (one of the first general texts in the field)
Kuper, Adam Anthropology and Anthropologists (1973)
a
Easy introduction to the history, personalities, events and ideas of 20th-century British anthropology.
Leach, Edmund Levi-Strauss (1970)
a
Useful introduction to the work of leading French anthropologist. Also: Political Systems of Highland Burma; Culture and
Communication. See Levi-Strauss; MYTHOLOGY (Levi-Strauss)
Leiris, Michel, French, 1901-1990.
Manhood. Rec: Bloom (anthropology)
Levi-Strauss, Claude The Elementary Structures of Kinship (1949) !IOC*
One of the great 20th-century gurus in full flood: a study of kinship groups and their binding rituals throughout the world.
Thorny style, but accessible with perseverance: he's a name to read as well as drop. Also: The Savage Mind, etc. See Leach;
MYTHOLOGY
Lévi-Strauss, Claude, French, 1908- .
The Raw and the Cooked. Rec: Boston PL
Tristes Tropiques ((A World on the Wane)). Rec: Bloom Counterpunch Trans TLS
Structural Anthropology. Rec: GBWW (Selections)
The Savage Mind. Rec: TLS
Lewis, L M. Ecstatic Religion (1971)
Attempts to make sense of "strange" religious practices by looking at the problems of the social groups which carry them out.
For a Christian view of the same area, see RELIGION (Davies). Also: An Introduction to Social Anthropology
Lienhardt, Godfrey Divinity and Experience: The Religion of the Dinka (1961)(0
Fascinating attempt to explain another society's religion, with all the respect and complexity usually reserved for one's own.
Also: Social Anthropology
Lisitzky, Gene Four Ways of Being Human (1956)
Elegant survey of four "Stone Age" groups surviving, more or less unchanged, into the 20th-century: Eskimos, Hopi Indians,
Maoris and Sepang of Malaya. Mixture of anthropology and social psychology (behaviour as identity) is successful and
fascinating. See Mead.
Lloyd, P. Classes, Crises and Coups (1971) a
Readable introduction to the study of modernizing societies and the political. economic and social problems they face. Also:
Slums of Hope?: Shanty Towns of the Third World
Malinowski, B. Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922)
Account of the lives, trading, canoe-building and sailing of the inhabitants of the Trobriand Islands in the Western Pacific. One
of the first and best examples of anthropological fieldwork. Also: The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia;
Crime and Custom in Savage Society, etc
Mead, Margaret New Lives for Old (1956) 0 *
The Manu Tribe of Papua New Guinea collapsed cultural evolution: between 1928 and 1953 they moved from the Stone Age to
the Air Age. Mead's book—typical of her wide-ranging generous scholarship—discusses the interweaving of old and new, the
psychological effects of change; draws parallels with the general evolution of the rest of the human race. Also: Coming of Age
in Samoa; Growing Up in New Guinea; Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies, etc. See Lisitzky;
AUTOBIOGRAPHY; SOCIOLOGY
Mead, Margaret, American, 1901-1978.
Coming of Age in Samoa. Rec: Boston PL NYPL
Handy, E. S. Craighill and Elizabeth Green Handy, American, c.1893-1980 and 1921-.
Native Planters in Old Hawaii: Their Life, Lore, and Environment (With Mary Kawena Pukui). Rec: Counterpunch NF
Pocock, D.E. Understanding Social Anthropology (1976)
a -I
Excellent layman's introduction (with set essays for the eager). Also: Social Anthropology
Radin, Paul Primitive Religion: Its Nature and Origin (1937)
Radin was a synthesizer of various strands in anthropology: economic and social structure, religion, philosophy, psychology.
His books vary in importance; this is one of the best.
Sapir, Edward Culture, Language and Personality (1961)
Collection of thoughtful essays by one of the great American cultural anthropologists and linguists.
Schapera, Isaac Married Life in an African Tribe (1966)
Readable field-work study: specific tribal details lead to general conclusions about marriage as a binding agent in society. See
Evans-Pritchard.
Steichen, Edward, American, 1879-1973.
The Family of Man. Rec: LAT NYPL (photography series)
Street. B. V. The Savage in Literature (1975)
Amusing, relevant account of the image of other societies purveyed by popular 19th-century adventure novels.
Sutherland, A. (ed) Face Values (1978)
Glossy "pop" anthropology book based on a TV series set up by professional anthropologists. Later articles, however, are quite
difficult. Also: Gypsies: The Hidden Americans
Thrasher, Frederic M. The Gang (1936) N19
Exhaustive, anthropological-sociological study of no less than 1,313 Chicago gangs. Stiff read; absorbing and disturbing. See
SOCIOLOGY (Suttles)
Tiger, L. S. and Fox, R. The Imperial Animal (1971)
Challenging study of man's socially divisive and cohesive instincts: historical, anthropological and sociological disciplines
luminously applied not to one small tribe, but to the whole human race.
Turner, V. W. The Forest of Symbols (1967)
9*
Excellent example of anthropologists' attempts to understand the complex symbols of even the "simplest" peoples: reads, at
times, like literary criticism. Also: The Ritual Process
Tylor, Edward B. Researches into the Early History of Mankind(1865) 09 *
Anthropology was once known, disparagingly, as "Mr Tylor's science". He was, to the history of what he first called "culture"
(ie, the linguistic, psychic, emotional and material fabric of a society), what Darwin was to evolution. This book is a synthesis
of his work—of absorbing interest, and still of unique value. Excellent abridged edition (1964) by Bohannan (himself a noted,
and recommended, anthropologist).
African Genesis R. Ardrey
Out of Africa
Black Athena M. Bernal
Out of Africa
The Journey from Eden B. Fagan
Out of Africa
Aime Cesaire G. DavisBlack Culture
Black Culture and Black Consciousness
Roots A. Haley
Black Culture
L.W. Levine
Black Culture
The Myth of the Noble Savage T. Ellingson
Noble Savage
The Noble Savage
H. Fairchild
Noble Savage
The Fall of Natural Man A. Pagden
Noble Savage
Essays M. de Montaigne Noble Savage
Greek and Roman Slavery
T. Wiedermann Natural Slavery
The Fall of Natural Man A. Pagden
Natural Slavery
Aristotle and the American Indians
L. Hanke
Natural Slavery
Roots A. Haley
Natural Slavery
Secret Museum of Mankind, David Stiffler, 1999, 576 pages, $25
Archaeology
Modern archaeology was born in 1708, with the first excavations at Pompeii. At first it was informal and irresponsible, little
more than an aristocratic upgrading of the treasure-hunting and tomb-robbing characteristic of any historical period. In the 19th
century it became badged with more serious, systematic study, the archaeologists seeking for information about ancient
cultures as eagerly as for their glittering artefacts. The great names of 19th-century archaeology—Schliemann. Evans, Petrie—
made their subject a true sibling of anthropology and cultural history, the passion of the polymath, and it is mainly their
enthusiastic work which led to our century's obsession with the minutiae of ancient life. Archaeology continued as a genial,
gentlemanly pursuit for inspired individualists until World War H. Since then, it has evolved (or declined) from an art to a
science. The exactitudes of statistics, aerial photography (itself a legacy of 20th-century warfare), chemical analysis and other
scientific disciplines are applied, and the results are, first, that archaeology now has areas as arcane and specialized as nuclear
physics or X-ray crystallography, and second, that as our view of the distant past comes into ever sharper focus, we find it
extraordinarily like our own: the notion of what -civilization" is travels further backwards in time, and wider in geography,
with every newly published paper. Art or science? Amateur or specialist? The list covers books in both areas—and shades (like
archaeology itself, one of the most humane of disciplines) into history and cultural anthropology too.
See ANTHROPOLOGY (Geipel); ART (Frankfort); CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Brothwell): GEOGRAPHY (Sauer);
HISTORY/ANCIENT (Grant, Lehmann)
Bellwood, Peter The Polynesians: Prehistory of an Island People
(1978) a.IJ
Until AD 1500 the Polynesians were one of the most widely spread ethnic groups on earth. Their origins, history, languages
and way of life are examined in this pioneering survey. Also: Man's Conquest of the Pacific
Bishop, W. and Clark, J. D. (eds) The Background to Evolution in Africa (1967)
9 -1
The origins of the human race. Outline of essential work, includes contributions from most of the leading workers in the field.
Bray, W. and Trump, D. H. A Dictionary of Archaeology (1970) Convenient one-volume reference work. Covers the whole
field of archaeology from human evolution and the prehistoric period to the civilizations of Egypt, the Near East and the
Americas.
Brothwell, D. R. and Higgs, E. Science in Archaeology (1969)
1111 "What the archaeologist is able to learn about the
past depends to a great extent on the completeness and discrimination with which he avails himself of the resources being made
available on an ever more generous scale by his colleagues in a growing range of scientific disciplines.- The important
contributions of science to archaeology are discussed: professionals' version of Wilson (qv). See CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Ceram, C. W. Gods, Graves and Scholars (1951)
a
Popular approach is over-breathless for specialists, and the book (despite new editions) is dating fast. But it remains an
outstanding enthusiasm-builder for would-be archaeologists. Also: The March of Archaeology, etc
Chadwick, John The Mycenaean World (1976) 0 a Terse, stimulating challenge to the orthodox view of Cretan prehistory by
one of the pioneer code-breakers of Linear B.
Chang, Kwang-Chih The Archaeology of Ancient China (1963) 9 -I 11 Chinese civilization from its primitive farming
beginnings (3rd millennium BC) to the early historic periods (2nd millennium AD). See FOOD; HISTORY/ASIAN (Eberhard,
for later history)
Clark, Grahame World Prehistory (1969) 0 a Comprehensive introduction (regularly updated) to the intellectual, material
and social progress of mankind. A suitcase of a book: everything you need is here. Also: Archaeology and Society
Coles, John Archaeology by Experiment (1973)
Vivid insights into the past can be gained by reconstructing and testing models of ancient equipment. Revaluation of methods
of food production, and of heavy and light industry. Unusual subject, expertly treated.
Cottrell, Leonard The Land of Shinar (1965) & Sniffed at by narrower academics for his easy style, Cottrell is one of the great
popularizers of archaeology. This book deals with Sumeria, the possible site of the Garden of Eden, a "lost" culture as full of
vitality as Egypt or Persia. Also: Lost Cities; The Bull of Minos, etc
Cunliffe, Barry Fishbourne (1971) M*
Cunliffe's account of the dig at the Roman villa, Fishbourne, England, is a fine case-study of the modern archaeologist at work,
balancing trowel and brush against sophisticated laboratory techniques.
Daniel, Glyn 150 Years of Archaeology (1950)
Standard introductory textbook; should be followed by Wilson (qv) or by Brothwell and Higgs (qv) for accounts of up-to-date
methodology.
Deuel, Leo Conquistadors without Swords (1967)
a * -/
Narration of archaeological discovery in the Americas, interleaved with extensive, lively quotations from the archaeologists'
own accounts. Also: The Treasures of Time (ancient Near East revealed in the same enthralling way)
Frere, Sheppard Britannia (1967) 10 History of Roman Britain, from archaeological evidence. Ponderous style never entirely
engulfs the author's enthusiasm or the fascination of the subject.
Hawkes, Jacquetta The World of the Past (1963)
Excellent anthology of Hawkes' lively, expert articles and other smaller writings. Also: Dawn of the Gods, etc
Hume, Ivor Historical Archaeology (1969) • Application of archaeological disciplines to a known historical period: colonial
America. Good specialist book, of interest to the layman attracted by the period or by the unusual conjunction of disciplines.
Keating, Rex Nubian Rescue (1975)
The building of the Aswan Dam in the 1950s and 1960s led to unprecedented archaeological activity in Nubia, "Middle Egypt",
in ancient times the corridor between Mediterranean and African civilizations. This book is a clear, if rather plainly written,
summary of spectacular "rescue archaeology" (dig before the water comes).
Leone, Mark (ed) Contemporary Archaeology (1972)
P*
Discusses the controversy surrounding the theories and aims of the "new archaeology", with particular reference to North
America. Polemical; hard; engrossing.
Libby, W.F. Radiocarbon Dating (1955)
P
MacKendrick, Paul The Greek Stones Speak (1962) ai a Elegant, stylish: ancient culture revealed by trowel. In its time,
unrivalled for enthusiastic clarity; still an excellent general introduction. Updated edition badly needed—it's too good to lose.
Also: The Mute Stones Speak (a less dated, but also less exciting, account of Italian archaeology)
Mulvaney, D. J. The Prehistory of Australia (1969) 10
Aborigines. Neglected topic, expertly outlined.
Negev, Avraham (ed) Archaeological Encyclopaedia of the Holy Land
(1972) a*./
Oates, D. and J. The Rise of Civilization (1976)
a
Early agriculture; the first domestication of animals during the Neolithic period; the rise of urbanization in Mesopotamia and
Egypt. Characteristic volume in recommendable Making of the Past series.
Phillipson, D. W. The Later Prehistory of Eastern and Southern Africa
(1977) 0f
Piggott, Stuart Ancient Europe: A Survey (1965)
&a
European prehistory from the beginnings of agriculture to Classical antiquity. The parallel development of barbarian cultures
with the civilizations of antiquity, clearly explained and ably illustrated.
Raistrick, Arthur Industrial Archaeology (1972)
& Sandars, Nancy K. Prehistoric Art in Europe (1968)
Superb volume from recommended Pelican History of Art series. See MYTHOLOGY
Ucko, P. J. and Dimbleby, G. W. (eds) The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals (1969) 10 P
Analysis of innovatory collaboration between archaeologists and natural scientists, to their mutual benefit and enlightenment.
Also: Man, Settlement and Urbanism
Willey, Gordon An Introduction to American Archaeology
(2 vols, 1966-71) 0 -if
Wilson, David Atoms of Time Past (1975)
Up-to-date history, for the general reader, of the use of scientific techniques in archaeology: bones and shards treated with
laboratory procedures as well as inspired individual guesswork. Notably clear, informative style.
Architecture
Architecture is, in a real sense, the measure of man's unnaturalness. Ever since he adapted the cave for his convenience, he has
rebelled against the kind of shelter which unshaped nature provides. Thus the history of architecture is that of man against
nature, however naturally he has sought to harmonize his antagonism with the materials and environment he finds on earth. The
story of architecture is told (and lived) principally by urban man. for whom buildings become the reflection of society, its
organization and its myths. This means that the debate on architectural aesthetics is also about morals. politics, religion: hence
its intense importance, its furious partialities. ("You say," said Nietzsche, "that there can be no argument about matters of taste?
All life is an argument about matters of taste.") The architect makes his artistic and concrete statement—in obstinately durable
form—and then moves on, sometimes with giant strides, sometimes on feet of clay, rarely leaving satisfactory explanation or
justification. Vitruvius and Le Corbusier, in the following list, are distinguished exceptions (and prove, perhaps, the dangers of
universalizing assertions. however impressive the credentials of the dogmatists). The majority of books cited here are by critics
and scholars, though the true critic of the building is often and decisively the man who uses it. In the present century, however,
the architectural critic has become an influential and creative force. Architecture is three-dimensional thought: hence the
significance of the "philosophers" who are its critics and proponents.
See ART (Frankfort, Giedion, Pevsner, Stedman): CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Macaulay); GEOGRAPHY (Hall, Jacobs, Morgan,
Pahl. Scientific American, Tunnard): HISTORY/BRITISH (Brown)
Alexander, Christopher, American, 1936- .
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Rec: Counterpunch NF Utne
Bachelard, Gaston, French, 1884-1962.
The Poetics of Space. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
This is a deep, magical, densely captivating book about space, our homes, how we live in them, and how dwellings and space
affect us; it is as much a book of philosophy as a work of serious literature. It requires careful, preferably leisurely reading,
with the possibility of moments to pause and digest and re-read the words. It will change the way you look at your home and
your life, providing a deeper, more insightful relationship with the spaces you occupy.
Banham, Reyner Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (1960)
Theories which complemented architecture and design, 1900-40, when architects and designers really tried to come to terms
with the potential of industry and science. Banham's tone here, as always, is clear, fervent, readable. Leads usefully to Jencks
(qv) and Newman(qv): the seeds are planted here. Also: The Architecture of the Well-Tempered Environment; Los Angeles:
The Architecture of Four Ecologies; A Guide to Modern Architecture, etc
Boethius, A. and Ward-Perkins, J. Etruscan and Roman Architecture (1970)
Like most others in the Pelican History of Art series, competent and authoritative. No light read; but text, illustrations,
exhaustive footnotes and detailed bibliography cover ground from 1400 Bc to the decline of Rome.
Burnham, D. H. and Bennett, E. H. Plan of Chicago (1909)
By 1900 the Chicago School, led by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, had established the city as the home of modern
urban architecture. Burnham and Bennett's famous plan for the further development of the city was adopted in 1909; its
lineaments may still be seen in the magnificent lakefront and other glories. Chapter 8 summarizes the plan.
Clark, Kenneth The Gothic Revival (1928)
The impetuous pioneer piece on the survival and revival of Gothic architecture, from the Dissolution of the Monasteries to fullblooded Victorian Revivalist styles. Depicts beautifully the interaction between literature, painting, architecture and landscape
gardening, as Clark contrasts 18th- and 19-century concepts of "taste". See ART; AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Clifton-Taylor, Alec The Pattern of English Building (1960) 9-1J 0 Lateral approach to architectural history; deals less with
the development of "great styles" than with the close relationship between geology and traditional building materials,
topography and the building types which characterize England's architecture.
Collins, Peter Architectural Judgement (1971)
P J Collins asks not about our response to buildings but why, in "their
professional judgement", architects, planners and developers choose one building rather than another. For believers in absolute
aesthetic standards, an essential antidote. Also: Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture, 1750 - 1950
Colvin, Howard A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1660- 1840(1954)
Conant, Kenneth Carolingian and Romanesque Architecture,
800-1200(1959) JP
Downing, A. J. Rural Essays (1853) & Downing designed many fine homes and gardens, but was especially intrigued by
American "cottage architecture"—the homely constructions, often home-made, of the lower middle class; country churches,
county courthouses and the like. His book makes for nostalgic imaginings. See Kouwenhoven.
Fleming, J., Honour, H. and Pevsner, N. Penguin Dictionary of Architecture (1966)
Oaf
Basic guide to architects, architectural terms, building materials, ornamentation, styles and movements. See Pevsner; ART
(Honour, Pevsner)
Frankl, Paul Gothic Architecture (1962)
a*I
Detailed analysis of style and structure; a good introduction, despite Frankl's insistence on divorcing architecture from
sculpture, stained glass, etc, at a time when unity of the arts was of the essence.
Giedion, Sigfried Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition( 1941 ) *
Polemical, path-finding book succeeds admirably in placing architecture, construction and city planning of the industrial era
(mid 18th century onwards) in the wider context of art and science. See ART
Gropius, Walter The Scope of Total Architecture (1955)
Oa
Testament and manifesto of Bauhaus founder: "the approach to any kind of design, a chair, a building, a whole town or a
regional plan, should be essentially identical."
Harvey, John The Master Builders: Architecture in the Middle Ages (1971).
Also: The Gothic World, 1100-1600, The Medieval Architect; Cathedrals of England and Wales
Heydenreich, L. and Lotz, W. The Architecture of Italy. 1400-1600 (1970) P Hitchcock, Henry-Russell Architecture:
Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (1958) Ala
Despite limited illustrations, an excellent summary of 19th- and 20th-century European, British and American architecture.
Also: Modern Architecture in England; Rococo Architecture in Southern Germany
Jencks, Charles The Language of Post-Modern Architecture (1977) Stimulating analysis of recent trends. Useful adjunct to the
more theoretical writings of such men as Venturi (qv); a literate, often witty guide. Also: Modern Movements in Architecture
Kouwenhoven, John Made in America (1948)
& ret
Readable examination, by a literary critic, of what he calls American "vernacular art"—the unselfconscious art of the
"carpenter builders" who shaped the country's aesthetic sense. See Downing.
Lancaster, Osbert A Cartoon History of Architecture (1975) £ afm Lancaster a true caricaturist: drawings pinpoint subject;
waspish comments make equally vivid impact. "Wimbledon Transitional", "Stockbroker Tudor", "Bypass Variegated"—all
begin here.
A Cartoon History of Architecture (1975) by Osbert Lancaster. Lancaster was a famous cartoonist who also wrote for the
Architectural Review for many years. His eye for detail and dry wit make this a both amusing and highly insightful guide to the
vagaries of taste.
Lawrence, Arnold Greek Architecture (1957)
111Pa-14
Authoritative, scholarly text; detailed footnotes and bibliography; essential.
Le Corbusier Towards an Architecture (1923)
Designer-in-chief of 20th-century city-scape, with its straight lines, cubes, glass, concrete and steel, Le Corbusier has had
incalculable, perhaps undue, influence; his writings remain crucial to an understanding of modern urban life. Also: Five Points
of a New Architecture, etc
Le Corbusier, French, 1887-1965.
Towards a New Architecture. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Loos, Adolf, Austrian, 1870-1933.
Ornament and Crime. Rec: Counterpunch Trans (architecture)
Illustrated History of Architecture 800-1914 (1993) by Jill Lever and John Harris. First published in 1966 as the illustrated
Glossary of Architecture. The effectiveness of this dictionary derives from the way the authors have combined clearly written
definitions of key terms with a remarkable collection of photographs with which to illustrate them.
Mumford, Lewis (ed) Roots of Contemporary American Architecture (1956)
Using original documents, Mumford analyses the intellectual germination of architecture in pre-Chicago America and the
evolution of indigenous 20th-century styles. Contrast of quotations from architects—like Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis
Sullivan—and critics (Mumford and others) is particularly stimulating. Also: The City in History, etc. See ART
Murray, Peter The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance (1963) a* Readable, scholarly; useful luggage for travellers. Also:
A History of English Architecture; Piranesi and the Grandeur of Ancient Rome; A History of World Art
Newman, Oscar Defensible Space: People and Design in the Violent City (1972)
109a
Influential in promoting the view that architecture should be based on the study of people's psychological needs (eg for privacy,
contact, security). Essential sociological balance for the theories of (for example) Le Corbusier (qv).
Norberg-Schulz, Christian Meaning in Western Architecture (1976) Pay
Respected history of architecture, with strong theoretical bias; demanding, but usefully comprehensive.
Palladio, Andrea Four Books on Architecture (1570)
Treatise on Classical architecture; possibly the most influential pattern-book ever published. Need not be read, but should be
perused, the pages turned, designs and drawings studied; they appear, repeated endlessly, on every "Classical" building in the
Western world. For analysis, see Wittkower's Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism
Pevsner, Nikolaus An Outline of European Architecture (1942)
In this and numerous other books, Pevsner revolutionized British attitudes towards architecture. The latest edition performs the
same service in an American "Postscript". Also: The Buildings of England (series); Essays on Art, Architecture and Design; A
History of Building Types, etc. See Fleming; ART
An Outline of European Architecture (1963) by Nikolaus Pevsner. A confident sweep through Western (including American)
architecture: Pevsner's slightly awkward prose style persuades through its passion and its directness.
Ramsey, Charles George, American, 1884-1963.
Architectural Graphic Standards (With Harold Reeve Sleeper). Rec: Counterpunch NF
Rapoport, Amos House Form and Culture (1969)
&a
This fascinating volume associates the forms of domestic architecture with the cultures that surround and influence them.
Experiencing Architecture (1959) by Steen Eiler Rasmussen. A refreshingly clear and unpretentious approach that
concentrates on the many different ways of perceiving architectural forms: as an interplay of solids and voids, as a succession
of rhythmic patterns, and even in terms of the acoustical character of buildings.
Richards, James An Introduction to Modern Architecture (1940) Q a f Recent history is often less digestible than the study of
dead civilizations. Modern architecture is no exception; even so this book persuasively argues that architecture is a social art
related to 20th-century life rather than (in the author's own words) an "academic exercise in applied ornament". Usefully read
in conjunction with Giedion (qv), Mumford (qv), and Newman (qv). Also: The Anti-Rationalists; The Castles on the Ground;
The Functional Tradition in Industrial Building
Richards, James (ed) Who's Who in Architecture: From 1400 to the Present Day (1977)
Biographical and critical studies of professional architects from Alberti and Brunelleschi onwards. Comprehensive coverage of
architects of the Western world, including the USA and Latin America; new edition adds names from Israel, Africa and the Far
East.
Ruskin, John The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849)
1L !* Though Ruskin himself later called it "a wretched rant",
this book, together with Pugin's and Morris's writings, really paved the way for modern architectural history and criticism,
laying down criteria by which to judge buildings which were not simply those of Vitruvius or Alberti dressed up in 18th-
century tasteful finery. A founding father, Ruskin writes with grace as well as passion, and puts forward an eloquent case,
among other things for the preservation of historic buildings. Also: The Stones of Venice. See LITERARY CRITICISM
The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849) by John Ruskin. A highly idiosyncratic look at the fundamentals of architecture.
Ruskin's high moral tone and sometimes eccentric opinions will not appeal to everyone but, after nearly 150 years, he is still
worth reading for the poetic vigour of his prose style and the brilliance of his observations.
Scott, Geoffrey The Architecture of Humanism (1914) T * A furious attack on 19th- and early-20th-century "practicality" and
a compelling psychological defence of the ornate forms of the baroque. Looking back, 60 years on, how right Scott was!
Scully, Vincent, American, 1920- .
Pueblo: Mountain, Village, Dance. Rec: LAT (architecture)
Smith, E. Baldwin The Dome ( 1 950)
Smith has written several books, each treating a specific architectural feature which appears over large areas of the earth. This
book is one of the best of them.
Soper, A. and Sickman, L. The Art and Architecture of China
(1956) &011-/..1 From earliest times, traditionalism and resistance to change characterize Chinese architecture: an interesting
contrast with the fashionable, ever-changing styles of the West. Also: The Art and Architecture of Japan
Summerson, John The Classical Language of Architecture (1964)
Na*_,
Despite pockets of Gothic resistance, Classical architecture has dominated the "civilized" world from the Renaissance to the
present century. Summerson explains its grammatical disciplines for expert and layman alike. His purpose is to make us think
critically about, instead of just gazing at, architecture. Useful glossary of architectural terms. Also: Georgian London; Victorian
Architecture: Four Studies in Evaluation; Inigo Jones; Architecture in Britain, 1530-1830, etc
Venturi, Robert Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1977) In the late 20th century, architecture is evolving from
"modernism", the human dimension reasserting itself. Seminal text by a leading US practitioner. Usefully read in conjunction
with Jencks (qv).
Vitruvius On Architecture (43 BC)
Fascinating contemporary analysis of Classical architecture, including discussion of materials for building and decorating, and
even of the design of catapults and "tortoises" (early tanks). Particularly influential in the Renaissance. Good translation: Loeb
Library.
Wright, Frank Lloyd Modern Architecture (1931) 0 As important for America as Le Corbusier (qv) was for France and
Gropius (qv) for Germany, Wright in this famous book states with the passion that imbued all his work the principles of his
very personal architecture. Also: When Democracy Builds. etc. See Mumford.
Wright, Frank Lloyd, American, 1867-1959.
The Living City. Rec: LAT
Laurie D. Olin
Laurie Olin is a professor of landscape architecture at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. He teaches a landscape-design
studio and lectures on the history and evolution of landscapes. He has received Guggenheim and Rome Prize Fellowships for
study in landscape architecture; which he has taught at the University of Washington, the University of Pennsylvania and
Harvard. He is a founding partner of Hanna/Olin Ltd., a landscape-architectural firm located in Philadelphia.
These books should dispel either of two notions: the first that the world and our society are fixed or complete, and the second
that any particular current trend is destiny. Things can and must change, but to a surprising degree such change can be shaped
by dreams and design just as it can by chance or the forces currently at work in society.
Rolling C. Rolling. Tree in the Trail. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1942.
Of all the books from childhood, I place this one ahead of Winnie the Pooh, Alice, The Leather-stocking Tales, and so on
(which are better literature), because it gave an exciting history of a place. The protagonist was a cottonwood tree that
witnessed three hundred years of American evolution from buffalo herds and Indian migrations through the exploration and
settling of the West by European immigrants. It opened my eyes at age eight to social and ecological history. The elegant
drawings, paintings and maps on every page conveyed as much or more content as the text, another lesson that shaped my
future self-expression.
Frank Lloyd Wright. An American Architecture. Edgar Kaufmann, ed. New York: Bramhall House, 1955.
One of the several books about Frank Lloyd Wright's work. As a young architecture student I found this book was truly an
inspiration. The clear exposition of Wright's ideas concerning the relationship between buildings and society, between structure
and form, between ornament and materials, and his attitudes toward society, work and art opened up the possibilities of
architecture and imagination.
Loren C. Eiseley. The Immense Journey (1957). Alexandria, Va.: Time—Life Books, 1981.
The first and possibly the best of his many books. More than Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which came later, this collection of
essays explicated an ecological point of view to which I still aspire. Eiseley follows Thoreau as one who presents the longer
view of man as a part of nature, who struggles with this truth and the beauty of evolution and its unfinished workings and
experiments.
Theodore Roethke. Words for the Wind (1957). Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1981. (Pb)
The third volume of poetry published by one of the most influential teachers I ever had. Roethke introduced me to all the
modern poets as well as to the seventeenth-century metaphysical ones, but it was in the close reading of his work that I began
to see how one of my own contemporaries could make art from a living language. using material from his own experience and
mine, and give it form based upon classical and historical precedents. It was intelligent, passionate and beautiful. More
importantly, like William Carlos Williams and Wallace Stevens, the two American poets I came to value the most, his poetry
seemed always fresh and to admonish you to "change your life."
W. G. Hoskins. The Making of the English Landscape. New York: Penguin, 1970.
This deceptively concise and readable book by the current preeminent cultural geographer of Britain led me to spend several
years of my life involved in the study of the evolution of landscapes in Europe and Britain. It also led me to classical
archaeology, to the history of settlement patterns and agriculture, to the persistence of archetypes and themes in the design of
gardens and parks, and finally to make comparisons and connections between social, ecological and artistic history and theory.
More importantly, it led me to want both to share such views with others through teaching and to add my contribution to the
palimpsest of design on the land.
Certain historic comic strips and movies were equally important to my drawing and graphic development.
Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie is an internationally known architect and urban designer with a practice in Montreal, Cambridge, Massachusetts
and Jerusalem. He has been director of Harvard's Urban Design Program of the Graduate School of Design and is the Ian
Woodner Professor of Architecture and Urban Design. He has written three books: Beyond Habitat, For Everyone a Garden and
Form and Purpose. In addition to lecturing frequently at conferences and on campuses, his current projects range from the
Montilla business district in Jerusalem to the Montreal waterfront, a Hebrew school in Mexico City, housing in the Republic of
Singapore, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and Columbus Circle in New York City.
By definition, an architect's principal source of inspiration and learning is the study of the visual environment, cities and
buildings, observed in reality and in reproductions of drawings and photographs. The architect's eye is a greater scanner sorting
out relevancies, perceived and hidden orders, organization and patterns. The written word coexists as stimulation with the
image.
I have chosen three books. The impact of the first has been to place my consciousness within an ethical and moral framework.
The second is a book of science that connects the body theory of design to a greater universal context. The third is a book
specifically about architecture and cities, to give particular emphasis to the significance of one set of images and experiences
over others.
The Bible. King James version (1611). Book of Job.
The first book is the Book of Job and, in particular, its entirety but for the last four chapters. Job's starting point is the
comfortable world where virtue is rewarded, evil punished. Through a series of devastating experiences this simple construct
falls apart. Seeking virtue cannot be pursued for want of immediate rewards in this life, nor for Job (as for myself) does the
promise of a reward in an afterlife form a part of his consciousness. Invariably there must be other motives to seek virtue. It
comes down to the fundamental level of acting in a way that, when multiplied into the collective behavior of all humanity,
makes this planet a livable, comfortable place to be. It builds upon the ancient Hebrew saying "Thou shall not do unto others . .
." as a more elementary construct for one's personal morality than the crime-and-punishment constructs that followed, aiming
to control a fundamentally aggressive and selfish humanity. And though the last four chapters (considered by many scholars to
have been added later) soften the message, as God repents and rewards Job in this life upon the earth, I've always remained
with the lamentation of Job's dilemma and the conviction that what must govern my ethical base and morality as an architect
and as an individual must rest upon a vision of my own behavior and actions being multiplied to the infinity of collective
behavior and its impact upon the species.
Sir D'Arcy W. Thompson. On Growth and Form (1917). 2 vols. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984. (Pb)
Architects trained through the tradition of art history tend to think of architecture as a series of culturally based developments,
buildings and cities shaped by behavioral and psychic forces, styles evolving from one generation to the other shaped primarily
by the will of human beings. D'Arcy Thompson's On Growth and Form, published in 1917, which laid the foundation for the
science of morphology, has reshaped my understanding of the process and meaning of design. Introduced to the book by Louis
Kahn and Ann Tyng at age twenty-three, I came to appreciate the inseparable connection between design by nature and design
by man. What Thompson had proposed and demonstrated was that the forms or organisms in nature, from the simplest to the
most complex, evolved in the Darwinian sense to satisfy the criteria essential to survival. From the overused example of the
Nautilus shell to the more subtle demonstrations in the shapes of various plants; sea, land and air, fauna and flora, the bond
structure of the vulture's wing; the geometry of leaves of plants in the desert and the tundra, Thompson forever seeks and
demonstrates the connection of form to purpose.
It becomes possible to distinguish those developments in architecture and urbanism rooted in purpose, in the constraints of the
physical environment, of materials and place, and of life-style from those capricious and arbitrary explorations that surely must
have occurred in every age and engaged the builders of every period. It is in the nature of the human psyche to explore with the
same certainty that molecules and cells mutate and, in the long run, the history of architecture sorts out the explorations worthy
of survival and repetition from those destined to become dead ends.
If before D'Arcy Thompson I might have conceived the act of design as shaping in one's own image, after Thompson I was
conscious that form must evolve from the deep understanding and response to the physical and psychological structures and
constraints that shape our environment in a similar even though more complex manner as in morphology.
Bernard Rudofsky. Architecture Without Architects (1964). Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1969. (Pb)
With Thompson absorbed it was natural to seek in architecture that mode of building which most closely approximates
morphology in the linkage between form and purpose. The third book, Bernard Rudofsky's Architecture Without Architects,
really an exhibition catalog, is more in the tradition of architectural picture books. At a time that in our culture the architect
reigned supreme as form-giver—the one to give shape not only to buildings and cities, but to society itself—Rudofsky cried
out that the emperor was naked. Illustrating buildings and villages designed by nonarchitects, untrained human beings building
"in the vernacular," he demonstrated a world of immense beauty and complexity and, like D'Arcy Thompson, made the
connection showing how a particular form evolved in response to the inventive use of available technologies and materials, of
site and climate, where decoration emerged from myth and ritual, where efficiency, in the morphological sense, begets a sense
of order, fitness and, perhaps most relevantly, spiritual uplift.
Rudofsky establishes criteria that transcend the standard fare of art-history evaluations, suggesting the greater and more
fundamental measure from which no architect should attempt to escape. In an art world that proclaims that all is possible,
D'Arcy Thompson and Rudofsky suggest that the search is not for that which is possible, an infinity of choices, but for that
which is appropriate, a diminishing set of choices in search of truth.
Anne Whiston Spirn
Anne Whiston Spirn is associate professor of landscape architecture at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Her research and
publications grow out of her work on theories of nature and city design, best illustrated in her recent award-winning book The
Granite Garden: Urban Nature and Human Design. She was a fellow of the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe in 1978 and a Noyes
fellow in 1985. She holds a B.A. from Radcliffe College and a M.L.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
It was only after writing these notes that I realized that all five of the books are in one way or another a product of Harvard.
Eliot was an undergraduate at Harvard College, McHarg and Alexander studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and
John Dewey delivered Art as Experience as a Harvard lecture series founded in memory of William James.
Thomas Stearns Eliot. Four Quartets (1935-42). New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1968. (Pb)
I bought my first copy of the Four Quartets in a bookstore in Copenhagen. I was sixteen, living for a year on a farm and going
to school in Denmark. The Four Quartets was one of a handful of books in English that I read and reread. At first these books
were a linguistic refuge, the still center in a storm of unfamiliar words. Later, when Danish became a comfortable everyday
language, the words of the poems acquired a newness, as if heard for the first time. Eliot's use of the garden as metaphor, his
juxtaposition of nature's time and human time, struck a deep resonance. I was a city girl (suburban, really) exposed for the first
time to the violent vicissitudes of nature and a life founded on nature's rhythms as well as man's. Over the past twenty years, I
have returned to the Four Quartets again and again. They drive me to find a way to design landscapes that embody time past,
time present, and time future, that highlight the poignant contrast between nature's time and human time.
John Dewey. Art as Experience. New York: Minton, Balch, 1934.
I first read Art as Experience as a Radcliffe undergraduate struggling to strike a balance between art and scholarship. I had
meant to major in painting, only to find upon arrival that in Harvard's fine-arts department, one studied the history of art, not its
making. The idea that aesthetic experience was not the special property of an educated elite, but was knowable, an important
and universal human phenomenon engaging the senses and capable of being experienced on many different levels, was
attractive. By sketching an aesthetic theory that related to everyday experience as well as to extraordinary moments, Dewey
constructed a bridge for me between the making of art and its history, between high art and craft. This has since defined my
own approach to the aesthetics of design, one that is grounded in both sensual experience and intellectual meaning.
Ian L. McHarg. Design with Nature (1969). New York: Natural History Press, 1971. (Pb)
Design with Nature introduced me to my profession. Through this book, I learned that landscape architecture consisted of more
than the design of gardens, that it extended to the park, the parkway, the region. Through this profession I hoped to create
"useful" art and thereby to fuse the poetic imagery of Eliot and the pragmatic aesthetic of Dewey. I subsequently studied
landscape architecture with McHarg at the University of Pennsylvania and later worked for five years in his professional office
on a wide variety of planning and design projects. These projects ranged in scope from a study of an entire metropolitan region
to portions of cities, from plans for new communities to park designs. In the office, I gained a different appreciation for the
book: for its power to shape values and to create the demand for a particular type of professional practice. Design With Nature
demonstrated for me the potential of a book to change the way the environment is perceived and built. But McHarg neglected
the city, and that was the seed for my own book.
Christopher Alexander. Notes on the Synthesis of Form. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964. (Pb)
.et al. A Pattern Language which Generates Multi-Service Centers. Berkeley, Calif.: Center for Environmental
Structure, 1968.
These two books stand for me as one. As a graduate student in landscape architecture, the first provided a theoretical frame and
the second the application that made the theory comprehensible and meaningful. Alexander's work opened up new worlds for
me. As a visually oriented person trained in a highly verbal educational tradition, I found that the diagrams in Multi-Service
Centers packed a jolt in the way they fused abstract ideas, empirical data, and physical form. A door opened: this was a
language that seemed more native to me than words. Alexander also dispelled the mystique of design: he highlighted a
framework within which the real mystery—the flash of insight that illuminates a meaningful pattern—was facilitated.
ARCHITECTURE - INTRODUCTION
Joe Staines
Architecture is unique among the arts, in as much as it is impossible to avoid. From birth to death, the spaces that surround us
are largely defined by structures – walls, doors, windows, corridors – that have been consciously designed and built, albeit with
varying degrees of finesse. The very ubiquity of architecture leads most people to take it for granted. It usually enters our
awareness only for the most negative reasons: the destruction of something familiar and well loved, or the arrival of something
else that seems incongruous or out of scale. The experience of architecture can be much more rewarding than this, and the
following books have been chosen because all the authors, in their varying ways, have the ability to make the act of looking at
the build environment seem like an active and creative process, an act of interpretation as much as one of contemplation.
All find architectural values are human values, else not valuable.
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849) by John Ruskin. A highly idiosyncratic look at the fundamentals of architecture.
Ruskin’s high moral tone and sometimes eccentric opinions will not appeal to everyone but, after nearly 150 years, he is still
worth reading for the poetic vigour of his prose style and the brilliance of his observations.
Experiencing Architecture (1959) by Steen Eiler Rasmussen. A refreshingly clear and unpretentious approach that
concentrates on the many different ways of perceiving architectural forms: as an interplay of solids and voids, as a succession
of rhythmic patterns, and even in terms of the acoustical character of buildings.
An Outline of European Architecture (1963) by Nikolaus Pevsner. A confident sweep through Western (including American)
architecture: Pevsner’s slightly awkward prose style persuades through its passion and its directness.
A Cartoon History of Architecture (1975) by Osbert Lancaster. Lancaster was a famous cartoonist who also wrote for the
Architectural Review for many years. His eye for detail and dry wit make this a both amusing and highly insightful guide to the
vagaries of taste.
Illustrated History of Architecture 800-1914 (1993) by Jill Lever and John Harris. First published in 1966 as the Illustrated
Glossary of Architecture. The effectiveness of this dictionary derives from the way the authors have combined clearly written
definitions of key terms with a remarkable collection of photographs with which to illustrate them.
The Classical Language of Architecture (1963) by John Summerson. Originally a series of radio talks, this is an elegantly
phrased and lucid account of the way in which the essential elements of Classical Greek and Roman architecture have been
used and reinterpreted by succeeding generations of architects from Bramante to Le Corbusier.
Masterpieces of Architectural Design (1982) edited by Helen Powell and David Leatherbarrow. Architects have used drawing
in a variety of ways over the centuries: as a conceptual tool, as a means of communicating with builders, and as a way of
impressing clients. This book presents over 100 fascinating examples accompanied by short but apposite commentaries.
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
Joe Staines
The rebuilding of the east end of the abbey church of St Denis, just north of Paris, was begun in 1140. It took just four years
and is widely regarded as the first consistent manifestation of Gothic architecture. It was rapidly followed by similar building
and rebuilding programmes across the Isle de France, then in England, and eventually throughout Europe. The vital elements of
Gothic building - the pointed arch, the rib vault, and the flying buttress - all enabled the medieval master builder to replace the
solid but earthbound architecture of the Romanesque with something more dynamic and transcendent. Walls, no longer loadbearing, could be filled with windows of coloured glass, creating - as at Chartres - a jewel-like glow within the often vast
interiors. The Gothic cathedral dominated the surrounding landscape and the lives of those within it, so it is hardly surprising
that subsequent architectural history has concentrated on ecclesiastical buildings almost entirely at the expense of secular ones.
Gothic is not only the best, but the only rational architecture, as being that which can fit itself most easily to all services, vulgar
or noble ... it can shrink into a turret, expand into a hall, coil into a staircase, or spring into a spire, with undegraded grace and
unexhausted energy.
JOHN RUSKIN
Cathedral (1974) by David Macaulay. The story of the construction of an imaginary, but typical, French cathedral is told for
children using vivid explanatory drawings and a minimum of text. Much essential information is imparted in the most painless
of ways.
The Cathedral Builders (1980) by jean Gimpel. The perfect compliment to Macaulay's book, written by an enthusiast. A
stimulating text gives us the political and religious background to the `cathedral crusade', and provides a detailed view into the
lives of the various itinerant craftsmen responsible for its realization.
Gothic (1967) by George Henderson. Henderson sees the Gothic as rather more than a revolution in architectural construction.
His short book provides an overview of all the medieval visual arts, concentrating on their stylistic unity and emphasizing both
their human quality and their ornamental daring.
Gothic Architecture (1962) by Paul Frank. A wide-ranging history of Gothic architecture that stresses the importance of
structural developments. This is a classic account written by one of the subject's greatest scholars in a style that is thoroughly
readable and enjoyable. Includes a brief survey of secular architecture.
The Gothic Cathedral (1956) by Otto von Simson. For Simson, the symbolic function of the great cathedrals - as an image of
the City of God - is their greatest importance. Using contemporary texts, especially the writings of Abbot Suger of St Denis, he
tries to show the true significance of these buildings for medieval man.
Medieval Architecture, Medieval Learning (1992) by Charles M Radding and William W Clark. In this challenging book a
historian and an an historian attempt to unravel the connections and shared approaches between architecture and scholasticism
in the 11th and 12th centuries. Not an easy read but worth the effort.
The Nature of Gothic (1853) by John Ruskin. This chapter from The Stones of Venice was so admired by William Morris that
he printed it as a separate work. It is not difficult to understand Morris's enthusiasm, for here is Ruskin at his most rhapsodic:
confidently defusing the essentials of Gothic architecture, extolling its superiority - both aesthetic and moral - to all other
architectural styles, and linking this superiority to the independent character of those from northern climes.
RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE
Francesca M Speight
The study of architecture reflects, perhaps more than any other art form, the prevailing aesthetic tastes of a period. The
Renaissance is no exception, the rebirth of Classical ideas on form, proportion, and decoration, as found in the remains of
ancient Greece and Rome, providing inspirarion for such major architectural masters as Leon Battista Alberti, Filippo
Brunelleschi, and Michelangelo. Baroque architecture, however, reflects the penchant of the time towards lavish decorative
schemes on a grand scale, the simplicity and clarity of the Classical giving way to the love of complexity and dramatic effects.
He departed not a little from the work regulated by measure, order and rule which other men did according to a common use
and after Vitruvius and the antiquities, to which he would not conform ...
GIORGIO VASARI ON THE ARCHITECTURE OF MICHELANGELO
Introduction to Architecture (1983) by Stephen Gardiner. A valuable textbook which looks at the origins and development of
each style, followed by important examples of each type being examined, and concluding with a review of the international
impact and national variations of the style in question.
The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance (1969) by Peter Murray. Clear, beautifully illustrated account, ideal for the
beginner.
The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture (1966) by John Fleming, Hugh Honour, and Nikolaus Pevsner. An invaluable aid for
the newcomer to the many terms used within this discipline.
History of Italian Renaissance Art (1970) by Frederick Ham. Packed with information on all major and minor painters,
sculptors, and architects, all placed within a broad historical context. For over 20 years this has been considered to be the best
book written on this period.
Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism (1949) by Rudolf Wittkower. A seminal work, lucid and stimulating.
Relating Renaissance architecture to Renaissance music, philosophy, and science, Wittkower argues that its aesthetic principles
were grounded not in a secular view of the world, but a deeply religious one - that it was, fundamentally, a 'sacred' architecture.
An Outline of European Architecture (1943) by Nikolaus Pevsner. Reprinted many times, this remains a standard reference
book of exceptional quality. It is scholarly in approach, but the reader's perseverance is well rewarded in the wealth of
information it contains.
Baroque and Rococo (1964) by Germain Bazin. The author explores the richness and complexity of this period, and takes into
account the persistence of earlier styles. A scholarly but accessible study of the architecture as well as painting and sculpture of
the Baroque and Rococo.
WESTERN ARCHITECTURE 1750-1900
Rosamund Diamond
From the middle of the 18th century, as much as the other aspects of culture, architecture was affected by ideas of the
Enlightenment and significant changes that were taking place in the political structures of certain nations, the most significant
of these being the French and American Revolutions. Architecture became influenced by contemporary philosophy, in its ideas
about nature and society, and the conflict between empiricism and rationalism. Change in conceptions of history, and
archaeological expeditions to cultivate the examination of Roman and Greek architecture, led to the questioning of Vitruvius'
Classical precepts and the singular route presented by Renaissance and Baroque. It also resulted in the development of NeoClassicism.
In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution presented architecture with new approaches to development, as a result of both
mass increases in production and technological innovation. Enlarged urban development and, in the densely occupied cities, the
need to install comprehensive servicing systems, such as the provision of drainage and water, as well as advances in mobility
and communication, led to strategic planning, which produced both structured urban designs and, in the latter part of the
century, suburbanization. The rise of the new bourgeois classes in cities generated places of leisure and consumption: new
parks marked the urbanization of landscape, and technological advancement made possible the construction of the arcade.
Technical innovation from the middle of the 18th century, which included the development of iron as a structural material and
the birth of the steam engine, encouraged a division in the roles of the engineer and the architect. The new materials and
techniques of construction presented multiple rather than singular solutions to design projects. This presaged 20th-century
diversity. Advances in the production of power, leading, for example, to the invention of the lift and the electric light, resulted
not only in more ambitious constructions, but in architecture as a more sophisticated means of tempering the environment,
which might respond to individual need while expressing changes in society.
Unremittingly science enriches itself and life with newly discovered useful
materials and natural powers that work miracles, with new methods and
techniques, with new tools and machines. It is already evident that inventions
no longer are, as they had been in earlier times, means for warding off want
and for helping consumption; instead, want and consumption are the means
to market the inventions. The order of things has been reversed.
GOTTFRIED SEMPER
Neo-Classical and Nineteenth Century Architecture (1979) by Robin Middleton and David Watkin. (The paperback version
is in two volumes: The Enlightenment in France and England and The Diffusion and Development of Classicism and the
Gothic Revival.) This is one of the most useful and readable studies of the period 1750-1850, covering its major themes, which
include the influence of the antique, visionary architecture, Neo-Classicism, and the Gothic revival. It includes an invaluable
list of the main architectural protagonists and a comprehensive bibliography.
The Architecture of the French Enlightenment (1980) by Allan Braham. This is a well-illustrated, thorough survey of the
period, which includes a study of pre- and post-Revolutionary architecture.
The Writing of the Walls: Architectural Theory in the Late Enlightenment (1986) by Anthony Vidler. Another, more
particularised, investigation of architectural theory of the period.
Laugier and Eighteenth Century French Theory (1962) by Wolfgang and Anni Herrmann. This is a translation of An Essay
on Architecture (1753) by Marc-Antoine Laugier. Whereas the source text may be hard to read, the introduction by the
Herrmann provides an excellent guide to the theorist who, using the idea of the `primitive hut', pro-posed a `natural'
architecture.
Boullee and Visionary Architecture (1976) by Helen Rosenau. Covers the grandiose building projects of one of the most
extraordinary architects of the period.
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux - Architecture and Social Reform at the End of the Ancien Regime (1990) by Anthony Vidler.
This is one of the few thorough English-language studies of the visionary architect Ledoux.
Sources of Architectural Form: A Critical History of Western Design Theory (1995) by Mark Gelernter. Chapter 6 (The
Enlightenment) and Chapter 7 (The 19th Century) are useful in presenting the background of ideas to the development of
architecture.
History of Modern Architecture (1971) by Leonardo Benevolo. This work is in two volumes. Volume 1 covers the period
from 1740 to the 20th century, and has important sections on the birth of industrial towns that are relevant to a study of 19thcentury architecture.
The Modern City: Planning in the 19th Century (1970) by Francoise Choay. This book covers one of the most important
themes in the development of 19th-century architecture.
Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (1958) by Henry-Russell Hitchcock. Readable general study by a major
architectural historian.
The Four Elements of Architecture and Other Writings (1851-69; translated 1989 by H F Mallgrave and W Herrmann) by
Gottfried Semper. Semper was one of the most important 19th-century architectural theorists. The style of these texts may be
harder to read, but they are of great importance in establishing his ideas about the origins of architecture, and how structure
might relate to architecture and the expression of style.
Heavenly Mansions and Other Essays (1949) by John Summerson. John Summerson was one of Britain's foremost
architectural historians in the 20th century. This is a series of readable essays including a fascinating text on Viollet-le-Duc.
The Rise of an American Architecture (1970) edited by Edgar Kaufmann Jr. Interesting account that includes the
development of cities and parks, and the skyscraper.
The Gothic: Literary Sources and Interpretations through Eight Centuries (1959) by Paul Frankl. Important study of
Gothic architecture that includes its incamadon in 19th-century architecture. See also Gothic Architecture (1960) by the same
author.
Mechanization Takes Command (1948) by Sigfried Giedion. A look at construction in terms of concepts of comfort and its
acquisition; for example, bathing and hygiene. Although there are many omissions, or issues covered too thinly, it at least
addresses and introduces the cultural climate in which architecture was developing in the 20th century.
In Search of Modern Architecture - A Tribute to Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1982) by Helen Searing. This book was
produced as a festschrift for the famous architectural historian. It includes an interesting range of essays including architectural
and urban design topics from 1740 up to the 20th century.
20TH-CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
Rosamund Diamond
The history of modem architecture could be described as a history of ideas, in which the apparent divergence of approaches,
and the number of movements, in contrast to previous centuries, resulted from the wide range of possibilities made available by
new technologies. This not only made architects address different methods of construction, but also the social effects of their
buildings, individually and collectively, in shaping and reflecting the way people live in the modem age. Architects such as Le
Corbusier projected visions of whole conurbations and environments to support the new social structures that they envisioned.
It is hard to be precise in attempting to trace the start of modem architecture when one considers both its technological and its
visionary characteristics.
In one sense its origin may be found in the origins of the Industrial Revolution, but in another it lies as much in the
development of ideas in the middle of the 18th century. The individual's place in an increasingly mechanized field of
production is often questioned in the debates of 20th-century architecture, and this growing dilemma is expressed in the late
century's divergence of stylistic approaches.
The machinery of society, profoundly out of gear, oscillates between an
amelioration, of historial importance, and a catastrophe. The primordial instinct of
every human being is to assure himself of shelter. The various classes of workers in
society today no longer have dwellings adapted to their needs; neither the artisan
nor the intellectual. It is a question of building which is at the root of the social
unrest of today; architecture or revolution.
LE CORBUSIER
History of Modern Architecture (Volume 2, 1971) by Leonardo Benevolo. This is a very interesting history of modem
architecture because, unlike many of the personality-dominated histories, it sets architecture and urbanism into its industrial,
economic, and social contexts.
Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition (1941) by Sig&ied Giedion. This study of modem
architecture and its development in the USA has been one of the most frequently read by students. It avoids some of the
ideological influences that Benevolo and Tafuri (see below) present as central to their studies of modern architecture.
Modern Architecture: A Critical History (1980) by Kenneth Frampton. This is one of the most valuable recent brief
introductory studies of modern architecture, by one of the leading critical writers on the subject, including contemporary work.
Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (1960), Age of the Masters (1962), Architecture of the Well-Tempered
Environment (1969), all by Reyner Banham. Banham's work is always carefully researched, placed in a general cultural
context, and very readable. On the one hand, he apparently has an easy style which concerns his sense of the power of things
contemporary and immediate; on the other, it is this, together with his scholarship, that allows him to question the
developments of modem architecture, their successes and failures, rather than freezing them as historical events. The last title is
still important as a critical study of the impact of environmental engineering.
Programmes and Manifestos on 20th-Century Architecture (1970) edited by Ulrich Conrads, translated by Michael
Bullock. This is a good source book of some of the most important statements of position made by architects between 1900 and
the early 1960s.
Architecture Culture 1943-1968 (1993) by Joan Ockman with the collaboration of Edward Eigen. This is another version of
the previous book with the inclusion of a later generation of architects.
Sources of Modern Architecture (1967) by Dennis Sharp. A very useful bibliography listing many significant architects of the
Modem movement, with basic information on their lives and their work, and publications by or on them.
Modern Architecture (2 volumes; 1986) by Manfredo Tafuri and Francesco Dal Co. Like the work of Benevolo, this sets
architecture into a political and cultural context, that is prepared to reassess history and with it the Modem movement.
Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century (1985, 1990) by David Dunster. Volume 1 covers houses 1900-44 and Volume 2
1945-89. Both consist of brief studies of individual buildings significant to the development of 20th-century architecture,
providing a useful companion to the broader histories.
Oeuvre Complete (1910-65) by Le Corbusier, edited by W Boesiger. In seven volumes, an extraordinary record of one of the
century's most important architects, including his own descriptions of his work.
Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966) by Robert Venturi. One of the few architectural treatises of the late
20th century. It presages what is now described as Post-Modem architecture.
Learning from Las Vegas (1972) by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steve Izenour. This is a study of the popular
culture that the authors identify as confronting contemporary architecture.
The Language of Post-Modern Architecture (1984) by Heinrich Klote, translated by Radka Donnell. Thorough general
review of the main Post-Modernists, although to understand this late 20th-century development, general cultural works that
examine other arts should be studied.
Art and Design
At first sight, it might seem that there are too many art books: too much reading goes on, and not enough looking. But for most
people, art books are a personal gallery to the majority of the world's great pictures, the only possible ticket to the contents of
far-flung galleries. For this reason, art books are recommended here for quality of pictures, standard of reproduction, first;
second comes authority or accessibility of text. We have, however, chosen not so much picture books about individual artists,
as books about trends, about art itself. Where art becomes a practical as well as an aesthetic matter, and particularly in the new,
prescriptive discipline of design, things are a little different. Here theory and philosophy are crucial matters, and elegance of
text bulks large. The best books of all—and it is interesting to see how many of them are by artists themselves—are those
which combine experience, vision and articulacy of style. They are the cream of a rich and nourishing list.
See ANTHROPOLOGY (Agee, Kroeber, Turner): ARCHAEOLOGY (Sandars); ARCHITECTURE (Banham, Clark.
Kouwenhoven, Lancaster, Lawrence, Newman, Soper); AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Cellini, Clark); BIOGRAPHY (Freud, Grigson,
Hudson, Lindsay, Renoir, Thompson); DIARIES (Dali, Van Gogh); GEOGRAPHY (Tunnard); HISTORY/AMERICAN
(Josephy, Jones); HISTORY/ ASIAN (Basham); HISTORY/BRITISH (Burn, Burton, Dillon, George, Strong); HOME (Conran,
Jeffs, Johnson, Kron); HUMOUR (Hollowood, Larry, New Yorker, Searle, Schulz, Steadman, Steinberg); LITERARY
CRITICISM (Benjamin); MATHEMATICS (Hofstadter); MEDIA (Evans. Maclean); MEDICINE (Trevor-Roper); MUSIC
(Hoffnung); NATURAL HISTORY (Audubon, Be-wick, Holden)
Adburgham, Alison (ed) A Punch History of Manners and Modes, 1841-1940(1961)
*
Since few of us can house, let alone afford, the 7000 back numbers of Punch, this volume suffices to show how valuable this
magazine is, to social historians and the inquisitive alike, as a marvellous source of information on changes in attitudes. The
cartoons offer an accurate guide to fashion from bloomers to the zip fastener. Battock, Gregory (ed) The New Art: A Critical
Anthology (1973) p a., For those worried about deciphering the art of the post-machine age and understanding the
preoccupations of painters, sculptors, space enclosers, volume envelopers, earth movers and esoteric talkers, this collection of
essays provides some useful insights. Also: Idea Art; New Ideas in Art Education. See Rosenberg.
Baudelaire, Charles The Painter of Modern Life (1863)
The poet on the visual arts of his time is wiser and more perceptive than many full-time professional critics. Ostensibly about
Constantin Guys, this book is crammed with general judgements on artistic society at large. Also: Art in Paris, 1845-1862. See
Delacroix; BIOGRAPHY (Starkie); DIARIES; POETRY Behrman, S. N. Duveen (1952)
Witty, scathing account of the extraordinary career of one of the most successful 20th-century art dealers, who provided many
newly rich Americans with ancestors-to-order culled from the stately homes of England, and single-handed made the
unremarkable Romney into one of the world's most sought-after painters.
Bell, Clive Art( 1 914)
Cornerstone of Bloomsbury Group aesthetics, with its emphasis on "significant form" and the presentation of humane values in
an increasingly inhuman world. Also: Civilization. See Fry.
Berger, John Ways of Seeing(1972)
Pa*J
Influential essays on the gap between what we see and the knowledge and beliefs that we articulate in words. In particular
Berger examines our assumptions that there is such a thing as "art" and that the perception of art objects—aesthetic experience?
—is somehow set apart from other perceptions. Hard; rewarding. Also: Permanent Red; Art and Revolution, etc.
Black, J. A. and Garland, M. A History of Fashion (1975) Audacious successful attempt to trace the history of fashion
practically from Adam and Eve, certainly from the age of skins and paint, to the kaleidoscopic seventies. See Adburgham.
Bland, David Farrant, English, ca. 1911-1970.
History of Book Illustration. Rec: Ward
Breuil, Henri, French, 1877-1961.
The Evolution of Rock Art in the Caves of France. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Clark, Kenneth Looking at Pictures (1960)
The title expresses exactly what this book is about, and what Clark does as well as any living man. He makes a personal
anthology of paintings—good reproductions accompany the text—and reading the book is like walking through a gallery with
Clark at one's side. Also: The Nude, etc. See ARCHITECTURE; AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Clark, Kenneth, English, 1903-1983.
Civilisation. Rec: National Review (art history)
Conrad, Peter The Victorian Treasure-House(1973)
Switch-back progression through the labyrinth of the Victorian British mind, as manifested primarily in the visual arts, though
there are constant vitalizing cross-references to poetry, fiction, technology and history. Also: Shandyism
Various authors, Various, Pub. 1951.
The Dada Painters and Poets: An Anthology (Edited by Robert Motherwell (1915-1991)). Recommended by: Counterpunch NF
Delacroix, Eugene Journal( 1893)
Vivid, fetching picture of the French art world in the mid 19th century, seen through the eyes of one of its leading figures.
Compare with B audelaire (qv).
Faure, Élie, French, 1873-1937.
History of Art. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Frankfort, H. The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient (1954)
a*-if
Fry, Roger Vision and Design (1920)
Essays on a variety of subjects which roused the passions of this most dynamic member of the Bloomsbury Group, exploring
and explaining his sensations in front of a Claude, a Cezanne or a masterwork of the Renaissance in terms still illuminating to
the layman. Also: Transformations; Cezanne Letters. See Bell.
Fry, Roger, English, 1866-1934.
Cezanne: A Study of His Development. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Gaunt, William The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy (1942)
Excellent introduction to the Pre-Raphaelites, their lives, their sometimes scandalous loves, and their deadly serious work.
Also: Victorian Olympus; The Aesthetic Adventure
Giedion, Sigfried Mechanization Takes Command ( 1 948) Oa*
The potter's wheel, the weaver's loom, iron casting and printing with movable type were early instances of the mechanization
of design processes. From gradual beginnings, with the commercial exploitation of the innovations of the Industrial Revolution
in the 18th and 19th centuries, mechanization does indeed take command. Giedion's account puts up all the hares—even, in
1948, feminism—in the race for comfort, convenience, cleanliness and, above all, not godliness, but commercial success. See
ARCHITECTURE
Gilson, Etienne The Arts of the Beautiful (1965 )
Gilson (a noted and dependable critic) writes with grace and style not of pictures only, but of art in general. An important and
highly enjoyable book: aesthetics at their unpretentious best. Also: Form and Substance in the Ans; The Choir of Muses, etc.
See PHILOSOPHY
Gogh, Vincent van, Dutch, 1853-1890.
Complete Letters. Rec: Counterpunch Trans Ward
Gombrich, Ernst Art and illusion (1960) OP./
Exploration of the psychology of pictorial representation, covering the whole history of what artists actually did and what they
thought they were doing (often two very different matters). Profound scholarship, lightly worn. Also: The Story of Art; The
Sense of Order; Meditations on a Hobby Horse, etc.
Gombrich, E. H., American, 1909-2001.
The Story of Art. Rec: Fadiman 3
Art and Illusion. Rec: Counterpunch Trans ML Nonfiction
Guilbaut, Serge, French, 1943- .
How New York Stole the Idea of Modern Art. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Hauser, Arnold, German, 1892-1978.
The Social History of Art. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Haydon, Benjamin Robert Autobiography and Journals (1853) Life and reflections of a painter with genius but no talent.
Haydon knew everybody, and always has something interesting to say, not least about his own contradictory nature.
Hogarth, William The Analysis of Beauty (17 53) *
Hogarth's paintings and engravings attacked the conventions and hypocrisies of society in general and the art world in
particular. In print too he kept up the good work, with broadsides against connoisseurship and especially against classicism as
the current artistic credo, in an attempt to make the language of art understandable to more than a small dilettante elite.
Stimulating, invigorating essays–with points still valid today. Facsimile edition (1969) recommended.
Honour, Hugh Neoclassicism (1968)
Oaf'
Far-ranging, compact introduction to a whole climate of thought and feeling in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as cool
and graceful in style as the art it celebrates. Also: Romanticism; Chinoiserie. See ARCHITECTURE (Fleming)
Ivins, William M. Prints and Visual Communication (1953) it J Apparently dry subject (how various graphic processes
evolved conventions of representation in order to put over their meaning) transformed into a breathless historical detective
story which illuminates far more than its immediate subject.
Various Artists, Japanese.
Japanese Landscape Painting. Rec: StJE
Jones, Owen The Grammar of Ornament (1856) * Though it was not regarded as art, decoration was a subject of consuming
interest to the Victorians. Industry, newly mechanized, had a voracious appetite for new patterns. What better, Jones and many
others thought, than the study of nature and history? Theories still relevant; colour lithographs a joy for all.
Klee, Paul On Modern Art (1948) P a 1'
In this self-analytical sketchbook—collected thoughts and illustrations—Klee worries about the isolation (self-inflicted, he
thinks) of the modern artist. Also: Notebooks
Klee, Paul, Swiss writing in German, 1879-1940.
The Thinking Eye. Rec: Ward
The Nature of Nature. Rec: Ward (art)
Laver, James Taste and Fashion: From the French Revolution to the Present Day (1937)
Elegant text; delightful plates. Revised edition (1945) recommended.
Leonardo da Vinci, Italian, 1452-1519.
Notebooks. Rec: Adler Bloom Ward
Lynton, Norbert, English, 1927- .
Story of Modern Art. Rec: Ward
McGraw-Hill (publisher) Encyclopaedia of World Art
(15 vols, 1963-68)
•alt./
Mondrian, Piet Plastic Art and Pure Plastic Art (1937) P J Mondrian, with the minimum of words and faded but adequate
images, outlines the conversion of a realist landscape painter to abstract painting, his individual brand of Cubism being known
as Neo-Plasticism. A great help in understanding what sort of activity painting has become in the 20th century.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Italian, 1475-1564.
Poems. Rec: Bloom Ward
Morison, Stanley Politics and Script(1972)
No mere catalogue of scripts and types this: Morison relates the history of lettering to political, social, religious, aesthetic, and
commercial factors. Unusual subject; absorbing book.
Mumford, Lewis Technics and Civilization (1934)
Mumford removes our historical blinkers by relating advances in design since the Industrial Revolution to their wider historical
context. His inventory of inventions is endlessly fascinating. See ARCHITECTURE
Mumford, Lewis, American, 1895-1990.
The City in History. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Technics and Civilization. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Murray, P. and L. A Dictionary of Art and Artists (1959)
a
Newton, Stella M. Health, Art and Reason (1974) • J
Fascinating study of conflicting attitudes to female fashions in the wildly ambiguous Victorian era when reforms in dress were
argued for, initiated and sometimes abandoned, on grounds of health and hygiene, art, and reason. Also: Renaissance Theatrical
Costume and the Sense of the Historical Past. See Adburgham; Black.
Nochlin, Linda Realism (1971)
Forceful study of 19th-century relations between art and life, particularly in the work of those artists whose work contains
specific social or political commitment. Osborne, Harold The Oxford Companion to Art (1970)
Alphabetical reference book, more chunky and full than Murray (qv). If you can afford just one art-reference book, this should
be it.
Panovsky, Erwin Meaning in the Visual Arts (1955) Q J
Provocative collection of essays by the inventor of "iconology"—the study of the artist's visual language and how artists have
conveyed meaning to spectators in various historical periods. Also: Studies in Iconology; The Life and Art of Albrecht Diirer
Panofsky, Erwin, German-American writing in German and English, 1892-1968.
Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of the Renaissance. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Perspective as Symbolic Form. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Papanek, Victor Design for the Real World (1971) i *
Pied Piper Papanek cannot, even in the face of the worsening energy crisis and the polarization of wealth, persuade lemminglike designers to accept responsibility for solving realproblems. Their ideals are submerged by the marketing idea of the "ideal
consumer", and the poor—individuals and nations—the sick and the needy are neglected. See Schaeffer.
Pevsner, Nlkolaus Pioneers of Modern Design (1936)
fli*.f
The irresistible force of the Industrial Revolution meets the immovable object—the nostalgia of Victorian Revivalism—yet
somehow "modern" architecture and design emerge. Revised edition (1960) recommended. Also: The Englishness of English
Art; Studies in Art, Architecture and Design (especially volume II), etc. See ARCHITECTURE (Fleming, Pevsner)
Pissarro, Camille Letters to His Son Lucien (1943)
The great Impressionist writes regularly to his artist son in London over twenty years, mixing professional advice, art gossip
and domestic details in a charming, revealing way.
Read, Herbert Art and Industry (1934)
Practical yet impassioned statement of faith on the principles of industrial design, by one of the major pioneers in its study.
Catches the feeling of the earnest thirties; but the arguments are still relevant. Also: The Philosophy of Modem Art; Icon and
Idea; The Meaning of Art, etc
Reitlinger, Gerald The Economics of Taste (3 vols, 1961-70)
Intimidating title disguises a riveting account of the rise and fall of prices and reputations in pictures (vol I) and objets d'art (vol
II) since the mid 18th century. Vol III carries the tale through the swinging sixties.
Reynolds, Joshua Discourses on Art (1769 - 91)
Classic statement of classical 18th-century academic attitudes, by the then President of the British Royal Academy and one of
their most successful exponents. Who should know better? Who could put it more elegantly?
Richter, Jean Paul (ed) The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci (1939)
Richter's sleuth work in collating innumerable intriguing notes from the artist's notebooks and manuscripts, aided by his
cultivated ability to read Leonardo's reversed writings without the use of a mirror, makes Leonardo's contributions to art and
science seem all the more remarkable. 1970 reprint recommended. See BIOGRAPHY (Freud)
Rosenberg, Harold The Anxious Object (1964)
Art critic of the New Yorker genuinely enjoys many of the more bizarre manifestations of "modern art". Enthusiasm is the best
advocate, especially when matched (as here) by style, common sense, and a very necessary sense of humour. Also: The
Tradition of the New; The De-Definition of Art; Artworks and Packages. See Battock.
Rothenstein, John Modern English Painters, 1952– 1974 (1976) aka Lively accounts of fifty 20th-century artists, most of
whom the former director of the Tate Gallery, London, knew personally and describes with a fund of anecdote as well as crisp
critical perception. Compare with his autobiography, Brave Day
Hideous Night.
Ruskin, John, English, 1819-1900.
Selected Writings. Rec: Lubbock
Praeterita. Rec: Ward
Modern Painters. Rec: Bloom Lubbock
Stones of Venice. Rec: Bloom
Unto This Last. Rec: Bloom
Queen of the Air. Rec: Bloom
Sandler, Irving The Triumph of American Painting (1970)
Blow-by-blow account of the rise of Abstract Expressionism in America, by one who saw it all happen, knew and knows most
of the principal characters, and is able, before even the dust of the battle has completely stilled, to step back and judge with
unnerving sense and precision. Also: The New York School Schaeffer, H. 19th-century Modern (1970)
9 a The essential
antidote to Pevsner's (qv) classic Pioneers, with its artist-craftsman bias. Victorian consumer products, like bicycles, spoons
and even gynaecological forceps are examined and the roots of modernism are traced in this functional tradition. Schaeffer
raises a moral question too: when the perfect solution to a design problem has been reached, why should "stylists" deceive
consumers with seductive new models? See Papanek.
Scharf, Aaron Art and Photography (1968) 0.1 Standard work on the tricky relations between the traditional arts and
photography. Breezy; full of oddities as well as serious information; cheerily opinionated.
Sickert, Walter Richard A Free House (1947)
Fine (and eccentric) artist lays about him on subjects connected with painting, friends, enemies, the art establishment (which he
abhorred) and the advantages and disadvantages of the English, both of which he was well placed to appreciate. Selection by
Osbert Sitwell recommended.
Smith., John Thomas Nollekens and His Times (1828)
Sublimely bitchy anecdotal biography by his former pupil and assistant of one of the 18th century's great eccentrics, who
happened also to be a sculptor of note. Stedman, John The Rule of Taste from George Ito George /V(1936) Postulates general
agreement upon what was considered "correct taste" in the period of the British Georges; traces the influence of Vanbrugh,
Burlington, Kent, Walpole, and Adam in architecture and interior decoration and also that of Kneller, Gainsborough, Romney
and other painters.
Sontag, Susan, American, 1933-2004.
On Photography. Rec: Harvard
Steichen, Edward, American, 1879-1973.
The Family of Man. Rec: LAT NYPL (photography series)
Sypher, Wylie Four Stages of Renaissance Style (1955)
A noted literary critic discusses the styles of the Renaissance as manifested not only in painting and sculpture, but also in
literature, music and the other arts. A tour de force of enthusiasm and knowledge.
Vasari, Giorgio Lives of the Artists (1550 -68)
0* Anecdotal and a pleasure to read, but also an interesting historical
document which covers every aspect of art and artists in Renaissance Italy when, as Gombrich (qv) puts it, "artists became
conscious and over-conscious of the great achievements of the past that weighed on them".
Vasari, Giorgio, Italian, 1511-1574.
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Rec: Bloom Ward
On Painting
L. Alberti
Principles in Art
The Four Books of Architecture A. Palladio
Principles in Art
Patrons and Painters
F. Haskell
Principles in Art
The Greek Revival
J. Mordant Crook Principles in Art
James Ackerman
James Ackerman is the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Fine Arts. His essays and articles are on the history of architecture.
critical and historical theory, and the interaction of art and science. His books focus on his long-held fascination with Rome:
The Architecture of Michelangelo, Palladio and Palladio's Villas. Recently he has expanded his artistic interests to film:
Looking for Renaissance Rome (1976) and Palladio the Architect and His Influence in America (1980).
I'm not sure that any of these books (except possibly for Barthes) would have the same impact today that they did when
published: they are still worth reading, but they were written in and for another milieu. If all important books retained their
value permanently we wouldn't need to produce any new ones.
Roger Fry. Vision and Design (1920). New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. (Pb)
I was sixteen when I bought this book of essays on various themes, and I was overwhelmed by my first contact with its subtle
and sensitive approach to art. Fry's elegant prose reinforced his message that the essence of art resides not in the reproduction
of nature but in form, color, rhythm and other abstract characteristics. Today his idealistic position seems rather old hat, but his
writing is still much more engaging and persuasive than that of almost any of our current critics.
Sigfried Giedion. Space, Time, and Architecture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1941.
In my post-college years, this book introduced me and my fellow students to modern architecture when hardly any examples of
it could be found in America. For Giedion, the new architecture, especially that of Europe, was not only the first great
expression since the Baroque period, but was destined to revolutionize the way we live. We swallowed the argument whole and
did what we could to crusade for a totally modern environment. Today I see the shortcomings as well as the virtues of Giedion
and architectural modernism, but I am offended by the shallow attack on both by some "postmodern" critics.
E. H. Gombrich. Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation (1960). Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1961. (Pb)
This book fundamentally influenced the way I speak and write about pictures. Gombrich's central argument, which was based
on the most advanced research in perception psychology, was that artists cannot see the visual world except in terms of
formulas that shape their perceptions, and that to a great extent these formulas are based on their experience of existing works
of art. We, in turn, approach their work with our own formulas. The book laid to rest the claim of Ruskin and later criticism that
the best painters of nature had learned to look with an "innocent eye," uncontaminated by concepts or knowledge. Gombrich
showed how much every effort to project onto a flat surface the "real" world we perceive as we move about and use two eyes is
affected by the social environment, by preexisting art and by personal experience.
Percy W. Bridgman. The Way Things Are (1959). New York: Viking, 1961.
No intellectual innovation in this century is comparable in its far-reaching impact to that sparked by the discovery in natural
science and mathematics that no proposition can claim to have absolute authority; each can be verified only in terms of the
operations employed to measure it. This book, by a Nobel Prize—winner in physics, articulating what he calls "operational"
reasoning, helped me to see the implications of this concept for the criticism of literature and art. The humanities as well as the
sciences had been in the grip of absolute principles and were liberated by their dissolution. Incidentally, nearly all the major
humanistic writings of the past generation have been the work of scientists, not humanists.
Roland Barthes. The Pleasure of the Text. Richard Miller, trans. New York: Hill & Wang, 1975. (Pb)
This is the only relatively recent book I have included, which proves that the mind becomes less receptive with age. It is a
collection of Pascalian Pensees which, as the title implies, ruminate on the relaxed and sensuous enjoyment of reading. It was
calculated to counteract and balance the excessive sophistication and Puritanism of modern criticism. Since Barthes, as one of
the fathers of structuralist /semiotic interpretation, exerted a powerful influence on the making of that criticism, one of the
pleasures of Pleasure is in its sly subversiveness. Because a major enjoyment in the reading of this or of almost any wellcrafted text is in the quality of the language, much is lost in translation.
Oleg Grabar
Oleg Grabar is the Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Art at Harvard with a long-standing interest in Islamic art, architecture and
archaeology. His responsibilities on the steering committee of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture take him throughout the
world. This year marks the fiftieth and fifty-first Ph.D. theses he has supervised. The Formation of Islamic Art and Alhambra
are his best-known books and he is currently completing two more general books on Islamic architecture.
Alexandre Dumas. The Three Musketeers (1844). New York: Penguin, 1982. (Pb)
. The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-45). New York: Bantam, 1981. (Pb)
These are the books I have most often reread since the age of twelve or thirteen for, regardless of their technical imperfections
and psychological shallowness, they keep reminding me of the facts that dealing with the past is always talking about people,
that imagination is part of the historian's trade, that the past can be fun, and especially that such contemporary terms as
"model," "scenario," and "intervention" are nothing but fancy transformations of a novelist's plot to grab a reader's attention.
Ernst H. Kantorowicz. Frederick the Second (1927). E. O. Lorimer, trans. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1957.
This book, read when I was an undergraduate, fascinated me with its imagination in reconstructing dramatic events and in
weaving complex ideological struggles around an extraordinary individual. The book is inseparable in my mind from other
books by the same historian and from my eventual acquaintance with him and the sheer brilliance of his mind and
conversation. The book or books are like the imperfect mementos of a man who felt the past as an adventure with a mission.
The adventure was people, the mission ordering power.
Earl Baldwin Smith. Architectural Symbolism of Imperial Rome and the Middle Ages (1956). New York: Hacker Art Books,
1978.
Here again a flawed book is in fact tied to Smith's teaching and to my growing awareness of the meanings associated with
forms and of the possibility of the universal principles of artistic processes and interpretations. Smith's work is inseparable in
my mind with several articles written by Richard Krautheimer, Andre Grabar, Karl Lehman and other more-or-less
contemporary historians who, wittingly or not, transferred their own.- visceral perception of contemporary totalitarianism into
an explanation of the past.
Roman Jakobson. "Linguistics and Poetics." In Style in Language, Thomas A. Sebeok, ed. Cambridge: Technology Press of
M.I.T., 1960.
Another, particularly vibrant introduction to a world in which theoretical models seem almost capable of explaining the
realities of art. From this and structuralism it was just a step to semiology, even though nothing has as yet succeeded as well as
Jakobson's formulas, because Jakobson felt and knew poetry before he worried about its structure.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE: CLASSICAL ART
Graham Ley
It is inevitable that the lavishly illustrated coffee-table book will attract most attention in this as in other artistic subjects, and
most libraries have a good stock of volumes of this sort. But in this extremely short reading list I have also included more
modest books which provide a clear discussion of the artefacts, and offer helpful critical guidelines on an introductory level. So
readers are advised to `move about' between the different books for illustrations and commentary, and to be aware that each
particular selection of objects or pictures is always (and inevitably) going to give a rather limited impression of what is
available. The more recent books can take advantage of any discoveries that have been made, and most contain suggestions for
further reading.
Yet Greek art is not only the first entirely self-conscious art that we know of,- it stands apart from all other traditions in its
almost exclusive search for beauty, and in particular the beauty of the human form ...
ROGER FRY
Oxford History of Classical Art (1993) edited by John Boardman. An excellent, new survey of both Greek and Roman art in a
relatively large format, with good illustrations and up-to-date suggestions for reading in specialist areas.
Minoan and Mycenean Art (1981) by R Higgins. The art of the societies of Bronze Age Crete (Minoan) and mainland Greece
(Mycenaean) presented in the second edition of a popular introduction.
Greek Art (1985) by John Boardman. The most comprehensive, and consequently also the most concise, of a series of
illustrated handbooks by a distinguished commentator.
Art and Experience in Classical Greece (1972), Art in the Hellenistic Age (1986) by Jerry Pollitt. These two books offer
stimulating interpretations of Greek art in major periods. The latter considers Greek art from the time of Alexander the Great
until the domination of Rome.
Archaic Greek Art (1971) Classical Greek Art (1973) Hellenistic Art (1973) by J Charbonneaux and others. These three
volumes provide superb illustrations.
Art of the Etruscans (1970) by M Moretti and G Maetzke. An illustrated guide to the art of the culture dominant in central
Italy before the Romans.
Roman Art (1991) by Susan Walker. A short, well-illustrated introduction to the subject, which draws on the artefacts in the
British Museum in London.
Roman Art (1976) by Donald Strong. One of the best and most reliable introductions.
Handbook of Roman Art (1983) edited by Martin Henig. A careful, collective survey of major aspects, which also includes a
helpful chapter on `Late Antiquity'.
Roman Painting (1953) by A Maiuri. Extremely valuable for its excellent illustrations of the remarkable survivals.
MEDIEVAL ART
Chris Murray
A very elastic term, `medieval' changes its scope according to context. Here it is being used in its widest sense: the period from
the end of the Roman Empire (4th century AD) to the beginning of the Renaissance (15th century). This vast stretch of time, far
from being an artistic Dark Age - first barbaric and then dominated by monkish virtues, stern and life-denying - was a period of
extraordinary variety and richness. In varying degrees, the styles of the collapsed Roman civilization blended with those of
such `barbaric' peoples as the Celts and the Anglo-Saxons to produce styles expressing the complex and dynamic character of a
new civilization - Christendom. In Byzantium in particular, where the Roman legacy was strongest, the need to express a
spiritual sense of the world produced a style of great grandeur and power. The masterpieces of medieval art include stained
glass, metalwork, manuscript illumination, sculpture (in stone, metal, wood, and ivory), frescoes, and panel paintings. The
main artistic divisions are: early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic.
The contrast between suffering and joy, between adversity and
happiness, appeared more striking. All experience had yet to the minds of
men the directness and absoluteness of the pleasure and pain of child-life.
Every event, every action, was still embodied in expressive and solemn
forms, which raised them to the dignity of a ritual.
JOHAN HUIZINGA
Early Christian and Byzantine Art (1970) by John Beckwith. A scholarly yet quite accessible account. This covers the very
earliest part of the Middle Ages. Most of the book looks at Byzantine art, but the section on early Christian an, tracing how
Roman styles were gradually transformed by the need to find a Christian form of expression, is welcome as this is a much
neglected period.
A Concise History of Painting from Prehistory to the 13th Century (1967) by David Talbot Rice. The title is somewhat
misleading, for an until the Christian era is covered in 60 pages, the rest of the book (another 200 pages) being devoted to
medieval an. Brief text (many illustrations) by one of the leading scholars of early art.
Medieval Art (1989) by James Snyder. A clear, perceptive, and enthusiastic account of the period from the 4th century to the
14th, covering all the arts. Nearly 700 beautiful illustrations, giving a strong impression of the range and vitality of the
medieval arts.
Byzantine Style and Civilization (1975) by Steven Runciman. A short, classic study, beautifully illustrated. Byzantine art,
which has a history of over 900 years, forms the richest and stylistically most consistent expression of medieval art.
Early Medieval Art (1969) by John Beckwith. A standard work that looks at the period from the coronation of Charlemagne
(800 AD) to the 12th century - that is, the styles known as Carolingian, Ottonian, and Romanesque. A European art is forming
out of the many tribal divisions of Europe.
Gothic Art (1967) by Andrew Martindale. This can be seen as a companion to Beckwith (published in the same series). It
covers the period from the 12th century to the 14th. For many, Gothic an is the quintessential an of the Middle Ages.
Cambridge Introductions to the History of Art: The Middle Ages (1982) by Anne Shaver-Crandell. Although this looks
mostly at architecture, it is the best short introduction. The author covers the period from the 11th century to the 14th.
Gothic (1967) by George Henderson. A stimulating complement to Martindale, this examines Gothic an in terms of the ideas,
and the political and social order, of the late Middle Ages.
The Rise of the Artist (1972) by Andrew Martindale. A short but fascinating account of the changing role of the artist (and
therefore art and society) in the late Middle Ages, when courts were becoming increasingly important sources of patronage.
RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE
Francesca M Speight
The Renaissance (French for `rebirth') was a relatively brief but vital period in the history of Western European culture in
which inspiration came from the antique remains of ancient Greece and Rome. It reflects both the continuation of the Christian
beliefs found in the preceding Middle Ages and the revival of humanist thought, resulting in an increasing emphasis on the
individual and on secular concerns. The Renaissance, which is usually seen as extending approximately from 1400 to 1600,
includes the approach known as Mannerist, which was subsequently viewed as a falling-away of the achievements of the High
Renaissance period, but is now recognized as a valid and important style in its own right.
With the commencement of the 17th century, the dominant style was that of Baroque, which echoed a time of renewed Catholic
fervour and confidence in the church, and this is clearly seen in the dramatic and turbulent approach which incorporates
illusionism on a grand scale combined with sumptuous decoration and the merging of all three art forms - painting, sculpture,
and architecture. Interiors were especially lavishly conceived, with decorated ceilings particularly revered at this time. The
Baroque in Germany and eastern Europe became even more lavish and exuberant; in France and England, on the other hand, it
was tempered by a preference for Classical restraint.
The deity which invests the science of the painter functions in such a
way that the mind of the painter is transformed into a copy of the divine
mind, since it operates freely in creating many kinds of animals, plants,
fruits, landscapes, countrysides, ruins, and awe-inspiring places.
LEONARDO DA VINCI
History of Italian Renaissance Art (1970) by Frederick Hartt. Considered for over 20 years to be the best book written on this
period, it is packed with information on individual painters, sculptors, and architects, all placed within a historical context.
The Art of the Renaissance (1963) by Peter and Linda Murray. Covers the early Renaissance, commencing with Giotto and
culminating in the High Renaissance giants of painting and sculpture - Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
The Late Renaissance and Mannerism (1967) by Linda Murray. A companion to The Art of the Renaissance, this begins with
the late works of the major High Renaissance artists and continues to the close of the 16th century and Mannerism, ending with
an appraisal of the art of El Greco.
Baroque and Rococo (1964) by Germain Bin. Bazin explores the richness and complexity of the Baroque and Rococo, taking
into account the persistence of earlier styles, and studies in depth the `Baroque' and `Realist' approaches to an, both of these
considered to be the two `new styles' of this period. The `Romanticism' of Rococo is also analysed.
Painting and Experience in 15th Century Italy (1972) by Michael Baxandall. This book serves as an introduction to painting
in Italy during the early Renaissance, and also introduces the reader to the technique of reading social history from the style of
the pictures produced. For Baxandall, Renaissance painting is closely `related to such activities as preaching, dancing, and
gauging barrels'.
The Medici (1980) by Marcel Brion. A history of this famous dynastic family of 15th-and 16th-century Florence, with
emphasis placed on their role as influential patrons of the arts. This book also gives clear insights into the social conditions,
intellectual climate, and artistic ideas that prevailed during this period.
Encyclopedia of the Italian Renaissance (1981) edited by J R Hale. An invaluable guide to every aspect of the Italian
Renaissance.
Patronage in Renaissance Italy (1994) by Mary Hollingsworth. Perhaps a little demanding for the uninitiated, but worth the
effort, for patronage was a vitally important factor in the development of Renaissance an.
Baroque (1977) by John Rupert Martin. Still one of the best introductions to the Baroque. Instead of looking at the Baroque in
Italy, the Baroque in France, and so on (the standard approach), Martin looks at the whole broad range of 17th-century art in
terms of such concepts as space, light, allegory, `passions of the soul'. A delight.
NEO-CLASSICISM AND ROMANTICISM
Francesca M Speight
Neo-Classicism was a style of the late 18th and early 19th centuries strongly influenced by Classical an from the ancient Greek
and Roman empires - even to the point of some painters and sculptors taking their subject matter from ancient history and the
antique. This is seen especially in the works of the French artist Jacques Louis David. Neo-Classicism places great emphasis on
draughtsmanship, on pure, clean con-tours, on idealized and noble subjects treated in a solid, three-dimensional way. David's
The Death of Socrates is a key example.
The Romantic style of the 19th century arose as a direct reaction against the intellectual conceptions of the Neo-Classicists.
The clearly defined forms and cool tones of Neo-Classicism gives way to indefinite shapes, warm tones, and atmospheric
effects. In the French school of Romanticism, led by Eugene Delacroix, a love of the Oriental and exotic is seen; J M W Turner
and William Blake are considered to be the leading English Romantics.
How awful is the silence of the waste, / Where nature lifts her
mountains to the sky. / Majestic solitude, behold the tower /
Where hopeless Owen, long imprisoned, pined /
And wrung his hands for liberty, in vain.
JMW TURNER
Neo-Classicism (1968) by Hugh Honour. Short standard work. Honour's achievement lies in showing that Neo-Classicism, far
from being a conservative movement supporting establishment values, was the culmination of Enlightenment radicalism, highminded, idealistic, revolutionary. Artistically and politically it was the avant-garde of its day.
Civilisation (1969) by Kenneth Clark. This book is a classic portrayal of how western Europe evolved after the collapse of the
Roman Empire, and provides a very readable account of the major art produced within each age, a particularly good section
covering the time of both Neo-Classical and Romantic works of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
The Romantic Rebellion (1973) by Kenneth Clark. Here Clark gives a far more detailed account of Romanticism. Lucid and
authoritative, his account is of particular value because it focuses on the constant interplay between Romanticism and
Classicism.
The Story ofArt (1950) by E H Gombrich. The classic, standard textbook for all those interested in the arts as a total picture of
human endeavour from prehistoric times to the experimental art of the first half of the 20th century. The Age of Reason and the
subsequent break in tradition are clearly and interestingly set out by the author.
Rococo to Revolution (1966) by Michael Levey. This book covers the major trends in 18th-century painting, and is based on a
series of lectures given at Cambridge during the author's tenure there as Slade professor of an.
The Arts and Crafts Movement (1991) Elizabeth Cumming and Wendy Kaplan. Surveys all aspects of design within the
movement, including architecture, furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles, and books.
The Art of J M W Turner (1990) by David Blayney Brown. This is a comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the artist's
work, is beautifully illustrated, and avoids an academic approach in favour of using revealing analysis which vividly brings the
subject to life. Incorporating many original sources of information, such as letters, critics' reviews, and political records, the
author gives a complete background to Turner's life and times.
Art of the Romantic Era (1966) by Marcel Brion. Superbly illustrated history of Romantic art. This very accessible account is
particularly interesting because it looks not only at the many major figures, but also at a host of fascinating minor ones.
IMPRESSIONISM TO POST-IMPRESSIONISM
Francesca M Speight
This period includes the school of Realism, headed by the French artist Gustave Courbet, which turned its back on the
ennobling subject matter beloved by the official Academy, and focused instead on everyday contemporary scenes depicted in
an accurate manner rather than idealized or transformed into `picturesque' works. Another form of Realism is found in the
French Impressionist movement's output, but they saw their motifs in terms of the analysis of light, which produced a new way
of observing reality and has earned them the accolade of `the first modern movement' in the history of art.
Working through Impressionism and developing their own distinctive individuality where the Post-Impressionists, including
Georges Seurat (Neo-Impressionism), Paul Gauguin (a form of Symbolism), Vincent van Gogh (early Expressionism), and
Paul Cezanne (combining Realism and Classicism).
This period also includes the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an English group of idealistic young men drawn to medieval legends
and romantic literary sources as subject matter, but using a technique of microscopically detailed analysis, in which truth to
nature was uncompromisingly observed.
Show me an angel and I'll paint one.
GUSTAVE COURBET
Impressionism (1967) by Phoebe Pool. A good basic textbook on the movement, ideal as an introduction.
The History of Impressionism (1973) by John Rewald. A detailed, extensively researched history of the movement by one of
the leading authorities. It was works like this that rescued Impressionism from chocolate-box sentimentality and gave it (after
decades of critical neglect) a firm intellectual and aesthetic foundation. Essential reading.
A History of Modern Art (1969) by H H Amason. A comprehensive guide, commencing with the prehistory of modem
painting and continuing through all the major movements and individual figures up to Conceptualism.
The Victorian Treasure House (1973) by Peter Conrad. A wide-ranging study of Victorian art, with excellent coverage of the
history and artistic output of the Pre-Raphaelites.
The New Painting: Impressionism 1847-1886 (1986) by Charles S Moffet. A scholarly presentation of the history of the
movement, with each of the Impressionist exhibitions dealt with in detail.
Impressionism and Post-Impressionism 1874-1904 (1966) by Linda Nochlin. A collection of sources and documents in the
History of An series, containing the critics' views of the movement at that time, accounts of the individual major masters, and
source material concerning Cezanne and the Neo Impressionists, van Gogh, Gauguin, and the Symbolists.
Cezanne (1989) by Hajo Duchting. This monograph critically analyses the successive stages of Cezanne's an in both subject
matter and style, culminating in the late, great paintings which earned him the name of the father of Modernism.
Realism (1971) by Linda Nochlin. A standard work, lucid and scholarly, which sets the many expressions of Realism within
the political and social upheavals of the second half of the 19th century.
20TH-CENTURY ART
Francesca M Speight
This period commences with Cubism, a movement considered to be the source of all subsequent abstract an. Pablo Picasso and
Georges Braque were the leading exponents of this new, intellectual approach to perception. Cubism produced many offshoots,
including such styles as Neo-Plasticism, represented by Piet Mondrian, and also the geometric reliefs of Britain's Ben
Nicholson. Concurrently a representational and intensely romantic stance in art continued alongside abstraction, as seen in
Fauvism in France and Expressionism in Germany.
Other major movements to emerge in the 20th century include Surrealism, with Salvador Dali and Rene Matte perhaps the
best-known exponents; American Abstract Expressionism exemplified by such artists as Jackson Pollock and Willem de
Kooning; and Pop an, which began in England but was taken up on a bigger and brasher scale by such Americans as Andy
Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Subsequent developments include Land art, Conceptual art, Installation an, Op an, and many
variations on past styles. The enfant terrible and darling of the art world at present is Damien Hirst, with his installations of
animal corpses displayed in tanks of formaldehyde. The shock element has always been associated with the avant-garde since
Courbet produced his unidealized peasant scenes, and it seems destined to stay.
Sometimes I think that extreme beauty must be absolutely humourless. But then I think of Marilyn Monroe and she had the
best fun lines.
ANDY WARHOL
The Story of Modern Art (1980) by Norbert Lynton. The author states his intention of not only helping readers towards a
confident relationship with modem art through providing information, but also actively encouraging the reader to combine this
information of historical facts and knowledge of the works themselves with his or her experience of modem life and thought.
Painting in the Twentieth Century (1961) by Werner Haftmann. Two invaluable volumes of material of modern art. Volume 1
is solely text and sources information; volume 2 consists mainly of illustrations to complement volume 1. However, the second
volume contains an excellent commentary throughout.
Art Today (1977) by Edward Lucie-Smith. Informative and lavishly illustrated, this book takes the reader through the birth of
Modernism in both painting and sculpture and continues to Post-Modernism and the revival of Classicism.
The Bride and the Bachelors (1965) by Calvin Tomkins. The eyewitness description of the Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely
creating a self-destructing sculpture, complete with tooting horns and smoke bombs, is enough to make this book worth
seeking out. The essay on Marcel Duchamp is a good introduction to this seminal figure. Tomkins also writes about Robert
Rauschenberg and the composer John Cage.
The Shock of the New (1980) by Robert Hughes. One of the most lucid and authoritative histories of 20th-century art. Hughes
has broad sympathies, but is not shy about expressing his own preferences. Lavishly illustrated.
Warhol: The Biography (1989) by Victor Bockris. Warhol's life encompassed the heyday of the New York art scene, from
1950s Abstract Expressionism to the gallery graffiti of the 1980s. This acclaimed biography shows the interaction between the
artist's life and work. The films, freaks, drugs, and rock and roll are amply covered. An insider's view.
David Hockney (1976) by David Hockney. Britain's best-known living artist is also one of the best and least pretentious
communicators on the subject. This book has hundreds of pictures with his explanations.
How to Look at Modern Art (1991) by Philip Yenawine. A stimulating introduction to a broad range of modern artists. The
author (director of education at the Museum of Modem Art in New York) is less concerned with exploring the many complex
theories that underlie modern an than with encouraging readers/viewers to explore their own reactions to specific works.
What Is Post-Modernism? (1986) by Charles Jencks. Short, surprisingly lucid account of a very complex and still
controversial subject. A good starting point, wherever your sympathies may lie.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Susan Sontag
To write about photography, as I discovered when I was writing my own essays on the subject, is nothing less than to write
about the world. There is no activity that is distinctively modem which so evidently touches on and obliges us to confront the
principal issues of modernity - political, moral, and aesthetic. We all take photographs or think we could or should. More
important, we all understand a great deal of the world - indeed, reality itself - through the medium of, and by the standards set
by, photographed images. Resisting the temptation to use my allotment of recommendations to cite some contemporary
favourite books of photographs, from The Americans (1958) by Robert Frank to The Silence (1995) by Gilles Peress, I've
chosen instead to list a number of books which can give the curious reader a complex sense of the history of photography and
the rich debate about the many issues raised by its imperious scope.
Earlier much futile thought had been devoted to the question of whether
photography is an an. The primary question - whether the very invention of
photography had not transformed the entire nature of an - was not raised.
WALTER BENJAMIN
Looking at Photographs (1973) by John Szarkowski. One hundred pictures from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art
chosen and commented on by John Szarkowski, the director of the Department of Photography at MoMA for several decades
and a leading influence in the formation of contemporary photographic taste.
Art and Photography (1968) by Aaron Scharf. A rapid, lucid historical overview of the relation between photography and
other visual arts, particularly painting.
Photographers on Photography (1966) edited by Nathan Lyons. An anthology of statements by some of the great
photographers, starting from the turn of the century. Among those included are Alfred Stieglitz, Berenice Abbott, Man Ray,
Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Robert Frank.
Photography in the Modern Era (1989) edited by Christopher Phillips. A more ample collection of statements by important
photographers and critical writings and manifestoes about photography covering the period from 1913 to 1940. The critics
(many of them visual artists in their own right) and photographers are all European. Among them are Jean Cocteau, Laszlo
Moholy-Nagy, August Sander, Alexander Rodchenko, and F T Marinetti.
Photography in Print (1981) edited by Vicki Goldberg. Another anthology of statements by photographers and critics, this
one covering the whole history of photography from Niepce and Fox Talbot forward. Perhaps not surprisingly (so rich is this
literature), there is hardly any overlap between the documents selected for this anthology and the two listed above.
On Photography (1977) by Susan Sontag. A cycle of six essays written between 1973 and 1976 about some of the problems,
aesthetic and moral, posed by the omnipresence of photographed images. The first book-length consideration in English on
photography as such.
Camera Lucida (1980) by Roland Barthes. One of the last books by the great French critic, and a highly personal, partly
autobiographical, meditation on the pathos and seductiveness of certain kinds of photographed images.
The Waking Dream (1993) by Maria Morris Hambourg and Pierre Apraxine (curators). The catalogue for the exhibition in
1993 at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art of selections from the Gilman Paper Company holdings, which may be the
world's most beautiful and original private photography collection. The span of the collection, which includes great
photographs by unknown photographers as well as little-known masterpieces by most of the great names, is from 1839, the
inception of photography, to the 1930s.
The Photographic Experience, 1839-1914: Images and Attitudes (1993) by Heinz K Henisch and Bridget A Henisch. A
sophisticated, sociologically alert retelling of the complex development of photography in all genres: as art, as commerce, as an
adjunct to science and to the exercise of political power.
Photography Against the Grain: Essays and Photo Works 1973-1983 (1984) by Allan Sekula. An incisive early example of
the recent literature on the ideological implications, frequently conformist, of the taking of photographs in many conventional
contexts.
FASHION: HISTORY OF FASHION
Jacqueline Herald
The first histories of dress were published in the 19th century. They focused on period costume and were used as a visual
reference source for theatre designers and artists depicting historical themes. In the early 20th century, more radical texts on
fashion considered the psychological dimension of dress and identity. More recently, books on historic and contemporary
fashion have fallen into four main categories: manuals on cut and construction of historic garments; glossy descriptive books
about haute couturiers, emphasizing style, texture of fabrics, and ingenious decorative details; educational books with line
drawings, presenting a chronology of dress and how it reflects the lifestyle of a particular period; and socio-anthropological
studies of dress as cultural system of signs, denoting distinctions of gender, class, and attitude, both individually and
collectively.
Common sense and most historians of costume have assumed that the
demands of either utility, status or sex must have been responsible for
the invention of clothing. However ... scholars have recently informed
us that the original purpose of clothing was magical.
ALISON I.CTRIE
A History of Men's Fashion (1993) by Farid Chenoune. Generally fashion histories have focused on women; this is an
interesting overview of the development of menswear since the French Revolution.
Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity (1985) by Elizabeth Wilson. An excellent introduction: a brief history followed
by discussion of the industry, eroticism, gender and identity, fashion in the city, popular culture, and dress reform.
Chic Thrills: A Fashion Reader (1992) edited by Juliet Ash and Elizabeth Wilson.
A compilation of essays on the language of clothes, the relationship between high fashion and popular culture, and on utopian
and alternative dress.
Costume and Fashion: A Concise History (1985) by James Laver. Laver pioneered the study of dress history in the 1960s,
setting fashion in the context of cultural and economic change.
Dress and Morality (1986) by Aileen Ribeiro. A historical inquiry into attitudes towards extravagance and modesty and how
individuals, church, and state affected the clothed image.
Dress and Gender: Making and Meaning (1992) edited by Ruth Barnes and Joanne B Eicher. An intriguing range of
anthropological case studies on the meaning of apparel and textiles in determining women's status within different cultures
around the world.
Fashion, Culture and Identity (1992) by Fred David. A sociological analysis of what makes the fashion industry tick,
partially based on interviews with fashion designers.
Fashions of a Decade: 1920s to 1990s (1991-93) by Patricia Baker, Vicky Carnegie, Yvonne Connikie, Maria Constantino,
Elane Feldman, Jacqueline Herald. Aimed at teenagers, lively, with images of the period and newly commissioned illustrations.
Succinct text, nevertheless introduces many aspects of fashion history. A good starting point for the younger reader.
Seeing Through Clothes (1975) by Anne Hollander. Discusses the history of different ways of depicting people, attitudes of
the period, especially in historic painting and sculpture.
The Face of Fashion (1993) by Jennifer Craik. An up-to-date sociocultural approach; well argued and accessible text on how
identities are communicated through clothes.
20TH-CENTURY FASHION AND STYLE
Jacqueline Herald
The study of dress style is currently in vogue. In the last decade or so more books dedicated to fashion designers and looks
have been published than ever before. Some are glossy picture books on the creations of a particular couturier; others are fun
visual references to the story of a particular garment or cult accessory (the Hawaiian shirt, the necktie, the handkerchief). Other
books concentrate on the means of creating a particular image, through fashion photography or illustration. There are also the
more flippant manuals or style, taken seriously by some dedicated followers of fashion, which guide the reader about what to
wear, where to buy, either for a particular social occasion or an effect - Madonna look-alike, for example. Other, more serious
studies include reference dictionaries on design and designers and more discursive texts on the meaning of style among
different class, age, and cultural groups.
A style does not go out of style as long as it adapts itself to its period.
When there is an incompatibility between the style and a certain state
of mind, it is never the style that triumphs.
COCO CHANEL
The Fashion Conspiracy (1988) by Nicholas Coleridge. A lively, gossipy, and highly entertaining account of the top designers'
fashion empires, from catwalk to sweatshop, written by the editor of Harpers and Queen magazine.
Jocks and Nerds (1989) by Richard Martin and Harold Koda. This is a witty visual history of men's fashion in the 20th
century. It examines the leaders of style within social types and the particular looks associated with them, including the
Cowboy, the Military Man, the Rebel, Joe College, the Businessman, and the Man about Town.
Fashion Sourcebook (1988) by Amy de la Haye. A general directory of the key people, ideas, and looks in 20th-century
fashion.
Street Style (1994) by Ted Polhemus. The book of the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition of that name, tracing the
transition of subcultural dress from sidewalk to catwalk. It looks at punks, New Romantics, New Age travellers, and other
groups which have hit the music stage and the news headlines and then influenced mainstream fashion in modified forms.
Women of Fashion (1991) by Valerie Steele. A look at some of the most influential women in the world of fashion in this
century, including the great Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli.
Cult Objects (1985) by Deyan Sudjic. The `yuppie' 1980s is the period in which, arguably, conspicuous consumption adopted
an unprecedented degree of status for everyone. Cult looks and individual credibility did not just depend on clothes, but on the
gadgets and accessories wom or displayed with them. Sudjic discusses with humour and irony the reasons behind the language
of Rolex watches, Anglepoise lamps, four-wheel drive vehicles in to, and dress classics such as Levi 501s and the Burberry
raincoat.
CRAFT AND DESIGN: HISTORY OF CRAFTS
Jacqueline Herald
There are numerous books on the crafts, which fall into distinct categories. Potted histories can be found in dictionaries of
decorative arts, which are useful for general reference: more detailed and often generously illustrated books on craft are
devoted either to a particular craft discipline or the types of objects most closely associated with it (such as textiles, ceramics,
jewellery), or to a particular country or culture. In an industrial or postindustrial world, the crafts are often viewed with
nostalgia, being perceived as traditional and handmade from natural materials, even though contemporary craft practice
incorporates machines, computers, and synthetic media. A very large proportion of the books available are of the `how to do it'
type, extremely instructive but sometimes lacking in imagination.
The story of craft is not only the story of man's increasing skill with materials
and increasing power over the natural environment; it provides in addition,
evidence of the way in which society itself has developed. Men often define
themselves through the skills they acquire, and the uses to which they put them.
EDWARD LUCIE-SMITH
World Crafts (1992) by Jacqueline Herald. Written in collaboration with Oxfam Trading, this explains the processes and
meaning behind crafts from around the world, particularly in developing countries where women especially have turned to craft
as a means of generating income. It explains the reasons for changes to traditional designs in adapting products to the Western
tourist and export markets.
The Story of Craft (1981) by Edward Lucie-Smith. To the expert, this is an infuriatingly general history. However, it is a
worthwhile introduction to the craftsperson's role in society from the ancient world to today's craft revival. The focus is
Europe, but Islam and the Far East are discussed for their contribution to craft skills and organization, and in relation to modem
craft movements.
International Crafts (1991) edited by Martina Margetts. This is a compendium of the best of contemporary craft from around
the world, covering many different techniques and media. Although highly selective, it is a useful survey and includes a good
introductory essay on the state of crafts in the late 20th century.
The Unknown Craftsman (1989) by Soetsu Yanagi. Subtitled `A Japanese Insight into Beauty', this book by the poet and an
critic Yanagi, who was close to the British potter Bernard Leach and to the Japanese potter Shoji Hamada, questions the value
of handwork. He was instrumental in the 1920s in cultivating the appreciation of Japanese folk an as the country was rapidly
industrializing. His collection of folk an became the nucleus of the Mingei-kan, the Japanese Folk Art Museum in Tokyo. The
questions raised have a universal relevance in that they consider the artistic role of the studio-based maker within a mechanized
world.
Women and Craft (1987) by Gillian Elinor and others. A feminist look at women's craft as personal creativity in domestic and
professional settings.
DESIGN
Guy Julier
Since its inception as a professional activity in the late 19th century, design has been a haphazard activity. In bridging the gap
between the conception and execution of objects, designers have invariably moved between the creative and the formulaic, the
intellectual and the manual, the cultural and the commercial. Its lack of `rules' or professional norms is mirrored in the breadth
of design writing. In its early form, design publications sought professional legitimacy by drawing on traditional modes of
architectural and art criticism and history. Design was explained as the result of the work of individual `hero' designers.
However, in recent years, with the development of design history and criticism as a separate academic discipline, design
writing has taken in a broader range of perspectives. On the one hand writers have sought explanations for the look or existence
of artefacts in terms of their production, taking into account such aspects as technology, materials, the organization of labour,
and distribution systems. Consumption has also been taken into account: thus design has begun to be read from the point of
view of the user's experience. This may range from the very scientific approach within ergonomics to the more theoretical
readings of the role of desire and fantasy in consumerism, informed by a psychoanalytical approach. It remains clear, however,
that with the growing professionalization of design practice and its ascendant academic status, the historical gap between its
practice and criticism is narrowing.
Design has a twofold relation, having in the first place, a strict reference to utility
in the thing designed; and secondarily, to the beautifying or ornamenting that utility.
The word design, however, with the many has become identified rather
with its secondary than with its whole signification - with ornament, as apart from,
and often even as opposed to, utility. From thus confounding that which is
in itself but an addition, with that which is essential, has arisen many of those
great errors in taste which are observable in the works of modern designers.
HENRY COLE, 1849
Pioneers of the Modern Movement (1936) by Nikolaus Pevsner. Republished as Pioneers of Modern Design 1960. Invariably
invoked as the first design-history book to be published, Pevsner's account tracks the development of design practice and ideas
from the doctrines of William Moms in the late 19th century to the Modernist canons of Walter Gropius in the 1920s. Relying
on an account of individual architect/designers, the book assesses each of them in terms of their contributions towards
Modernism as the zenith of design.
Mechanization Takes Command: A Contribution to Anonymous History (1948) by Sigfried Giedion. Whereas Pevsner was
clearly a Modernist, Giedion's history of design is that of a technological determinist. His study tracks the rise of the designer
and designed objects as the result of developments in industrial production and materials technology.
Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (1960) by Reyner Barham. This lively text suggests that the history of design in
the early 20th century was not so much a development to a purist aesthetic as Pevsner had argued. Rather, the pioneer
European modernists were in fact responding to the exciting new challenges of technological development such as
transportation and electrification.
Objects of Desire (1985) by Adrian Forty. Forty places the history of design within social history. He reads the development of
office design as part of the changing pat-terns of labour, the development of bathrooms through attitudes to hygiene. Thus he
retrieves the `consumer' as a key force in the shaping of design practice and ideas.
An Introduction to Design and Culture in the Twentieth Century (1986) by Penny Sparke. Key developments in design are
treated thematically in this inquiry: issues such as education, materials technology, mass consumption, and the rise of
consultant design are covered in this global account. The book therefore reveals the eclectic nature of design history.
Twentieth-Century Ornament (1990) by Jonathon Woodham. Lavishly illustrated, this book eschews a discussion of heady
design philosophy in favour of popular artefacts - ceramics, textiles, fashion, posters, public monuments, and entertainment
architecture. The text analyses interactions between taste and consumerism, the decorative arts, the fine arts and architecture
and design, to reveal tensions which invariably give rise to reaffirmations of nostalgia and nationalism in ornament.
A View from the Interior: Feminism, Women and Design (1989) edited by Judy Attfield and Pat Kirkham. Drawing on a
range of feminist readings of design and the consumption of design, this discursive book largely centres on women and design
in Britain since the mid-19th century. It analyses how views of femininity have been constructed within design as well as the
lived experience of women designers and consumers.
Graphic Design: A Concise History (1994) by Richard Hollis. Covering most 20th-century graphic design forms - from the
poster to digitization - this whirlwind tour links the major graphic designers to their commercial and theoretical contexts.
Quotations and Sources on Design and the Decorative Arts (1993) by Paul Greenhalgh. This compendium of quotations is
arranged thematically and provides a useful short cut to source material as well as key reflections within the historiography of
design.
The Meanings of Modern Design (1990) by Peter Dormer. This highly readable critique considers design as the product of
economic forces. It then analyses the various, and sometimes contradictory, value systems which define and guide design
practice. Thus he discusses such contemporary conceptions as `craft', `style', `engineering', and `high design'.
Design After Modernism (1986) edited by John Thackara. After two decades of design history and criticism that either
confirmed the Pevsnerian approach or struggled free from it, this book brought together a series of texts reflecting the
eclecticism of design writing. It also marked the convergence of practice and theory in design - some of its contributors, such
as Nigel Coates, were also professional practitioners of design. New challenges to design, such as the development of digitized
technologies, were thus brought into the debate for the first time.
Manufactured Pleasures: Psychological Responses to Design (1994) by Ray Crozier. A discursive text which examines the
major psychoanalytic theories and subsequently considers how our perception of artefacts is governed by the subconscious.
Autobiography and Memoirs
The opportunity to make a recension of one's own life is clearly difficult to resist—and results, more often than not, in mayfly
publishing, a few hours' dance in the sun followed by oblivion. Our choice (a selective one) is based first on excellence (of
perception or style), and second on relevance (a person of lasting interest or an age defined). Particularly interesting are
memoirs which can be checked for bias. and those of writers whose main work is in other fields. The selection of material from
one's own life is a critical act, sometimes as revealing as the incidents of that life themselves. If Beethoven had written an
autobiography, would it have been about earache or symphonies?
See ART (Haydon); BIOGRAPHY (Trelawny); CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Durrell); DRAMA (Cibber); FILM (Brown. Fields,
Griffith, Love, Montagu, Niven, Parrish); HISTORY/BRITISH (Burnet); HUMOUR (Milligan); MATHEMATICS
(Heisenberg, Watson); MEDIA (Higham, Knopf); MEDICINE (Copeland); MUSIC (Berlioz, Kirkpatrick, Stravinsky, Varese);
NATURAL HISTORY (Bewick, Burton, Durrell, Maxwell, Waterton); OCCULT (Bennett, J. B., Lethbridge); RELIGION
(Newman, Phillips); TRAVEL (Genet, Lawrence. Schultz, Twain)
Adams, Henry The Education of Henry Adams (1907)
Grandson and great-grandson of American presidents, Adams pretended that his own life as a scholar and novelist had been a
failure. Ironic, third-person autobiography treats its subject as a victim of historic, indeed cosmic circumstance. See
HISTORY/AMERICAN; RELIGION
Adams, Henry, American, 1838-1918.
The Education of Henry Adams. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Hungry Mind ML Nonfiction NYPL Ward
Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres. Rec: Bloom National Review Ward
Aksakov, Sergey, Russian, 1791-1859.
A Family Chronicle. Rec: Bloom
Angelou, Maya, American, 1928- .
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Rec: Hungry Mind NYPL
Ashton-Warner, Sylvia, New Zealander, 1908-1984.
Spinster. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Augustine Confessions (5th century)
P
Augustine felt that, until his conversion to Christianity at the age of 32, he had lived a life of sin. This is a moving personal
account of one man's coming to terms with God; Augustine writes with particular sensitivity of his human relationships, too—
with his mother, his friends, his mistress and his loved son Adeodatus ("Godgiven"), who died young.
Ball, Edward, American, 1959- .
Slaves in the Family. Rec: Hungry Mind
Bamford, Francis (ed) A Royalist's Notebook: The Commonplace Book of Sir John Oglander, Knight, of Nunwell, 1622–
1652 (1936)
9 Ise
Oglander lived on the Isle of Wight during the English Civil War. The book transcends temporal detail as a picture of the horror
evoked by such uprisings; particularly good on social horror, the bewilderment of the ruling class when the lower orders
suddenly, inexplicably, get out of hand.
Berkman, Alexander, American, 1870-1936.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist and other works. Rec: Rexmo
Betjeman, John Summoned by Bells (1960) ..1/
Verse autobiography; sensitive evocation of childhood in Edwardian London, Cornwall and Oxford, with Archibald the teddy
bear and apparently total recall of everything he ever saw or heard.
Brittain, Vera Testament of Youth (1933)
Well-brought-up middle-class girl in Edwardian Britain finds her life and views changed by World War I, in which her fiance,
brother and many friends were killed. Fine portrait of the changing status and ideas of women at the time of the suffragettes.
Also: Testament of Friendship: Testament of Experience
Caesar, Julius The Civil Wars (47-44 BC)
The very archetype of a general's memoirs. Ostensibly detached and objective, in fact Caesar's own justification for treason and
the usurpation of autocratic powers. (He did it all in defence of his prestige and dignity.) Also: The Gallic Wars. See DIARIES
(Cicero); HISTORY/ANCIENT (Selzer)
Julius Caesar, Roman, 102-44 BCE.
War in Gaul. Rec: Rex
Cardigan, Countess of My Recollections (1909)
Shocking Scandal, Victorian style. Society women are said to have gone down on their knees to stop her publishing. Don't
leave it in the spare room, however honest your guests.
Casanova, Giacomo, Italian, 1725-1798.
History of My Life. Rec: Rex
Cellini,Benvenuto Autobiography (1728)
The artist as bohemian, free to disregard the laws and customs of ordinary men. Sculptor, goldsmith of genius, Cellini worked
for popes, dukes and kings, led a colourful life full of amorous encounters and brushes with the law. Great fun, if you can stand
the pace.
Cellini, Benvenuto, Italian, 1500-1571.
Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. Rec: Bloom Ward
Chaplin, Charles My Autobiography (1964)
First part best: recollections of his Dickensian childhood in the slums of Victorian London. See FILM (McCabe)
Chateaubriand, Francois-Rene de, French, 1768-1848.
Memoirs (Memoires d'Outre-tombe). Rec: Ward
Atala. Rec: Bloom
René. Rec: Bloom
The Genius of Christianity. Rec: Bloom
Clark, Kenneth Another Part of the Wood (1974)
Clark was director of the National Gallery-, London, and a skilled popularizer of art. The book is amusing, occasionally feline;
good stories; memorable account of his own happiest of marriages. See ARCHITECTURE; ART
Cleaver, Eldridge, American, 1935-1998.
Soul on Ice. Rec: LAT
Cockburn, Claud, English, 1904-1981.
I, Claud. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Commynes, Philippe de, French, ca. 1447-1511.
Memoirs. Rec: Bloom
Dalí, Salvador, Spanish, 1904-1989.
Secret Life of Salvador Dalí. Rec: Counterpunch Trans Ward
De Quincey, Thomas, English, 1785-1859.
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. Rec: Bloom Ward
Selected Prose. Rec: Bloom
Fox, George Journal (1694) 9 Written by the founder of Quakerism, with hindsight, in sedater, pacifist old age; a vivid picture
of the social and religious crisis from which the Quakers emerged. Franklin, Benjamin Autobiography (1771-88)
The quintessential American success story, from rags not only to riches, but also to great political influence and power and an
eternal warm spot in the hearts of all his countrymen. Franklin the adventurer, the printer and businessman, the scientist, the
politician are here; Franklin the lover and friend must be assumed from other sources. See BIOGRAPHY (Van Doren)
Gandhi, Mahatma Autobiography: The Story of My Experiences with Truth (1924)
Written in and out of prison during the early 1920s, this simple, direct, revealing document inspired millions, and led others to
assume that Gandhi, however great, was after all only a man.
Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand, Indian, 1869-1948.
Satyagraha (Non-Violent Resistance). Rec: NYPL
Satyagraha in South Africa. Rec: Boston PL
The Gandhi Reader. Rec: Utne
Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Rec: App Counterpunch Trans Good Reading Oriental Ward
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, German, 1749-1832.
Autobiography: Poetry and Truth From My Own Life (Dichtung und Wahrheit). Rec: Adler Bloom Lubbock Ward
Gorky, Maksim, Russian, 1868-1936.
Autobiography. Rec: Bloom
Gosse, Edmund Father and Son( 1907)
0P Study of a relationship: classic of the genre. Gosse senior was an eminent
marine biologist (he crossed swords with Darwin), and a fanatical member of the Plymouth Brethren. A widower, he brought
up his son (author of this book) "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord", until the boy finally went to boarding school and
discovered his own soul.
Grant, Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs (2 vols, 1885 - 86)
Grant could not escape scandal by leaving the White House; he lent his name to his son's brokerage firm, which failed,
bringing the entire family into disrepute. Grant, old and sick, determined to make up everyone's loss. Signing a contract with
his old friend Mark Twain, he set to work on the volumes that he just barely completed before his death. Surprisingly they are
full of pleasant humour and insights about his colleagues and the president he had so greatly admired, Old Abe; they endure as
among the very best of military and political memoirs.
Graves, Robert Goodbye to All That(1929) a •
Argument about which is the finest set of British memoirs of World War I stops here. Post-war pages tell of T. E. Lawrence,
friends in Oxford and Bloomsbury, marriage, children—and divorce in 1929, when he went to live abroad. If there are standard
works of autobiography, this is one. See FICTION/NOVELS; MYTHOLOGY; POETRY
Graves, Robert, English, 1895-1985.
Goodbye to All That. Rec: Counterpunch NF Harvard ML Nonfiction
Hahn, Otto A Scientific Autobiography (1966)
"Father of nuclear chemistry" reviews his scientific work from the discovery of radio thorium in 1904, via the splitting of the
atom in 1938, to the Nobel Prize in 1944. The science is lucidly explained but may test the layman. See MATHEMATICS
(Irving)
Hart, Basil Liddell (ed) The Rornmel Papers (1950) IS * One of the best diaries from World War II. Charts Rommel's gradual
disillusionment with Hitler, from the time of his own early victories to his forced suicide. Bitter, eloquent evidence for the
grandeur and waste of war. See Speer; BIOGRAPHY (Bullock); HISTORY/EUROPEAN; POLITICS (Stern)
Harrer, Heinrich, Austrian, 1912- .
Seven Years in Tibet. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Hellmnan, Lillian An Unfinished Woman (1969)
From raffish Jewish family in the American South came this distinguished, successful dramatist: talented, nervous and difficult,
friend of Dorothy Parker and lover of Dashiell Hammett, whose left-wing views led her to politics. Sad and moving. Also:
Pentimento; Scoundrel Time, etc
Hellman, Lillian, American, 1906-1984.
Pentimento: A Book of Portraits. Rec: LAT
Herr, Michael, American, 1940- .
Dispatches. Rec: Hungry Mind NYPL (memoir of Vietnam)
Hervey, Lord Memoirs of the Reign of George 11(1848)
Nearest English equivalent to Saint Simon (qv). Lively account of George II, his Queen and their court. Little-known; a rare
delight.
Herzen, Aleksandr, Russian, 1812-1870.
My Past and Thoughts. Rec: Bloom Utne
From the Other Shore. Rec: Bloom
Himes, Chester, American, 1909-1984.
My Life of Absurdity. Rec: Hungry Mind
Hitler, Adolf, German, 1889-1945.
Mein Kampf. Rec: Boston PL NYPL
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese, 1890-1969.
Reflections from Captivity. Rec: Boston PL
Horton, Myles, American, 1905-1990.
The Long Haul: An Autobiography. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Hudson, W. H. Far Away and Long Ago (1918)
Poet's recollections of early childhood on the Argentinian pampas. Prose-poetic, limpid. fine. Also: Idle Days in Patagonia, etc.
See NATURAL I (STORY
Husayn, Taha, Egyptian (Arabic), 1889-1973.
An Egyptian Childhood. Rec: Bloom (memoir)
Kamo Chomei, Japanese, 1153-1216.
Account of My Hut. Rec: App MW Asian Ward
Keller, Helen The Story of My Life (1903)
Perhaps we shall never cease to be fascinated and astounded by the story of this extraordinary woman who triumphed over
nearly complete sensory deprivation—deaf, dumb and blind from early childhood—to become one of the great figures of our
time.
Keller, Helen, American, 1880-1968.
The Story of My Life. Rec: NYPL
Kropotkin, Peter Memoirs of a Revolutionist (1899) 9
Kropotkin, born a prince, became an anarchist and leading thinker behind the Russian Revolution. Geographer, explorer,
political philosopher, he writes well of early socialism in Russia, France and Britain. A fascinating world, as remote now as the
moon.
Leblanc, Adrian Nicole, American, 1964- .
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx. Rec: Harvard
Lee, Laurie Cider with Rosie (1959) it * Superb evocation of childhood and 1920s British countryside, a book as good as that
of Hudson (qv). Also: As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, etc
Lee, Li-Young, American, 1957- .
The Winged Seed. Rec: Hungry Mind (memoir)
Levi, Primo, Italian, 1919-1987.
If this is a Man. Rec: TLS
Levi, Carlo, Italian, 1902-1975.
Christ Stopped at Eboli. Rec: Counterpunch Trans (memoir)
Lin Yutang, Chinese, 1895-1976.
The Importance of Living. Rec: Ward
Lumumba, Patrice, Congolese, 1925-1961.
Lumumba Speaks. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Luxemburg, Rosa, German, 1870-1919.
Rosa Luxemburg Speaks. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
MacLean, Fitzroy, Scottish, 1911-1996.
Eastern Approaches. Rec: Counterpunch NF (memoir)
Macmillan, Harold The Winds of Change, 1914-1939(1966) irtle
World War I, Depression and the rise of Fascist dictators form the background to the autobiography of this urbane British
publisher-politician. Political memoirs come and go: this one will endure. Also (sequels): The Blast of War; Tides of Fortune.
See MEDIA (Nowell-Smith)
Malcolm X The Autobiography of Malcolm X(1965)
Having been involved in drugs, crime, pimping, conversion to and dismissal from the Black Muslim movement, Malcolm X
was murdered in 1965. If he had survived he might have been a major political force. His book will live.
X, Malcolm, American, 1925-1965.
Autobiography of Malcolm X (With the assistance of and epilogue by Alex Haley). Rec: Colcc91 Counterpunch NF Hungry
Mind LAT ML Nonfiction NYPL
Markham, Beryl, English, 1902-1986.
West With the Night. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Much more than a pilot's memoir, West With the Night is a wise, funny, and inspiring exploration of a life well lived. (amazon)
Matthiessen, Peter, American, 1927- .
The Snow Leopard. Rec: LAT (memoir)
Maugham, W. Somerset The Summing Up(1938)
Judicious look back at what life had taught a professional writer who chose never to wear his heart on his sleeve; dry, touching
portrait of the artist as an old man. Also: A Writer's Notebook. See DRAMA; FICTION/CRIME; FICTION/NOVELS:
FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Mead, Margaret Blackberry Winter (1973)
Generation of ambitiously intellectual American women produced Margaret Mead, anthropologist, writer, traveller, whose life
is here chronicled as far as 1939. See ANTHROPOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY
Menchu, Rigoberta, Guatemalan, 1959- .
I, Rigoberta Menchu. Rec: Counterpunch Trans NYPL
Miller, Merle Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry Truman (1974)
Miller captured the words of the ex-President on tape, had them transcribed and produced from them this marvellous, moving,
quixotic book.
Morris, Jan Conundrum (1974)
James Morris was a successful British journalist, writer and traveller, happily married and with children—but this was a painful
facade: since childhood he had felt that he was a woman trapped in a man's body. How body and spirit became one (through
hormones and surgery) is told with charm, delicacy and humour. See TRAVEL (Morris, James)
Muggeridge, Malcolm Chronicles of Wasted Time
(2 vols. 1972-73) Ite Like many British intellectuals of his late-Edwardian generation, Muggeridge always lived his life d clef.
Turn the key deftly, and tiptoe into the wide-eyed, artfully candid world of a wastrel intellect, penitently impenitent, discreetly
blabbering: enjoyable traipse through Kippsian Croydon and the Fabian world of the repellent Webbs. on to British India and a
lifetime of journalism. Never did apprentice Christian more rabidly bite the hands that fed him.
Muggeridge, Malcolm, English, 1903-1990.
Chronicles of Wasted Time. Rec: National Review
Nabokov, Vladimir Speak. Memory (1966) t *
Russian novelist writes of his childhood in a wealthy, pre-Revolutionary family—a never-forgotten dream of happiness
irretrievably snatched away. See BIOGRAPHY; CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Carroll); FICTION/NOVELS; POETRY (Pushkin)
Nerval, Gérard de, French, 1808-1855.
Aurelia. Rec: Bloom (memoir)
Paustovsky, Konstantin, Russian, 1892-1968.
The Story of a Life. Rec: Ward
It is not a historical document but rather a long, lyrical tale focusing on the internal perceptions and poetic development of the
writer . It has been called a "biography of the soul" rather than a biography of events.
Pobedonostsev, Konstantin, Russian, 1827-1907.
Reflections of a Russian Statesman. Rec: National Review
Read, Herbert, English, 1893-1968.
The Contrary Experience: Autobiographies. Rec: Ward
Reitman, Ben L., American, 1879-1942.
Sister of the Road: The Autobiography of Boxcar Bertha. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Restif de la Bretonne, Nicolas, French, 1734-1806.
Monsieur Nicolas. Rec: Rex
The extraordinary autobiography of Monsieur Nicolas (16 vols., 1794-1797), in which at the age of sixty he has set down his
remembrances, his notions on ethical and social points, his hatreds, and above all his numerous loves, both real and fancied.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques The Confessions (1782) *
Writer, thinker, composer, Rousseau fought with all his friends, was always in a disastrous amorous state, lived a humdrum life
with a mistress whose five children went to the foundling hospital. Unrivalled self-portrait of a difficult, distracted genius at
loggerheads with the everyday. See POLITICS
Rousseau, Jean Jacques, French, 1712-1778.
Confessions. Rec: Bloom Col37 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Seymour-Smith Ward
La Nouvelle Héloïse. Rec: Bloom
Saint Simon, Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Memoirs (18th century) P* Discursive, ironic, waspish: among the best memoirs
ever published. Vivid, caustic picture by a survivor of Louis XIV's court. Style at first indigestible, then compulsive.
Sarashina, Lady, Japanese, 1008-ca. 1064.
As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams. Rec: Ward
At its heart, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams is a song sung in retrospect by Lady Sarashina. This is a song of denied dreams
that always just barely seem to fail.
Sartre, Jean Paul, French, 1905-1980. Nobel Laureate
War Diaries: Notebooks from a Phoney War, 1939-1940. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
The Words. Rec: Bloom
Serge, Victor, Belgian, 1890-1947.
Memoirs of a Revolutionary, 1901-1941. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Shostakovich, Dmitri Testimony (197 9)
Distracted, dictated memoirs from Shostakovich's last years. Chillingly describes his 50-year persecution by bureaucratic
tyrants, his continuous self-haunting misery. Not, perhaps, for lovers of his music, or of the Soviet state; for students of
political repression or artistic neurosis, vital.
Simenon, Georges When I Was Old (1970)
Frightening book, by a man haunted by his own creativity. Frank comments on drinking, never-ceasing need for women,
methods of writing, memories of children when young; musings on contemporaries and on other writers. Revealing; especially
relevant to the debate about how much an artist's life inhabits his work. See FICTION/CRIME
Sitwell, Osbert Left Hand, Right Hand (1944 – 46) too The Sitwells were to 1920s and 1930s Britain what the Algonquin set
was to the USA: inessential but definitive. Eccentrics all, they were often extremely funny, and never lost an iron grasp of their
own self-importance and their putative place in English letters. (See John Pearson's Facades for efficient outside account.) See
OCCULT (Sitwell, S.); POETRY (Sitwell, E.)
Speer, Albert Inside the Third Reich (1970)
Chilling, invaluable account of life as Hitler's pet courtier and political architect. Speer's intellectual quality illuminates but
never explains his master's fatal power; he is the epitome of a man whose "honour rooted in dishonour stood" and whom faith
unfaithful has kept falsely true. See Hart; BIOGRAPHY (Bullock); POLITICS (Stern)
Stein, Gertrude, American, 1874-1946.
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. Rec: Hungry Mind ML Nonfiction Radcliffe
Washington, Booker T., American, 1856-1915.
Up From Slavery. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Webb, George, Native American, 1893?- .
A Pima Remembers. Rec: LAT
“an amazing look back in time as to when Pimas' were Pimas'” ( amazon)
Wiesel, Elie, Romanian-American writing in French, 1928- .
Night. Rec: NYPL
Wolff, Tobias, American, 1945- .
This Boy's Life. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Woolman, John Journal (1774)
For thirty years the elderly Woolman travelled about the American colonies trying to persuade his fellow Quakers that to own
people was wrong. As a direct result the Quakers were the first important group to ban slavery, a fuse that led to the Civil War
and beyond.
Woolman, John, American, 1720-1772.
Journal. Rec: Rexmo
Biography
Modern biography combines the skills of historian, essayist, psycho-analyst, critic and (biographers like to think) novelist. The
books in this list are chosen, like those in Autobiography and Memoirs, for the importance or interest of the subject and for
evocation of period or character. They fall into two categories: objective, where historian and critic predominate, and
subjective, where memoirist and analyst tend to take over (and where what a writer says about his subject is often deeply
revealing of himself). One or two cases (for example Sartre on Genet and Troyat on Tolstoy) stray delightfully (or
scandalously) into fiction. Whether biography is an art or not—and despite the documentary fetish which has led to renewed
prolixity in recent times (for example in Michael Holroyd, after all the slimming work of Lytton Strachey)—it is nearly always
metaphorical or allegorical: for a life can never be written: it must be lived.
See ART (Smith, Vasari); DRAMA (Fitzsimons); HISTORY/ AMERICAN (Aaron. Morgan, Woodward);
HISTORY/ANCIENT (Selzer); HISTORY/ASIAN (Suyin); HISTORY/BRITISH (Hibbert, Longford, Magnus, Neale, Plumb,
Scarisbrick, Willson); HISTORY/EUROPEAN (Geyl, Grey, Massie, Origo, Tyler); FILM (McCabe. Septon, Taylor);
LITERARY CRITICISM (Hazlitt); MATHEMATICS (Davis, Moszkowski. Reid); MEDIA (Berg); MUSIC (Einstein, Nichols,
Nolan, White); NATURAL HISTORY (Adams, Blunt); PSYCHOLOGY (Watson); RELIGION (Wat, Wendel); TRAVEL
(Ronay)
Aldington, Richard Lawrence of Arabia (1955)
Definitive example of the "irresponsible" hatchet-job. Priceless malice, eg over T. E. Lawrence's claim to have read every book
in the Bodleian Library while at Oxford. To be taken with the pinch of the salt it so liberally supplies. Also: Portrait of a
Genius, but . . (about D. H. Lawrence). See TRAVEL (Lawrence)
Aubrey, John, English, 1626-1697.
Brief Lives. Rec: Bloom
Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand (1950)
Excellent short book on Luther and the Lutheran Reformation; religious aspects preponderant and thoughtfully discussed. Also:
Erasmus of Christendom
Baker, Carlos Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story (1969)
Fast-talking, fast-moving mixture of punditry and pungency; "in-depth" journalism at its upmarket best. See
FICTION/NOVELS (Hemingway); FICTION/SHORT STORIES (Hemingway)
Bate, W. J. John Keats (1963)
On the West side of the Atlantic, at least, now the standard biography. And Bate's Life of Dr Johnson is even better. Both are
extraordinary: they carry their learning gracefully; they are also as dramatic as life itself. See Gittings; LITERARY
CRITICISM (Keats): POETRY (Keats)
Bate, W. Jackson, American, 1918-1999.
Samuel Johnson. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Bell, Quentin Virginia Woolf: A Biography (1972)
Two civilized volumes by Virginia Woolf's nephew, making extensive use of her intimate journals. Notable for fine analysis of
Woolf's relationships with her friends; dubious jibes at Leonard. See Woolf; DIARIES (Woolf); FEMINISM (Woolf);
FICTION/NOVELS (Woolf)
Blake, Robert, English, 1916-2003.
Disraeli. Rec: National Review
Boswell, James The Life of Samuel Johnson L1.D. (1791)
P * Perhaps the one assured world classic in English biography.
Remarkable for its almost proverbial re-creation of Johnson's talk; for acute observation of English foible and eccentricity; for
power to set a scene and adjudge an encounter; for gathering sense of the moral greatness of its subject, and above all for deep
underlying affection. Also: A Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. See Bate; Johnson; Krutch; DIARIES; LITERARY
CRITICISM (Johnson); REFERENCE (Johnson); TRAVEL (Johnson)
Boswell, James, Scottish, 1740-1795.
The Life of Samuel Johnson. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Lubbock Ward
Journals. Rec: Adler (Selections) Bloom
Brodie, Fawn M., American, 1915-1981.
Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History. Rec: LAT
Bullock, Alan Hitler: A Study in Tyranny (1952)
109J Measured, convincing, composedly British account of Hitler's
extraordinary character and destructive genius. The narrative of the years up to 1940 is unsurpassed; more recent research, and
re-assessment of evidence from the Nuremberg Trials, have challenged Bullock's picture of the final years. See
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Hart, Speer); POLITICS (Arendt, Stern)
Capote, Truman In Cold Blood (1966)
Biography as murder investigation: in this case a multiple murder executed by two footloose psychopaths in a small country
township in Kansas. Interweaving factual reportage and fictive reconstruction, Capote builds up a detailed portrait of mid-West
America.
Cecil, Lord David Melbourne (2 vols, 1939-54)
As a young man, Melbourne (Sir William Lamb) married Lady Caroline; thus the first part of this life concerns the ensuing
Byron scandal. Later, Melbourne was twice Prime Minister, and became the fatherly confidant of the young Queen Victoria.
Common to sovereign and adviser is an abiding melancholy, admirably treated by Cecil. Also: Max: Sir Max Beerbohm;
Visionary and Dreamer: Two Poetic Painters
Cecil, David, Lord, English, 1902-1986.
Melbourne. Rec: ML Nonfiction (biography)
Charters, Ann Kerouac: A Biography (1973)
Sad, panoramic re-creation of Kerouac's life and the "beat" circle of the 1950s: Ginsberg, Burroughs, Cassady, Snyder eta!.
There was vision there, and hope; but the elegiac tone was already strong. See DIARIES (Ginsberg); FICTION/NOVELS
(Kerouac)
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor Biographia Literaria ( 1817)
Subtitled Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions, probably the best criticism of a friend and collaborator by
his friend: Coleridge on Wordsworth. Ambitious philosophical criticism shows characteristic depth and range of Coleridge's
mind. Also: Notebooks; Shakespearian Criticism, etc. See De Quincey; Lefebure; DIARIES (Wordsworth); POETRY
(Coleridge, Wordsworth)
Comnena, Anna, Byzantine Greek, 1083-ca. 1153.
Alexiad. Rec: Ward (biography)
Debo, Angie, American, 1890-1988.
Geronimo: The Man, His Time, His Place. Rec: Counterpunch NF
De Quincey, Thomas Recollections of the Lake Poets (1834-40)
9
Rambling perceptive reminiscences: the Opium Eater is a master of digression and sly innuendo. See Coleridge; Lefebure;
POETRY (Coleridge, Wordsworth)
Donaldson, Frances Edward VIII (1974)
Astringent (but never slick or malicious) antidote to modern royal "lives", with their tendency to be impartial on the side of the
famous. Edward had a hellish childhood (oh those sewn-up trouser pockets, with all they say of the fear of sex and small
change), but he was a spoiled man of small brain and less judgement, whose "romance" was perhaps a necessary escape from
responsibilities he could not face.
Edel, Leon Henry James (5 vols, 1953-72) 0 9
Ambitious, enthralling but uneven, fluctuating between Freudian psycho-biography, detailed literary criticism, and urbane
anecdote. The first three volumes are the best. Also: Literary Biography (influential theoretical work). See James; DIARIES
(James); FICTION/NOVELS (James); FICTION/SHORT STORIES(James); LITERARY CRITICISM (James)
Edel, Leon, American, 1907-1997.
Henry James (5 vols.). Rec: Good Reading LAT National Review (biography)
Ellmann, Richard James Joyce (1959)
P3
Lovingly re-creates not only Joyce's Dublin, but his European cities too, and establishes the autobiographical figure behind the
fiction. Ellmann writes with a unique combination of scholarship and pixie charm, ideally suited to his subject. Also: Golden
Codgers: Biographical Speculations; Yeats: The Man and the Masks. See DIARIES (Joyce); FICTION/NOVELS (Joyce);
FICTION/SHORT STORIES (Joyce)
Ellmann, Richard, American, 1918-1987.
Oscar Wilde. Rec: Good Reading
James Joyce. Rec: Good Reading ML Nonfiction
Erikson, Erik, German-American writing in German, 1902-1994.
Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History. Rec: TLS
Gandhi's Truth: On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence. Rec: TLS
Flexner, James Washington: The Indispensable Man (1974) *
One-volume recension of Flexner's superb four-volume biography of Washington, which appeared over a period of nearly
twenty years. Now probably the best short biography of the founding father—pa ter patriae. See Freeman.
Freeman, D. S. Robert E. Lee (4 vols. 1934 –35); Washington (6 vols, 1948-54)
Seldom does a single biographer produce two standard and definitive biographies, certainly not of two such august and eminent
—and different—men as Lee and Washington. Both were Virginians (as was Freeman); both were soldiers; and both had a deep
love of their country, differently expressed as this obviously was. At any rate both these massive biographies are masterpieces.
Almost equally good is Lee's Lieutenants, on which Freeman worked in between Lee and Washington. See Flexner.
Freeman, Douglas Southall, American, 1886-1953.
R. E. Lee. Rec: National Review
Freud, Sigmund Leonardo da Vinci (1910) 9
This brief monograph of the links between Leonardo's art and his childhood upbringing succinctly demonstrates what
"Freudian biography" actually means—and also contains some shrewd warnings from the sage himself on its inherent risks.
See Jones; ART (Richter); MEDICINE (Freud)
Froude, James Thomas Carlyle (4 vols, 1882-84) 9 One of the great Victorian classics of biography. Central to Carlyle's life
was his unhappy and unfulfilled marriage, which Fro ude depicted with a sympathy (for the wife) and a frankness that outraged
his contemporaries; yet Carlyle the writer and prophet emerges with a bitter grandeur. Excellent one-volume abridgement by
John Clubbe (1979). Also: My Relations with Carlyle. See DIARIES (Carlyle); LITERARY CRITICISM (Carlyle)
Gaskell, Elizabeth The Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857)
9
Mrs Gaskell knew Charlotte well; the biography, though sentimental and reticent, gives an authentic picture of Brontë
Yorkshire and is unique as a contemporary account by another woman writer. Should be read in conjunction with Gerin (qv).
See FICTION/NOVELS (Bronte, Gaskell)
Gerin, Winifred Branwell Bronte (1961) * The most haunting of an impressive series of biographies which together
reconstruct the entire Bronte world. Also: The Brontës (2 vols. See Gaskell; FICTION/NOVELS (Bronte)
Gittings, Robert John Keats (1968)
to * J
This moving biography has established itself as a classic of what might be called the "mainstream" school of modern
biography. Also: Young Thomas Hardy; The Older Hardy; The Nature of Biography. See Bate; LITERARY CRITICISM
(Keats); POETRY (Keats)
Gorky, Maksim, Russian, 1868-1936.
Reminiscences of Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Andreev. Rec: Bloom
Gowing, Lawrence, English, 1918-1991.
Vermeer. Rec: ML Nonfiction (bio)
Graves, Robert, English, 1895-1985.
I, Claudius. Rec: Harvard ML Novels Time
Green, Peter Kenneth Grahame, 1859-1932 (1959) f * At Classical scholar subjects the author of much-loved The Wind in the
Willows to a sensitive post-Freudian interpretation, emphasizing the passing of an Edwardian bachelor golden age. Provoking,
and thought-provoking too. See CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Grahame)
Grigson, Geoffrey Samuel Palmer: The Visionary Years (1947) P 3 Mt Grigson has written on folklore, herbalism, wild
flowers, topography, poetry and painting; probably none of his books have combined these elements so magically as this early
biographical study. The book put Palmer (the most English of rural
painters) on the map after years of neglect. Also: Samuel Palmer's Valley of Vision
Hersh, Seymour, American, 1937- .
The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House. Rec: Counterpunch NF (biography)
Holmes, Richard Shelley (1974)
Almost in that class of biography typified by Andre Maurois' delectable Byron (and perhaps by his Ariel, also a study of
Shelley) in which a poet's life is treated with narrative zest but with little serious attention to the poetry. Holmes, if prosaic,
carried out his investigations with thoroughness and readability. The flame is missing, but the fuel is excellently assembled. See
Trelawny; POETRY (Shelley); LITERARY CRITICISM (Shelley)
Holroyd, Michael Lytton Strachey: A Critical Biography
(2 vols, 1967 – 68)
lit This unbrief life, combining polished literary style with scandalous Bloomsbury material,
discovered a huge new readership for modern British biography. Holroyd gives the fraught emotional life of Strachey and his
circle the unexpected quality of comic epic. Also: Augustus John; Hugh Kingsmill. See Strachey.
Howarth, David The Desert King: Ibn Saud, Founder of Saudi Arabia (1964)
Wonderful swashbuckling biography of the father of his country—and also of more than 125 sons and an uncounted number of
daughters (not uncountable, just uncounted).
Hudson, Derek Munby: Man of Two Worlds (1972)
Extraordinary story of a respectable Victorian gentleman with a passion for buxom working-class girls, who spent his life
secretly drawing, photographing and interviewing them, and finally married the prize specimen, his housekeeper, Hannah.
Bizarre; touching; great fun. Also: Thomas Barnes of "The Times"; Lewis Carroll; Arthur Rack ham. See FEMINISM (Riley)
Hubinga, Johan Erasmus of Rotterdam (1924)
Elegant, moving biography of one of Europe's greatest humanists, freely illustrated with drawings by Dtirer, Holbein, Cranach
and others. See HISTORY/EUROPEAN; RELIGION (Phillips)
Hyde, H. Montgomery Oscar Wilde (1976)
Hyde conducts his biographies like court-hearings (they often centre on celebrated trials); his dramatic but detached approach
is peculiarly effective in dealing with Wilde's mesmeric, histrionic personality. Also: The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh;
The Trial of Sir Roger Casement; Carson. See DIARIES (Wilde); DRAMA (Wilde); FICTION/NOVELS (Wilde)
Jahiz, al-, Arab, ca. 780-ca. 868.
The Life and Works of Jahiz. Rec: Ward
James, Henry Partial Portraits (1913)
*
Supreme examples of the essayist as biographer. A great novelist looks with affectionate, sometimes sly acumen at eminent
contemporaries. George Eliot, Trollope, Maupassant, Stevenson and Turgenev definitively abbreviated. See Edel; DIARIES;
FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES; LITERARY CRITICISM
Johnson, Dr Samuel The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1783)
P*?
Celebrated studies of 52 poets (including Donne, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Gray) from the early 17th century to the late 18th.
18th-century prose at its magisterial, grandiloquent best. See Bate: Boswell; Krutch; LITERARY CRITICISM; REFERENCE;
TRAVEL
Jones, Ernest The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud
(3 vols, 1953-57) P3 A Freudian on Freud (who emerges as a heroic and surprisingly attractive figure, set against a dark period
of European history). Jones is a hagiographer: expect no objective analysis here, no dirt. See Freud; Pickering; MEDICINE
(Freud);
OCCULT (Vyvyan, for anti-Jones polemic)
Krutch, Joseph Wood The Life of Samuel Johnson LLD. (1945)
Krutch was a redoubtable scholar and one of the great raconteurs of his time (as well as a distinguished naturalist). All these
strains came together in a fine but little-known life of Dr Johnson, with whom Krutch had much in common. See Bate;
Boswell; Johnson; LITERARY CRITICISM (Johnson); NATURAL HISTORY; REFERENCE (Johnson); TRAVEL (Johnson)
Lachouque, H. The Anatomy of Glory: Napoleon and His Guard(1978)
AJ
It's said that there are over 300,000 books about Napoleon and at least one (a novel) by him. This is one of the best—we think.
Napoleon was a startling combination of genius and monster; this author shirks not a single wart. See HISTORY/EUROPEAN
(Chandler, Geyl)
Lefebvre, Molly Samuel Taylor Coleridge: A Bondage
of Opium (1974) 9 J
Coleridge's entire life seen in terms of his drug addiction, rather than (say) through his visionary poetry, his politics and
journalism, or his position as a major English Romantic critic and philosopher. Readable, grim interpretation of a notably
unhappy life. See Coleridge; De Quincey; POETRY (Coleridge)
Lindsay, Jack J. M. W. Turner: His Life and Work (1966)
9J
Turner's difficult, withdrawn personality has often proved intractable to biographers. But by making use of his verse-jottings
and sketchbooks, Lindsay produces a convincing psychological interpretation, set against a detailed evocation of the art-world
of the period. See MATHEMATICS
Longford, Elizabeth Wellington (2 vols. 1969-72)
Readable and detailed, but never dull. This Wellington entertains all the contradictions of an English grandee, at once sensitive
to the horrors of war and a great captain, a reactionary splendidly contemptuous of received ideas. Philip Guedalla's The Iron
Duke is written with more style, but less authority. See HISTORY/BRITISH
Madariaga, Salvador de Bolivar (1951)
Compendious literary account of the creator of South American independence (of a kind) from Spanish domination.
Mailer, Norman Marilyn (1973)
Ravishing photo-portraits of Marilyn Monroe; the text is written as a pastiche of American advertising copy—"a very
Stradivarius of sex," etc—and a polemic against earnest show-biz biographies. The ironic form of the book is a rare delight.
See FICTION/NOVELS
Malone, Dumas, American, 1892-1986.
Jefferson and His Time (6 vols.). Rec: ML Nonfiction (biography)
Manchester, William, American, 1922-2004.
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill. Rec: National Review
Marchand, Leslie Lord Byron: A Biography (3 vols, 1957)
Definitive example of the modern three-decker "definitive" life. Exhaustingly informative; a fascinating, if oddly unbalanced
monument. Also: Byron: A Portrait; Byron's Letters and Journals. See Trelawny; DIA RIES (Byron); POETRY (Byron)
Marek, George R., Austrian, 1902-1987.
The Eagles Die: Franz Joseph, Elisabeth, and Their Austria. Rec: Harvard (biography)
Masters, John Casanova (1969)
Tragi-comic life of one of the world's most charming rogues. Admirably balances author's deflating research against the
tumescence of Casanova's own memoirs. It's less like life than a Rossini comic opera—but Casanova's pervasive melancholy
gives the book dark overtones. How sad to be the cynosure of half Europe, and the court jester of the other half!
Milford, Nancy Zelda Fitzgerald: A Biography (1970)
J
Scott Fitzgerald's life seen from Zelda's standpoint. Written con amore, with a feminist edge. See DIARIES (Fitzgerald);
FICTION/NOVELS (Fitzgerald); FICTION/SHORT STORIES (Fitzgerald)
Mitford, Nancy Voltaire in Love (1957)
Stylish account of 18th-century country life at the Chateau de Circy in Champagne, and also the pleasures of elegant Parisian
intercourse at the Hotel Lambert on the Ile Saint-Louis. Also: Madame de Pompadour; Frederick the Great. See
FICTION/NOVELS (Voltaire)
Morison, S.E. Admiral of the Ocean Sea: The Life of Christopher Columbus (1942)
Standard English-language biography of the "discoverer" of America (who never touched the American continent). See
HISTORY/AMERICAN; TRAVEL
Nabokov, Vladimir Nicolai Gogol (1944)
Brilliant, eccentric study, beginning with Gogol's "death and youth", and ending with a comic interview between Nabokov and
his unsatisfied publisher. Captures the strangeness of Gogol's personality, and the peculiar Russian humour of Dead Souls. See
AUTOBIOGRAPHY; CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Carroll);
F1CTION/NOVELS (Gogol, Nabokov); POETRY (Pushkin)
Nicolson, Harold King George V: His Life and Reign (1952) P./
Dignified, engaging portrait of a monarch at the centre of a declining empire. Also: Curzon: The Last Phase; The Development
of English Biography; Some People. See DIARIES
Painter, George Marcel Proust: A Biography (1959-65)
This authoritative English biography produced a revolution in Proustian studies, largely by its reconstruction of Remembrance
of Things Pastin terms of Proust's own relationships and youthful experiences. Massive, but delicate as Proust himself in its
perception of people and places; an exceptional piece of prose.
Also: Andre Gide; Chateaubriand. See Pickering; DRAMA (Johnson); FICTION/NOVELS (Proust); LITERARY CRITICISM
(Beckett)
Parkman, Francis La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West
(1879) AS 0 let
Biographical history, at times using La Salle's own words. La Salle was the indomitable but unlovely explorer who claimed
Louisiana for France and was murdered for his pains by his own men. A Coriolanus in the American wilderness. See
HISTORY/AMERICAN
Pickering, George W. Creative Malady (1974)
Highly original study of how psychological illness contributed to the productivity of six well-known individuals. Fascinating
biographical sketches of Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Mary Baker Eddy, Freud, Proust and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Plutarch Parallel Lives ( 1 05 -115)
Regarded in the Middle Ages and Renaissance as one of the most important of classical books to survive, this had an enormous
influence perhaps hard to understand today, when moralizing biography is not the height of fashion: without it, for example,
Shakespeare's history plays would have been heavier on bland pageantry, lighter on the analysis of political motivation and
influence. Parallel Lives: famous Greeks compared with famous Romans. Sounds forbidding: in fact is light and a joy to read.
Plutarch, Greek, ca. 46-ca.120 CE .
Parallel Lives. Rec: Adler Aquinas (Selections) Bloom GBWW Good Reading Lubbock Rex Seymour-Smith SJC (Selections)
Ward
Renan, Ernest The Life of Jesus (1863)
Renan was the first writer to apply modern biographical methods to Jesus. The result created an uproar similar to that following
Darwin's The Origin of Species. Short, elegant and sceptical, in the best Voltairean tradition, it is still eminently readable. Also:
Marcus Aurelius
Renoir, Jean Renoir My Father (1962)
& Intimate, uninhibited picture of a great painter. From life—or studio portrait?
The father-figure is very like a Michel Simon performance from one of Jean Renoir's early films. Still, a stylish evocation of
French country life, and of the quirks and dedication of the creative mind.
Renoir, Jean, French, 1894-1979.
Renoir, My Father. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Ricks, Christopher Tennyson (1972)
di ✓.1
Short on day-to-day events, though never shirking psychological issues; sympathetic, uncensorious critique of a genius of
verbal niceties, who perhaps became a little too nice for his own poetic good. See POETRY (Tennyson) Rolt, L. T. C. Isambard
Kingdom Brunel: A Biography (1957) it Rolt successfully presents the great bridge-builder and boat constructor as a heroic
representative of Victorian energy and enterprise, a Michelangelo of engineering. The biography is given tension and
excitement by accounts of the various disasters, collapses, and sinkings which accompanied Brunel's triumphant progress.
Also: George and Robert Stephenson: The Railway Revolution; James Watt
Rosenberg, Jakob, American, 1893-1980.
Rembrandt: Life and Work. Rec: Ward
Sandburg, Carl Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years (2 vols, 1926-29); The War Years (4 vols, 1939)
There are many biographies of Lincoln—he is an irresistible subject—and many are good, but Sandburg's magnum opus is
probably the most monumental and endearing. See DIARIES (Lincoln)
Sartre, Jean-Paul Saint Genet: Actor and Martyr (1952)
P
Existentialist biography of the criminal and playwright Jean Genet. Though long and analytico-rhetorical, it presents an
interesting alternative to the Anglo-Saxon tradition of empirical biography. Also: Baudelaire; Flaubert. See DRAMA;
FICTION/NOVELS; PHILOSOPHY; SEX (Genet); TRAVEL (Genet)
Sartre, Jean Paul, French, 1905-1980. Nobel Laureate
Saint Genet. Rec: Bloom
The Family Idiot: Gustave Flaubert. Rec: Bloom
Starkie, Enid Baudelaire (1957)
Meticulous with a warmth and sympathy rare in academic biography. Excellent on both Baudelaire's love affairs and his poetry.
Usefully read in conjunction with Sartre's Baudelaire. Also: Arthur Ritnbaud; Flaubert. See ART
(Baudelaire); DIARIES (Baudelaire); POETRY (Baudelaire)
Steegmuller, Francis Cocteau: A Biography (1970)
Cocteau's chameleon personality (novelist, poet, painter, film-maker, impresario) provides a glittering, amusing guide through
the avant-garde Paris of Diaghilev, Nijinsky, Picasso, Stravinsky, Radiguet and Isadora Duncan. Also: Apollinaire: Poet among
the Painters; Flaubert and Madame Bovary: A Double Portrait; Maupassant: A Lion in the Path. See DIARIES
Strachey, Lytton Eminent Victorians (1918)
Elegant, mocking studies of Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr Arnold of Rugby School, and General Gordon of
Khartoum. The book marks the beginning of the immense influence of Bloomsbury on modern British biography, destroying
forever what Strachey called "the tedious panegyric" of Victorian biography. Also: Queen Victoria; Portraits in Miniature. See
Holroyd.
Strachey, Lytton, English, 1880-1932.
Eminent Victorians. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Taylor, A. J. P. Bismarck (1955)
Terse, critical but teasingly just appraisal of the Iron Chancellor by the emery paper of British historians. Also: War Lords;
Beaverbrook, etc. See HISTORY/BRITISH
Thompson, E. P. William Morris: From Romantic to Revolutionary (1955)
9 Brilliant, dogmatic biography by leading
left-wing historian. "The transformation of the eccentric artist and romantic literary man into the socialist agitator may be
counted among the great conversions of the world." See HISTORY/BRITISH
Tomalin, Claire The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft (1974) Short, admirably balanced life of the first British feminist
(1759-97), author of Vindication of the Rights of Women. See FEMINISM (Wollstonecraft)
Trelawny, Edward John Records of Shelley, Byron, and the Author (1858)
Trelawny was a natural raconteur, and his bubbling, opinionated and often mendacious biography, packed with dramatic
incident and reconstructed dialogue, reads with all the life and outrageousness of a Ken Russell film. See Holmes; Marchand;
DIARIES (Byron); POETRY (Byron)
Trevor-Roper, Hugh A Hidden Life: The Enigma of Sir Edmund Backhouse (1976)
Full of fantastic sexual adventures at the turn of the 19th century, this remarkable biography patiently reconstructs the life of a
forger, swindler and conman who, among other things, sold the British Government 200,000 non-existent rifles in 1915. Also:
Archbishop Laud; The Last Days of Hitler
Troyat, Henri Tolstoy (1965)
-Or
Rich, imaginative presentation of Tolstoy as a man of enormous inner contradictions and appetites, vividly re-created through
the eyes of his long-suffering wife, children, and literary contemporaries. The style is self-consciously Tolstoyian, but retains a
very French ironic detachment. Should be a novel—and very nearly is. Also: Pushkin; Gogol. See FICTION/NOVELS
(Tolstoy); LITERARY CRITICISM (Tolstoy)
Van Doren, Carl Benjamin Franklin (1938)
Franklin is an immense subject for a biographer—scientist, politician, philosopher, lover, he was all things to all men. Van
Doren captures the many-sidedness of the man in this popular, well-written book. See AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Franklin);
REFERENCE (Adler)
Wall, Joseph F. Andrew Carnegie (1970)
Gigantic biography of the giant industrialist and philanthropist; particularly good on his Scottish background, and on the
operation of his early corporations in the late-19th-century heyday of American industrial enterprise. (Carnegie had interests in
oil, railways, bridges, telegraphy, iron and steel—among other things.) Interesting comments on how the Civil War affected
businessmen in the next two generations, and on Carnegie's attitude to business rivals and to labour relations. Sober; thorough;
absorbing. Also: Henry Watterson, Reconstructed Rebel
Wolff, Geoffrey, American, 1937- .
Black Sun: The Brief Transit and Violent Eclipse of Harry Crosby. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Woodham-Smith, Cecil Florence Nightingale, 1820-1910 (1950)
*_,
One of the most outstanding and readable narrative historians of her generation, Woodham-Smith concentrated all her
knowledge of the ways of the Victorian establishment in this splendid vindication of Miss Nightingale's rumbustious career.
See Pickering; Strachey; HISTORY/BRITISH
Woodham-Smith, Cecil, Welsh, 1896-1977.
Florence Nightingale. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Woolf, Virginia Flush (1933)
Whimsical biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's red cocker-spaniel, complete with line-drawings by sister Vanessa.
Woolf carries it off by prose style alone, and gives a splendidly confused vision of the elopement to Italy, with striking effects
of light, shade, scent, and lapsing time. Also: Roger Fry; Orlando: A Biography (a spoof). See Bell; DIARIES; FEMINISM;
FICTION/NOVELS
Zweig, Stefan Three Masters (1920)
* These studies of Balzac, Dickens and Dostoyevsky show the early influence of
Freudian psychology, and Zweig's own special brand of imaginative-biographical criticism. Also: Master Builders (HOlderlin,
von Kleist, Nietzsche). See FICTION/NOVELS (Balzac, Dickens, Dostoyevsky)
Zweig, Stefan, Austrian, 1881-1942.
The World of Yesterday. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Balzac. Rec: National Review
BIOGRAPHY
Claire Tomalin
Biographies are on the whole ephemeral. Nothing seems so old-fashioned as the biographies of the 1920s, gathering dust on
library shelves. The exceptions are those that are fired by passion and understanding of their subject and period, and writ-ten
with as much an as good fiction. A biography cannot put you inside someone else's skin, as fiction tries to, but it can (and
should) immerse you in another world. The biographer draws on many disciplines - history, geography, sociology, medicine,
psychology, an history among them - and has to be a scholarly jackdaw, picking up bits of information wherever they can be
found. There may also be an intention to establish or restore a reputation, reveal a social problem, or do justice where it has not
hitherto been done. Among the earliest English-language biographies are William Roper's of his father-in-law Thomas More
(1626) and Izaac Walton's of the poet John Donne (1641); biography has been much more popular with the English and the
Americans than with other nations.
A true delineation of the smallest man, and his scene of pilgrimage through life, is
capable of interesting the greatest man; ... all men are to an unspeakable degree
brothers, each man's life a strange emblem of every man's; and ... Human
Portraits, faithfully drawn, are of all pictures the welcomest on human walls.
THOMAS CARLYLE
The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) by James Boswell. By general consent one of the greatest books in the language, for its
first-hand portrait of the man and rendering of his conversation, and for the art with which Boswell put his material together
after the death of his friend.
Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798) by William Godwin. Written immediately after the
death of Godwin's wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, in childbirth. Its frankness about her private life, extraordinary for the time,
made it a cause of scandal, but it is a deeply affecting short account in which the characters of both author and subject emerge
with striking force.
Life of John Sterling (1851) by Thomas Carlyle. Sterling was a minor literary figure, poet, and friend of the poet and critic S
T Coleridge, and a political idealist who in his youth planned to assist in the overthrow of Ferdinand VII of Spain, only failing
to join the disastrous expedition at the last minute, remaining behind to get married instead. He died in his thirties of
tuberculosis, mourned by his many devoted friends, but he would scarcely be remembered were it not for Carlyle's affectionate
tribute.
The Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857) by Elizabeth Gaskell. Another scandalous book when it first appeared, it is the tribute of
a friend and a finely judged account of the almost overwhelming difficulties facing a woman of genius attempting to work in a
society that preferred women to be purely domestic creatures. It remains brilliantly readable, and can profitably be followed up
by Jenny Uglow's excellent Elizabeth Gaskell 1993.
John Keats (1968) by Robert Gittings. Casts new light on the process of composition as well as the life of the poet; a masterly
study.
Henry James (1953-1972) by Leon Edel. A five-volume study, totally absorbing to admirers of James's work. It is the product
of immense labour, feelingly written, and still the best available. (There is an abridged version, but what Jamesian would want
that?)
Disraeli (1966) by Robert Blake. A classic political biography, magisterial in pace and tone, and enthralling.
The Rise and Fall of the Man of Letters (1969) by John Gross. Could be called a group biography, one of the most
entertaining, original, and informative ever written.
Alan Turing: The Enigma of Intelligence (1983) by Andrew Hodge. This gave many readers their first insight into the
development of computer technology, and at the same time an appalling revelation about officially sanctioned persecution of
homosexuals, for Turing ended his life in suicide.
Mrs Humphry Ward (1990) by John Sutherland. Minor subject, major biography of a best-selling niece of Matthew Arnold
and aunt of Aldous Huxley, indomitable charity worker, hypochondriac, and anti-suffragette: a witty, marvellous book.
Coleridge: Early Visions (1989) by Richard Holmes. A finely wrought account which takes the reader out walking the fells
with the poet as well as into his intricate and sometimes disordered mind; the narrative rises to a wonderful climax.
Children's Books
Any list of children's books should make nostalgic browsing for adults; but it should also include the sort of books children
actually still read. This list is a choice of classics (all recommend-ably readable, and read) and good contemporary books,
potentially of classic status too.
See DIARIES (Frank); FICTION/NOVELS (Swift, Twain): FICTION/SHORT STORIES (Grimm): HUMOUR (Schulz);
REFERENCE (Merit, New Arthur Mee, Opie); RELIGION (Bible)
Adams, Richard Watership Down(1972)
Long, allegorical novel about rabbits; occasional turgidities offset by strong story-line. Adam's later books are full of detailed
violence, could be a test for the squeamish. (10+)
Aiken, Joan Tales of Arabel's Raven (197 4)
Slapstick adventures of ordinary little girl and pet raven in contemporary London. Expert comedy for the 7+ set; older children
(11+) may prefer her densely-plotted historical novels (Go Saddle the Sea; The Wolves of Willoughby Chase) or her collections
of short stories (A Harp of Fishbones; The Kingdom under the Sea, etc).
Alcott, Louisa May Little Women (1868)
One of the great progenitors of the family story. Alcott writes from her own life with a sincerity and warmth which transcend
the often pious particularity. (10+)
Alcott, Louisa May, American, 1832-1888.
Little Women. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Almedingen, E. M. Ellen (1971)
Ellen Polotratzky, the author's grandmother, is the central character; five other biographical novels complete the sequence, and
build a fascinating picture of pre-Revolutionary Russia. (12+) Also: A Candle at Dusk; The Knights of the Golden Table, etc
Andersen, Hans Christian Fairy Tales (1835 – 72)
Among the plethora of available translations, two may be singled out: Corrin's in Ardizzone's Hans Andersen (1978, illustrated
by Edward Ardizzone); and Haugaard's Hans Andersen: His Classic Fairy Tales (1976, illustrated by Michael Foreman). (6+)
Andersen, Hans Christian, Danish, 1805-1875.
Fairy Tales and Stories. Rec: Meaningful
Atwater, F. and R. Mr Popper's Penguins (1938)
Where do you keep a flock of penguins in a city apartment? Naturally, in the bath. So how do you take a bath? Splendid,
deadpan humour, like children's Thurber. (8+)
Baum, Frank L. The Wonderful World of Oz (1900)
This famous century-inaugurating story was followed by several others by Baum and dozens of others by inferior copiers.
Sentimental and foolish at times, but the characters of Dorothy and her loyal friends are warm and—with Judy Garland's help
—unforgettable. (10+)
Bawden, Nina Carrie's War (1973)
World War II evacuee children in Welsh mining community. Strong on period detail—and that includes period attitudes, adult
emotions seen through a child's eyes. (10+) Also: A Handful of Thieves; The Runaway Summer, etc
Blume, Judy, American, 1938- .
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. Rec: Time
Boston, Lucy M. The Children of Green Knowe (1954)
Boston's own historic house is central to all her Green Knowe stories. In this one, Tolly from the present and the ghost-children
from the house's past share adventures and troubles in a time-free world. (8+) Also: Castle of Yew, etc
Botkin, B. A., American, 1901-1975.
A Treasury of Mississippi River Folktales. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Brothwell, D.R. (ed) The Rise of Man(1976)
a
Superb account for children of man's evolution from fossil evidence to remains of great civilizations. Demanding text is offset
by the clarity and simplicity of the illustrations (drawings and diagrams are especially good, and well-captioned). In the same
series, and of the same quality: The Universe (Kerrod); The Prehistoric Work/(Sheehan); The Living World(Chinery). (12+)
See ARCHAEOLOGY
Brown, Margaret Wise, American, 1910-1952.
Goodnight Moon. Rec: NYPL
Brunhoff, Jean de The Story of Babar (1934)
Exploits of young elephant acquiring and passing on the trappings of bourgeois society, told with a gentle satire not lost on
today's readers. Delightful illustrations. Original, large-format edition best; continuations of saga by author's son Laurent are
markedly less good. (6+) Also: Babar's Travels; Babar the King-, Babar at Home
Buchan, John The Thirty-nine Steps (1915)
First class thriller. The stuff of every schoolboy's dreams: stiff upper lips, gripping adventures, good Scottish scenery. (10+)
Also: The Three Hostages, etc
Burnett, Frances Hodgson The Secret Garden (1911)
*P
A story in true Romantic tradition: two lonely, spoilt children (one an invalid who is miraculously cured) discover a secret,
forbidden and neglected garden in which, through working to restore its former glory, they discover their own better natures.
Sharp, sympathetic characterization; her best book. (10+)
Burroughs, Edgar Rice, American, 1875-1950.
Tarzan of the Apes. Rec: NYPL
Carroll, Lewis Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
0
Among the editions in print, those with Tenniel's original illustrations are the best. For the adventurous or curious, a translation
into Russian by Nabokov is available. (8+) Also: Through the Looking Glass
Carroll, Lewis, English, 1832-1898.
Complete Works. Rec: Bloom Ward
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Harvard
Through the Looking-Glass. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Christopher, John The White Mountains (1967)
Together with The City of Gold and Lead and The Pool of Fire, this makes up a science-fiction triology in which man,
dominated by an alien race, painfully throws off his servitude. Racy style; good introduction to major SF children's author. (9+)
Also: The Lotus Caves; The Guardians; The Prince in Waiting
Cole, William (ed) Oh, What Nonsense! (1968)
Collection of nonsense rhymes, illustrated by Tomi Ungerer—sure winner with younger children. Sample: "The time to tickle a
lizard is before, or right after, a blizzard .. ." (6+)
Cooper, Susan Over Sea, Under Stone (1965)
First of a series of five novels. Light battles with Dark for control of the world, with children for warriors. (11+)
Dahl, Roald Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
*
Charlie's passion for chocolates was made worse by living within sight of Willie Wonka's chocolate factory. How he got into
the factory and came to run it is told with an off-beat humour and a lateral view of reality that goes down especially well with
young children. (6+) Also: James and the Giant Peach, etc
De La Mare, Walter Come Hither(1923) * Wide-ranging poetry anthology by one of the best-loved 20th-century poets. If
you buy no other poetry anthologies, buy this one. (8+) Also: Collected Stories for Children; Three Royal Monkeys, etc
Dickinson, Peter The Changes (1975)
Combined edition of three books ( The Weathermonger, Heartsease and The Devil's Children) that make up a dystopian fantasy
in which present-day Britain has reverted to a medieval way of life and all machines are regarded as intrinsically evil. (12+)
Also: The Blue Hawk, etc. See FIcrioN/CRIME
Dinesen, Isak, Danish writing in English, 1885-1962.
Winter's Tales. Rec: Bloom
Seven Gothic Tales. Rec: Bloom
Out of Africa. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Dixon, E. (ed) Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights ( 1958) * Arabia, China and India all contributed to these folk tales of
the East, which have been used as bedtime stories since Scheherazade first captured her audience. This well-illustrated edition
(pictures by Kiddell-Monro) recommended. (7+)
Durrell, Gerald My Family and Other Animals (1956)
Winning combination of animals, insects, and the author's slapstick family (he is the brother of Lawrence Durrell), all set in
Corfu between the wars. Amusing, affectionate, observant: a modern classic. (9+) Also: Birds, Beasts and Relatives; Fillets of
Plaice, etc. See NATURAL HISTORY
Fleischman, Sid Jingo Django (1971)
Orphan chimney-sweep in 19th-century Boston begins a treasure-hunt which takes him by stagecoach, river-scow and gipsy
caravan to Mexico. Fast and funny; poetic style juicy with period slang and atmosphere. (10 +)
Forbes, Esther Johnny Tremain (1943)
Moving, enduring novel about a young hero in Boston during the American Revolution. (10+)
Gag, Wanda Millions of Cats (1928)
"Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats"—so goes the silly refrain of this lovely book in
which the author-artist draws, or seems to draw, every one of those remarkably proliferating cats. (3+)
Garfield, Leon The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1971) Garfield is a leading exponent of the historical novel with an
18th- or 19th-century setting; this book introduces an element of farce, which allows full play for his ironic wit. Alarums and
excursions at Dr Bunnion's Academy after Harris attempts to expose his infant sister according to the customs of ancient
Sparta. (10+)
Garner, Alan Elidor (1965)
a
Elidormarks the peak of Garner's fantasy writing for children ( The Weirdstone of Brisingamen; The Moon of Gomrath; The
Owl Service). Here, the battle between good and evil in mythological Elidor breaks through into this world, involving four
children in a strange power-struggle before balance is restored. (10+) Garner has also written four books of a different kind
( The Stone Book; Toni Fobble's Day; Granny Reardutt; The Abner Gate): prose-poetic in style, they build up a portrait of a
family of British village craftsmen (stonemasons and blacksmiths) spanning five generations from the mid 19th century to the
outbreak of World War H.
Grahame, Kenneth The Wind in the Willows (1908) *JP
Rat, Mole, Badger and Toad are part of the mythology of childhood; life on the river bank is an experience not to be forgotten,
especially when assisted by E. H. Shepard's illustrations. (7+) See BIOGRAPHY (Green)
Grahame, Kenneth, English, 1859-1932.
The Wind in the Willows. Rec: Radcliffe
Haggard, H. Rider King Solomon's Mines (1885)
Masterly adventure story of speculators in southern Africa. With Conan Doyle's The Lost World (hereby recommended), a fine
tale from a splendid era of adventure fiction. The jargon has dated; the pace hasn't. (10+)
Various Authors, Japanese, ca. 1185-1371.
Heike Monogatari (Tales of the Heike). Rec: App Rexmo
Hoban, Russell The Mottse and His Child (1969)
Carefully plotted, engaging story—a modern classic of children's fantasy. (8+) Hughes, Ted The Iron Man (1968)
*1'
Superb mixture of science fiction and fable. The Iron Man appears from nowhere, disastrously gobbling up anything metal,
until he is sent to the scrap yard where he grows sleek and "gleaming blue like a new gun barrel". In gratitude he helps earth
against an invading space-creature. As with most classics, bald account tells nothing of style, imagination, quality. (8+) See
POETRY
Hoffmann, E. T. A., German, 1776-1822.
The Devil's Elixir. Rec: Bloom
Tales. Rec: Bloom
Hunter, Norman The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawnt (1933)
Excruciating schoolboy humour, mad professor and friends in style of 1930s Punch. Stories more than match the zany genius
of their illustrator, Heath Robinson. (7+) Also: The Peculiar Triumph of Professor Branestawm, etc
Jansson, Tove Finn Farnily Moomintroll (1950)
The Moomintrolls, looking like small, amiable hippos, live in the forests of Finland. During the long, dark winters they sleep,
but in spring they come to full-blooded life and have wonderful, magical summer adventures. (7+)
Keats, Ezra Jack, American, 1916-1983.
The Snowy Day. Rec: NYPL (children)
Keller, Gottfried, Swiss writing in German, 1819-1890.
Green Henry. Rec: Bloom
Tales. Rec: Bloom
Kingsley, Charles The Heroes (1856)
Retelling of Greek myths in simple, direct style. Perseus, Jason, Theseus—Kingsley's first, most likeable children's book. (9+)
Also: The Water Babies; Hereward the Wake; Westward Ho!
Kingsley, Charles, English, 1819-1875.
Westward Ho!. Rec: Lubbock
Kipling, Rudyard Just So Stories ( 1902)
Adults may find these whimsical stories of how the animals got their
characteristics the most dated and arch of all Kipling's work; but young children (4+) always come back for more. The Jungle
Book is darker, more disciplined, on a level nearer that of his adult writing. (8+) Also: Puck of Pook's Hill, etc. See
FICTION/SHORT STORIES; POETRY
Konigsburg, E. L. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler (1968) *
Witty, sensitive story of two adolescents who run away, take up residence in a museum, discover a beautiful statue and set out
to find its maker. Particularly good on brother-sister relationships, everyday detail of museum life, dialogue between adults and
children. (10 + ) Also: Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William, McKinley, and Me. Elizabeth, etc
Lang, Andrew The Blue Fairy Book (1889) mJla
First of twelve "colour" fairy books. Stories from all over the world; available either as a straight reprint of 19th-century
editions, or in a newly edited version by Brian Alderson, with fresh illustrations and (in part) new translations. (7+)
Lear, Edward, English, 1812-1888.
Complete Nonsense. Rec: Bloom
Le Guin, Ursula A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
Dark-versus-Light trilogy, set in fantasy world with echoes of Tolkien (qv) and Lewis (qv). This is the first of the books, in
which Sparrowhawk attains full magical powers and begins his journey towards his destiny. (11+) Also: The Tombs of Atuan;
The Farthest Shore. See FICTION/SF
LeGuin, Ursula K., American, 1929- .
The Left Hand of Darkness. Rec: Bloom
The Earthsea Trilogy. Rec: Harvard
The Dispossessed. Rec: Utne
L'Engle, Madeleine, American, 1918- .
A Wrinkle in Time. Rec: Harvard
Leskov, Nikolai Semyonovich, Russian, 1831-1895.
Tales. Rec: Bloom Ward
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
Pevensie children enter the world of Narnia through a wardrobe and become agents of change, subject to the Christ-like figure
of Asian the lion. Religious symbolism troubles some adults, but is rarely explicit and seems to pass most children by as they
are carried forward by the adventures. (8+) Also: Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader", etc. See FICTION/SF
Lindgren, Astrid, Swedish, 1907-2002.
Pippi Longstocking. Rec: Meaningful
Lindsay, Norman The Magic Pudding (1918)
Australian classic with unique brand of humour. Bunyip Bluegum, Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff, keepers of the irascible
Magic Pudding, enjoy riotous adventures, defending it from thieves and feeding well from it, as they travel the country.
Antipodean odyssey, Mark Twain crossed with Roald Dahl. (5 + )
Lines, Kathleen Lavender's Blue (1954)
Harold Jones's delicately coloured illustrations help to make an appealing collection of nursery-rhymes for very young
children. Nicola Bayley's picture book of Nursery Rhymes sits neatly on the fence between the frankly popular and selfconsciously artistic, while Helen Oxenbury's Cakes and Custard will appeal to an older age group.
Lively, Penelope The House in Norham Gardens (1974)
The seedy atmosphere (deteriorating house, aged academic lady owners) is cleverly established, as is the character of the young
niece who uncovers a tambour in the attic and thereby releases a dream-fantasy from ancient New Guinea. (12+) Also: The
Wild Hunt of Hagworthy; The Ghost of Thomas Kernpe
Lobel, Arnold Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970)
Designed for children taking their first steps in independent reading; delightful story of Frog's and Toad's summer frolics, full
of good natured humour and wit. (6+) Also: Small Pig; The GreatBlueness
Lofting, Hugh The Story of Dr Dolittle(1920)
*
Dr Dolittle talks every animal's language, keeps a collection of weird animal friends (eg the Pushmi-pullyu), with whom he has
adventures of a Heath Robinsonesque imagination. Gentle, delightful, warm. (8+)
Macauley, David Cathedral (1973) *I/
Superb account of why and how a cathedral (imaginary, but typical) was planned and built. Author an architect; drawings pinsharp and accurate as well as evocative. Especially good on detailed working-methods of masons, carpenters, glass-blowers,
etc, and on how the building grew on its site (dizzy perspectives of medieval scaffolding). (8+) Also: City; Castle; Pyramid, etc
MacDonald, George The Princess and the Goblin (1872)
Published in a rich period for children's classics, this unusual fairy tale retains freshness, originality, draws its readers into the
magical world of Celtic folktale and legend. (8+) Also: The Princess and Curdie; At the Back of the North Wind
MacLachlan, Patricia, American, 1938- .
Sarah, Plain and Tall. Rec: NYPL (children)
Marshall, James Vance Walkabout (1959)
Two American children stranded in the Australian desert after an aircrash are led to food and water by an Aborigine boy. The
young American boy soon learns from their guide; but the older girl, full of adolescent fears, shies away and inadvertently
destroys the Aborigine, for he believes she has seen the Spirit of Death in his eyes. (12+) Original title: The Children
Masefield, John The Midnight Folk (1927)
Led by Nibbins the cat through secret passages in the old house, Kay escapes from dreary governesses and guardians to the
magic world of the Midnight Folk; meets witches, smugglers and talking animals in his search for Great Grandfather's lost
treasure. (9+) Also: The Box of Delights; Jim Davis. See DRAMA
Mayne, William Earthfasts (1966)
Nellie Jack John, the drummer boy, comes marching out of the castle mound into the 20th century after 200 years of searching
for Arthur and his sleeping knights. (10+) A varied and prolific writer, for almost each age-group, his work has consistent
quality. Also: A Game of Dark; The Jersey Shore, etc
Milligan, Spike Silly Verse for Kids (1963)
Title tells all. "There are holes in the sky, where the rain comes in. The holes are small—that's why rain is thin." (8+) See
HUMOUR
Milne, A. A. Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)
*.11A This clumsy, greedy and lovable bear has been bumbling his way into
children's affections for more than half a century. Timeless; enchanting. (6+) Also: The House at Pooh Corner, When We Were
Very Young; Now We Are Six, etc
Milne, A. A., English, 1882-1956.
Winnie-the-Pooh. Rec: NYPL Radcliffe
Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables (1908)
In her heyday, Montgomery was read by politicians and housemaids; her Canadian orphan, Anne, still retains especial charm
for teenage girls. (12+) Also: Anne of Avortlea
Nesbit, E. The Railway Children (1906)
After their father goes to prison, the children live in a dilapidated cottage near the railway and spend much of their time
watching the line and indirectly bringing about their father's release. (10+) Also: Five Children and It; The Story of the
Treasure Seekers, etc
Norton, Andre Knave of Dreams (1976)
Ramsay, the Knave, transported to a parallel time as a tool to destroy an evil ruler, has to adjust to a wholly new way of life, for
there is no returning to his own time. (12+) Also: Moon of Three Rings; Breed to Come, etc
Norton, Mary The Borrowers (1952)
The Borrowers are miniature people who inhabit old houses and live by borrowing. If they are discovered they must move. But
Arrietty has broken the rules and made friends with a human boy—which is how Mrs May comes to tell Kate everything. (7+)
Also: Bedknobs and Broomsticks, etc
Pearce, Philippa Minnow on the Say (1955)
Boys messing around in a canoe on a sunny river, a hunt for lost treasure and the restoration of family fortunes provide the
ingredients for this friendly, uncomplicated story. (9+) Tom's Midnight Garden older, tougher: discovery of the past leads to
discovery of self. (11+) Also: A Dog So Small, etc
Perrault, Charles The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault(1697)
Some of the best-loved of all fairy tales (Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, etc), well written and
pleasingly unsentimental. Edition by Angela Carter (1967) recommended. (6+)
Peyton, K. M. Rambards (1967)
Horses and flying machines; nostalgic romance set in decrepit English Edwardian country house. Novelettish plot is redeemed
by sensitive characterization and witty style. (12+) Also: Thunder in the Sky; Pattern of Roses
Potter, Beatrix The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1900)
* Although Potter's animals are anthropomorphized, they never suffer
from the coy sentimentality displayed by less able executants. Her down-to-earth directness makes no concessions to "childish"
vocabulary or tender emotions: Peter's father was "put in a pie and eaten". (2+) Also: The Tale of Mrs Tiggywinkle; The Tale of
Benjamin Bunny, etc
Potter, Beatrix, English, 1866-1943.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Rec: NYPL
Proysen, Alf Little Old Mrs Pepperpot and Other Stories (1958)
lb Old woman wakes up one morning, finds herself
size of a pepperpot, loses no opportunity to take full advantage. Witty slapstick, like updated folk-tales. (6+)
Ransome, Arthur Swallows and Amazons (1931)
Ransome's true motives and popularity have been questioned; but there is no doubt that for many readers his stories of children
messing around in boats or prospecting for gold in the English Lake District hold an imaginative reality equalled only by
Sherlock Holmes. (8+) Also: Coot Club; Winter Holiday; Old Peter's Russian Tales, etc
Rey, H. A., American, 1898-1977.
Curious George Learns the Alphabet. Rec: Harvard
St Exupery, Antoine de The Little Prince (1943)
Written for children "because adults don't understand anything", this story of a downed aviator and his friend, a prince from a
far-off star, has surface beauty, emotional profundity. (9+)
Scarry, Richard Best Rainy Day Book Ever (1974) di _0
In a dozen bright, comic-strip picture-books, Scarry creates a colourful world of anthropomorphic animals (Sam Pig, Huckle
Kitten, Lowly Worm). Exuberant detail: the books are notable for clear, accurate drawings of how things work: electricity,
water supply, hospitals, travelling on a bus. Blend of fantasy and the everyday, and terrible jokes, may seem arch to some
adults; but this is the kindergarten world (and the world through kindergarten eyes) exactly caught.
Sendak, Maurice Where the Wild Things Are (1970) * Original, imaginative picture book: little boy can tame wild things
simply by staring at them. Especially good with young children who suffer from nightmares about wild animals and monsters.
Also: In the Night Kitchen, etc
Sendak, Maurice, American, 1928- .
Where the Wild Things Are. Rec: Harvard LAT NYPL
Seuss, Dr. (Theodor Seuss Geisel), American, 1904-1991.
The Cat in the Hat. Rec: NYPL
Sharmat, Marjorie Getting Something on Maggie Marmelstein (1971) Splendid saga of life at American Junior High School.
Thaddeus Gideon Smith V has a worst enemy, Maggie Marmelstein, who Knows Something Terrible about him. He sets out to
restore the balance of the sex-war by playing Frog to her Princess in the school play. (9+ ) Also: Goodnight Andrew, Goodnight
Craig; Gladys Told Me to Meet Her Here, etc.
Stevenson, Robert Louis Treasure Island (1883)
*C
The very model of an adventure story—buried treasure, secret maps, pirates, mutiny on the high seas. (10+) See
FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Stevenson, Robert Louis, Scottish, 1850-1894.
Essays. Rec: Bloom
Kidnapped. Rec: Bloom
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Rec: Bloom
Treasure Island. Rec: Bloom
The New Arabian Nights. Rec: Bloom
The Master of Ballantrae. Rec: Bloom
Weir of Hermiston. Rec: Bloom
Sutcliff, Rosemary Eagle of the Ninth (1954)
The fortunes of a family of Roman settlers in Britain. Splendid story concerns the fate of the Ninth Legion, which mysteriously
disappeared beyond "the Wall" at the height of the Empire. Subsequent volumes follow the family through "the decline and
fall" in Britain. to the coming of Arthur and the Danes. (10+)
Tanizaki Junichiro, Japanese, 1886-1965.
The Makioka Sisters. Rec: Fadiman 4 Good Reading Smiley Ward
Seven Japanese Tales. Rec: MW Asian
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit (1937)
*3 1'
Hobbits are small, home-loving creatures; Bilbo's uncharacteristic expedition with the dwarfs to find dragon treasure leads,
among other things, to finding the fateful ring which, in later (adult) The Lord of the Rings trilogy, leads his nephew Frodo to
the edge of Mordor and the destruction of its dark powers. Brevity and unpretentious narrative strength make this book one of
Tolkien's best. (8+)
Treece, Henry The Dream Time (1967)
Treece interprets scant evidence with sincerity and his fundamental theme—the rejection of change—is as valid today as it was
in the early tribal society he describes. A fine book by a poet and major children's novelist. (11+) Also: Man with a Sword;
Viking's Dawn, etc. See FICTION/NOVELS
Uden, Grant A Dictionary of Chivalry (1968)
Alphabetical tour of the medieval knight and his world, from "Abatements of honour" to "Zutphen, Battle of". Should be
specialist, dry; is witty, fascinating. Good illustrations in period style. (11+)
White, E. B. The Trumpet of the Swan (1970)
*I%
Voiceless Trumpeter Swan, with help of small boy and advice from old cob, his own father, learns reading, writing, and
ultimately happiness and self-respect. White's is a rare voice, of great distinction: beauty and "the tears of things" have seldom
been better caught. (7+) Also: Charlotte's Web; Stuart Little. See DIARIES (Garnett, White); HUMOUR; REFERENCE
(Strunk)
White, E. B., American, 1899-1985.
Charlotte's Web. Rec: Harvard NYPL Radcliffe
White, T. H. The Once and Future King (1958)
*
Compendious (700-page) fantasy on the life of King Arthur. White's combination of slapstick and erudition is unique—as if
Laurel and Hardy were set down in a Middle Ages accurate to the last detail. Nearest analogy is Tolkien (qv); but White writes
better, and his mode is historical rather than imaginative fantasy. (10+) See MYTHOLOGY (Malory)
White, T. H., English, 1906-1984.
The Once and Future King. Rec: Burgess Smiley
Wilder, Laura Ingalls The Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
In this and other "Little House" books the author wrote about her own childhood in 19th-century pioneer America. Warmth and
sincerity have endeared these stories to generations of children. (8+) Also: Little House on the Prairie, etc
Williamson, Henry Tarka the Otter (1927)
Outstanding, non-anthropomorphic story of otters. (10+)
Zindel, Paul The Pigman (1968)
Sensitive novel about relations between old and young: two teenagers befriend an old man and then wreck his home while he is
in hospital. There is a rich school of teenage fiction in current American writing; this novel shows it at its serious best. (12+)
Also: My Darling, My Hamburger, etc
Barrie, J. M., Scottish, 1860-1937.
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Rec: NYPL
Baum, L. Frank, American, 1856-1919.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Rec: NYPL Radcliffe
CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Alison Lurie
Until about 20 years ago children's literature was the Cinderella of literary studies. Everyone read fairy tales and books like
Tom Sawyer, The Wizard of Oz, and Winnie-the-Pooh when they were young, but almost no one thought about them seriously
later. This meant that some of the most original and influential works of all time were overlooked by critics and scholars. Today
the situation is much improved. Many universities in America now offer courses in children's literature, and there are several
first-rate periodicals in the field, including Children's Literature, Children's Literature Quarterly, and The Lion and the Unicorn.
And good books about the subject, including those listed below, continue to appear.
Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem
not to notice us, hovering, averting our eyes, and they seldom
offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted.
GARRISON KEILLOR
Childhood's Pattern: A Study of the Heroes and Heroines of Children's Fiction 1770-1950 (1975) by Gillian Avery. A very
well-informed, interesting, and thoughtful study by a recognized British authority, who is also the author of many muchadmired historical novels for children. It is especially good on England and on the 18th and early 19th centuries.
The Seed and the Vision: On the Writing and Appreciation of Children's Books (1993) by Eleanor Cameron. A collection
of sensitive and wide-ranging essays by the American critic, author of many popular children's books, and winner of the
Commonwealth Award. The focus is meditative and personal rather than analytic.
Secret Gardens: A Study of the Golden Age of Children's Literature (1985) by Humphrey Carpenter. Brilliant, original, and
knowledgeable discussion of the most famous writers for children by a well-known British biographer who is also the coeditor
of the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature.
Audacious Kids: Coming of Age in America's Classic Children's Books (1992) by Jerry Griswold. This is a lively,
intelligent, and much needed study of American fiction for children from a cultural-history point of view. It includes and
analyses some immensely popular books like Toby Tyler and Pollyanna, which have often been over-looked by other writers.
Fairy Tales and After: From Snow White to E B White (1978) by Roger Sale. An unusual and well-written collection of
essays on works of children's literature and folk-lore, and what they have meant to the author, addressed to the general reader
as well as the expert. Professor Sale's earlier book, Man Reading and Child Reading: Oz, Babar, and Pooh is also interesting.
Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales (1979) by Jack Zipes. Professor Zipes, a world-class
expert on the folk tale, is also one of the most interesting and original writers on modem fairy tales. As the title suggests, his
approach is radical, with an emphasis on social and political history. His recent Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary
Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England (1986) combines the best examples of the genre with a first-rate analysis.
Diaries and Letters
For the reader, diaries and letters offer the voyeur's pleasure of a peep into other people's (more or less) unguarded lives; for the
writer, anticipating this reaction, they are often a carefully contrived and artfully autobiographical form. The books on this list
are of three kinds: those written from the start with publication in mind; those arranged, more or less cosmetically, for
publication by the writers themselves; and (a rare few) intimate, personal documents intended for the writers' use alone.
See ART (Delacroix, Haydon, Pisarro); DRAMA (Redfield); FEMINISM (Rosen); HISTORY/ASIAN (Preble); HUMOUR
(Gros-smith); LITERARY CRITICISM (Keats); MEDIA (King, Nowell-Smith); NATURAL HISTORY (Banks, DouglasHamilton, Holden, White); OCCULT (Reyner); RELIGION (Bonhoeffer, Weil); TRAVEL (Cook, Lewis)
Abelard, Pierre and Héloïse, French writing in Latin, 1079-1142 and 1101-1164.
Letters. Rec: Rexmo Ward
Historia Calamitatum. Rec: Ward
Anderson, Emily (ed) The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1966)
*
Mozart and his father were devoted letter-writers; this collection of over 600 letters gives an absorbing insight into Mozart's
life, character, opinions and views on music. Also: The Letters of Beethoven. See music (Einstein)
Barrett, E. and Browning, R. The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, 1845-46(1897)
Love letters can make boring reading, unless you happen to be the recipient. However, these are extraordinary. A bizarre,
intriguing literary courtship. See Heyden; BIOGRAPHY (Pickering); POETRY (Browning)
Baudelaire, Charles Intimate Journals (1920)
As a young poet in Paris Baudelaire was the fashionable dandy par excellence: eccentric, outrageous, abandoned. Most of this
brief but powerful journal was written in Brussels after 1857, when he was miserably in debt, reviled as a pornographer and
dying of syphilis. Disturbing account of a personal descent into hell. See ART; BIOGRAPHY (Starkie); POETRY
Bennett, Arnold The Journals of Arnold Bennett. 1896-1928 (1932-33)
Thousands of words a week: what he ate, what he did in the evenings, how late the trains were, how many words he wrote and
what he was paid for them. Also: Letters. See FICTION/NOVELS
Boswell, James Boswell's London Journal (1763)
Disarmingly candid, it charts the keen young Scotsman's attempts to become both a fully-fledged libertine—tumbling whores
in St James's Park—and a member of the most respected literary salons; sparkling verbatim conversations with Garrick.
Goldsmith and, of course, Dr Johnson. 1950 edition recommended. Also: A Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Dr Samuel
Johnson (Scotland as dystopia—not to be missed). See BIOGRAPHY
Burney, Fanny Diary (1846)
Daughter and unofficial secretary of Charles Burney, the musicologist; fashionable novelist; lady-in-waiting to Queen
Charlotte; wife of French army officer during the Revolution and later under Napoleon—Burney lived a full life, and spent
much of it writing letters and the famous diary. Fresh; intimate; stylish; as domestic and as witty as Pride and Prejudice.
Original seven volume edition rarely flags. For a sample, try Lewis Gibbs' one-volume selection (1940). Also: Memoirs of
Doctor Bumey, etc
Byron, Lord Letters and Journals(1898)
Among the most famous of English letters. Full, charismatic impact of Byron the man dramatically revealed in direct, vivid and
astonishingly modern tones. See BIOGRAPHY (Marchand, Trelawny); POETRY
Carlyle, Thomas (ed) The Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell (1845)
Cromwell's letters, and even more his speeches, are vivid evidence for the revolutionary puritan conscience, the zealot as selfinventor, denier of self. Carlyle supplies idiosyncratic running commentary, snaking points of his own about mid-19th-century
British society. Two revolutionaries, in action and thought, in endlessly fascinating juxtaposition. See BIOGRAPHY (Froude);
LITERARY CRITICISM
Carlyle, Thomas, English, 1795-1881.
Past and Present. Rec: Lubbock
The French Revolution. Rec: Lubbock
Selected Prose. Rec: Bloom
Sartor Resartus. Rec: Bloom
Chesterfield, Lord Letters to His Son (1774)
P*
Letters from statesman father to beloved bastard son; actually short essays in beautifully-poised 18th-century prose on
manners, morals, politics, the way of the world. Definitive sketch of a gentleman of honour in the Age of
Elegance—and personal and intimate too.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius Letters (1st century BC)
Cicero, the great lawyer-politician of late Republican Rome, was a contemporary of Julius Caesar, and was intimately
concerned in the upheavals of the Civil War and the manoeuvrings which led to Caesar's assassination in 44 BC. His more than
900 private letters reflect the cares and anxieties of a sensitive, honourable public man, and are particularly revealing of the
clash between public and private political morality. Good translation by Shackleton Bailey.
See AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Caesar); HISTORY/ANCIENT (Selzer)
Cicero, Roman, 106-43 BCE.
Works. Rec: Adler (Selections)
Selected Works. Rec: Aquinas Ward
On the Gods. Rec: Bloom
On the Good Life. Rec: Colcc91
Offices. Rec: Aquinas Lubbock
On Friendship. Rec: Lubbock
On Old Age. Rec: Lubbock
Cowper, William Selected Letters (1926)
Numerous collections have appeared of the graceful, charming intimate letters of this most domestic of English poets, who
alternated between long periods of country calm and savage bouts of insanity which finally killed him. Much read in his day,
his poetry is no longer greatly regarded, but the letters remain, their careful observation and transcendent sweetness ensuring
Cowper's fame. Crèvecoeur, Hector St John de Letters of an American Farmer (1782) "Here individuals of all nations,"
Crevecoeur wrote, "are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great change in the
world." Published in London, these letters fired the imaginations and hopes of a generation of British emigrants to the New
World.
Crossman, Richard Diaries of a Cabinet Minister, 1964 – 70 (3 vols, 1975-77) 9 _I lse
Greeted on publication with much brouhaha and attempts to get them censored, Crossman's censorious diaries turned out to be
something of a let-down. Nonetheless they remain far and away the best account of how modern British government actually
works. Fascinating to compare it with "insider accounts" of earlier politics, such as those of Cicero (qv) and Greville (qv).
Dali, Salvador Diary of a Genius (1966)
P
Weird, wonderful, near-certifiable musings; a true companion to his paintings—effectively explains such phenomena as
burning giraffes, swarming ants and auto-sodomized virgins. Anti-memoirs? Could be. Also: The Unspeakable Confessions of
Salvador Dali
Durrell, L. and Miller, H. Lawrence Durrell, Henry Miller: A Private Correspondence (1963)
Exchange began when Durrell (aged 23) wrote Miller (43) a fan-letter about Tropic of Cancer; it continued over several
decades. Energetic, ego-brimming letters, full of spontaneity and trail-blazing self-evaluation. See CHILDREN'S BOOKS
(Durrell, G.); F1CTION/NOVELS (Durrell); POETRY (Durrell); SEX (Miller); TRAVEL (Durrell)
Edgeworth, Maria Letters from England, 1813 -44 (1971)
& Personal letters of English novelist (1767 -1849).
Her circle of friends and acquaintances included Wedgwood, Darwin, Byron and Walter Scott; but her most delightful letters
are those to her numerous family, on landscape, town life and above all human foible, viewed with unaffected warmth and wit.
This selection by Christine Colvin recommended. Its introduction, notes and index are models of thoroughness and tact.
Einstein, Albert, German-Swiss-American, 1879-1955.
Ideas and Opinions. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Evelyn, John The Diary of John Evelyn (1818)
9*
Posterity-conscious diary contains brilliant portraits of Restoration figures. Evelyn was a wholly different man from his friend
Pepys, who remarked of him, "A most excellent person, and must be allowed a little for his conceitedness." Worth reading in
conjunction with Pepys (qv), and with Aubrey's Brief Lives (herewith recommended).
Fitzgerald, F. Scott and Perkins, Max Dear Scott, Dear Max (1971) Fascinating exchange of letters between celebrated writer
and equally well-known editor. Intriguing expose of a working relationship that illuminates the nuts and bolts, dollars and
cents, of being a famous novelist. Compare with Bennett (qv) and (for private agonies of authorship) Simenon
(AUTOBIOGRAPHY) and Steinbeck (qv). See BIOGRAPHY (Milford); FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES;
FILM (Latham); MEDIA (Berg)
Flaubert, Gustave Selected Letters (1953) *
Lively literary letters (edited by Francis Steegmuller) from the period when Flaubert was writing Madame Bovary and many
deal with the problems of creating that work. Flaubert is hardly a genial genius but is none the less fascinating for that. See
Goncourt; FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Frank, Anne The Diary of Anne Frank (1947) * Difficult to avoid words like "deeply moving" and "unique" in relation to this
justly famous diary, a rare document of the unsullied, untarnished human spirit. See Tuttle.
Frank, Anne, Dutch, 1929-1945.
Diary of a Young Girl. Rec: Boston PL Counterpunch Trans National Review NYPL
Garnett, David The White/Garnett Letters (1968)
Poised, elegant correspondence between E. B. White and David Garnett: two high-class literary craftsmen striking amiable
sparks from each other. Great fun. See White; CHILDREN'S BOOKS (White); HUMOUR (White); REFERENCE (Strunk)
Ginsberg, Allen Journals Early Fifties Early Sixties (1977)
Ginsberg can sometimes seem a pain in the neck, but these journals are fascinating chronicles of the "beat generation": a
motley collection of variously talented writers, junkies, Buddhists, manic depressives and homosexuals whose never dull brand
of naïve decadence defined their era. See BIOGRAPHY (Charters); FICTION/NOVELS (Kerouac)
Goncourt, E. and J. de The Goncourt Journal (1887-96)
"Dinner with Flaubert .. .", "Zola was in a talkative mood . ..", "We discussed the question of Mme Sand's love affairs . . ."—
the Goncourt brothers' engagingly jaundiced eyes evaluate their celebrated contemporaries with scant regard for their public
image. Shortened edition by Baldick recommended. See Flaubert; FICTION/NOVELS (Flaubert, Zola); FICTION/SHORT
STORIES (Flaubert)
Goncourt, Edmond de and Jules de, French, 1822-1896 and 1830-1870.
Journal. Rec: Rex
Gorki, Maxim Fragments from My Diary (1924)
Gorki consciously modelled his themes and style on Tolstoy—with the crucial change that he replaced what Marxist critics saw
as "decadent" themes (eg the morbid love affair in Anna Karenina) with a framework of dynamic social realism (eg the
revolutionary fervour of Mother). Some Western critics, preferring their own dogma, have accordingly dismissed him. But he is
a great novelist, no more propagandist than Dickens or Mann. These diary fragments make an excellent introduction to his
complex, thoughtful work, shamefully neglected in the West. Also: The Confession (autobiography); Foma Gordeyev (novel)
Green, Julien Diary, 1928– 1957(1964)
Green, an American, made his reputation as a French novelist. Diary provides an outsider's view of French intellectual society
but is also a quiet, reflective record of a writer's life. Comparison with Bennett (qv) is revealing and fascinating—and then
compare Kafka (qv) and Joyce (qv).
Gregory, Kenneth (ed) The First Cuckoo (1976)
Are the British the sanest or the dottiest race on earth? Prove both contentions conclusively with this selection of letters to The
Times. Ciceronian, barbed, pungent: the literate British perfonning party tricks.
Hall, Ruth (ed) Dear Dr Stopes (1978)
Edited compilation of letters written to the great 1920s British sex liberationist, Marie Stopes, between 1918 and 1928, after the
publication of her book Married Love. Some of her sane, helpful replies are included. Ghastly first-hand evidence of human
sexual and compassionate failure: implicit indictment of the medical profession and churchmen of the time. Have we really
changed that much?
Heyden, P. and Kelley, P. (eds) Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Letters to Mrs David Ogilvy (1973)
Intimate letters to a close friend (and fellow poetess), on family matters (chiefly children) and on literary life. Newly
discovered in 1971, these letters are unforced, affectionate and reveal what an unexpectedly witty woman EBB could be. See
Barrett; BIOGRAPHY (Pickering)
James, Henry The Letters of Henry James (1969)
James dwelt as lovingly over a phrase in his many letters as he did in his novels and these (edited by Percy Lubbock)—or the
letters selected by Leon Edel, James's biographer (1955)—are eminently worth reading for their insights into the man as well as
their comments on life and literature. See BIOGRAPHY (Edel, James); FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES;
LITERARY CRITICISM
Joyce, James The Collected Letters of James Joyce (1957)
In these letters the private Joyce breaks out of the citadel of doctoral theses and critical monographs in which he is nowadays
enclosed—and nowhere more so than in the astonishing exchange of torrid love letters that passed between Joyce and his wife
when they were temporarily separated in 1904. Full collection in three volumes; one-volume selection also issued. See
BIOGRAPHY (Ellmann); FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Kafka, Franz The Diaries ofFranz Kafka, 1910-1923 (1948)
Rapid access to the mind and personality of one of the most extraordinary writers of the 20th century; invaluable source for
many of his acclaimed stories and literary themes. See FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Kierkegaard Soren The Last Years (1865) Kierkegaard—the "depression over Denmark"— was the father of both secular and
religious existentialism. These diaries and their brilliant introduction make a good beginning to his thought. Also: The Present
Age. See PHILOSOPHY
Kilvert, Francis Thomas Kilvert's Diary (1938-40) Mo Diary of 1870s country curate in a remote Welsh community.
Kilvert's admirable, unselfconscious personality shines undiminished from its pages; book is also a bleak testimony to the
nasty, brutish and short lives many people led in rural Victorian Britain. See Woodeforde.
Lawrence, D. H. The Collected Letters of D. H. Lawrence (1932) Lawrence used his letters like weapons: often scathing and
always stimulating, he berated friends and intellectuals, attacked established dogma and passionately propagated his own. See
FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES; HISTORY/EUROPEAN; LITERARY CRITICISM; POETRY: TRAVEL
Lincoln, Abraham Speeches and Letters (1919)
Numerous collections of Lincoln's writings—mostly speeches and letters, both formal and informal—have been published, and
this (edited by Angle) is an especially pleasing one. Lincoln was an extraordinary writer, even in the most ephemeral letters and
notes—no politician surpasses him for his power over words. As he lived in a time of great events, the combination is
explosive. See BIOGRAPHY (Sandburg)
Mahler-Werfel, Alma, Austrian, 1879-1964.
Diaries, 1898-1902. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Mansfield, Katherine The Journal of Katherine Mansfield(1927) Another Bloomsbury journal that reveals best and worst of
the movement: arch self-consciousness coupled with memorable observation. For example, Mansfield on E. M. Forster, he
"never gets any further than warming the teapot. Feel this teapot. Is it not beautifully warm? Yes, but there ain't going to be no
tea." See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley Complete Letters (1965-67) 5
Sense and sensibility: the upper-class life of Georgian Britain discussed in cool, elegant prose.
Nicolson, Harold Diaries, 1930-62(1966-68)
Highly literate, effortlessly readable, semi-private account of a life rich in literary and political insights and in-fights. See
BIOGRAPHY
Pepys, Samuel The Diary of Samuel Pepys (1825)
P*
Perhaps the most celebrated of all English diaries. Splendid historical document covering the years 1660-69 but even more
compelling for the self-portrait of Pepys: an engaging, hard-working, sensuous man. Of attractive women he notes, a little
regretfully that it "is a strange slavery that I stand in to beauty, that I value nothing near it." The complete nine volumes have
recently been published—a hefty read, but there are several good abridgements.
Pliny the Younger Letters (2nd century)
Pliny does for his age what Pepys (qv) does for his. His letters reflect the private life of a public man (he was a distinguished
lawyer-statesman). Evocative accounts of villas, meals, journeys, literary and political occasions, the gossip and daily life of
aristocratic Rome. Urbane; ironic; cool—a Renaissance humanist before his time.
Pliny the Younger, Roman, ca. 62-ca. 113 CE.
Letters. Rec: Ward
Pope John XXIII Letters to His Family, 1901-62(1968)
Rilke, Rainer Maria Letters to a Young Poet (1954)
One of the great poets of the 20th century, Rilke paid careful heed to his voluminous, masterful correspondence with friends all
over the world. This selection (translated by Norton) is a fine one. See POETRY
Sacco, N. and Vanzetti, B. The Letters of Sacco and Vanzetti (1928) Atheists, anarchists, draft dodgers, Sacco and Vanzetti
appeared enormously threatening to most Americans in the 1920s, even though they probably did not commit the armed
robbery and murders for which they were finally executed in 1927. The long years of protests and counter-protests, as well as
court manoeuvres, produced many remarkable and moving letters from these nearly illiterate but enormously articulate men.
Saro-Wiwa, Ken, Nigerian writing in English, 1941-1995.
A Month and a Day: A Detention Diary. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Sarton, May, American, 1912-1995.
At Seventy. Rec: Hungry Mind (journal)
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus Letters from a Stoic (1st century)
Seneca, banker-statesman, tutor to the young Nero (no sinecure), wrote a series of "letters" at the end of his life. They are really
essays on aspects of Stoic philosophy. For modern readers, the interest is twofold: in Stoicism itself (closely akin to Pauline
Christianity in ethical and moral arguments), and in Seneca's lively pen-portraits of life in Rome, the noisy capital of the world,
and on his peaceful country estates.
Seneca, Roman, ca. 4 BCE-65 CE .
Tragedies. Rec: Bloom (Selections)
Letters from a Stoic. Rec: Ward
Moral Essays. Rec: Ward
Works. Rec: Lubbock
Steegmuller, Francis (ed) Your Isadora (1974)
ih 4*
The love story of Isadora Duncan and Gordon Craig, told through breathless romantic letters and diaries. Warm, intimate, often
very funny: the grandest of grand passions, a three-handkerchief read. See BIOGRAPHY
Steinbeck, John Journal of a Novel (1970) 9
Steinbeck used this journal to write himself out of a creative block and to "warm himself up" for East of Eden. Honest,
revealing; may even outlast the novel. Also: Letters; A Life in Letters (ed Elaine Steinbeck). See FICTION/NOVELS:
TRAVEL
Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre Letters to Two Friends, 1926 - 52 (1968)
The great religious thinker and philosopher wrote these letters as a kind of spiritual journal: they cover external events, but are
mainly concerned with charting his inner life, and in particular the crucial evolution in his thinking from early palaeontological
studies to the programmatic certainties of his later years. The dark night of the soul, and the bright dawn of hope, movingly
described. See RELIGION
Thomas, Dylan The Letters of Dylan Thomas (1966)
Thomas worked on his letters with almost the same diligence that he devoted to his poems; his regular unscrupulous sponging
also prompted feats of penmanship: the begging letters are masterpieces of flattering cajolery and artistic bombast. See
POETRY
Tuttle, Andrew (ed) The Journal of Andrew Bihaly (1972)
9*
Bihaly's story is as harrowing and poignant as Anne Frank's (qv). He was eight when his parents left him in a monastery
housing delinquent boys, with a forged birth certificate concealing his Jewishness. Shortly afterwards both his mother and
father died in Hitler's concentration camps; Andrew himself was raped and brutalized by his companions. He later escaped to
the USA—and this journal is an account of how he tried to come to terms both with the horrors in his own soul and the life of a
drop-out in the Manhattan slums of the late 1960s (Vietnam, the Peace Corps, drugs and communes). An essential text for
anyone trying to understand the roots of alienation in our own torn era—and a moving document of a ruined human soul.
Van Gogh, Vincent The Letters of Van Gogh (1927)
Moving account of Van Gogh's struggles against encroaching mental illness and artistic neglect; but full of the sharp irony that
hindsight brings: "I dare swear to you," he writes towards the end of his life, "that my sunflowers are worth 500 francs".
Wagner, Cosima Letters and Diaries (1979) *
No less an autocratic, inspired bully than her husband, Cosima Wagner was the Iron Lady of Bayreuth in its founding years,
and for a generation after. Everyone knows Wagner was intolerable as a man—however did she live with him? These letters
and notebooks tell—and now, we wonder, however did he live with her? See MUSIC (Newman, Wagner)
Walpole, Horace Letters (1920)
Walpole turned on an elegant style like water from a tap; he saw letters as the epitome of his urbane age, and used them to
reflect on everything, from political scandals to ladies' bonnets and the merits of sea bathing. He was called (by Walter Scott)
the finest letter-writer in English, and the four volumes of his correspondence are full of endless delights. For those with less
leisure than he had, Hadley's one-volume selection (1926) supplies the cream.
Warren, Nella The Letters of Ruth Draper, 1920-56(1979)
Ruth Draper's monologues "peopled the stage with characters"; these personal letters have the same bustling energy, wit and
perception of the eccentricities and delights of humanity. Life as a game, and savoured—a welcome, unbitchy addition to the
showbusiness shelves.
White, E. B. The Letters of E. B. White (1976)
No American journalist ever wrote better than E. B. White—or no American writer was a better journalist. His essays and
comments for the New Yorker and for other magazines are rightly famous, but his letters make equally fascinating reading. See
Garnett; CHILDREN'S BOOKS; HUMOUR; REFERENCE (Strunk)
Wilde, Oscar The Letters of Oscar Wilde (1962)
Wilde's mercurial career encapsulated in his own words, from international literary fame to public obloquy, destitution and
neglect. Full text included of the famous De Profundis letter to Lord Alfred Douglas; bitter, poignant reading: "I thought life
was going to be a brilliant comedy ... I found it to be a revolting and repellent tragedy." See BIOGRAPHY (Hyde); DRAMA;
FICTION/NOVELS
Wilde, Oscar, Irish, 1854-1900.
Letters. Rec: Bloom
Wilson, Edmund Letters on Literature and Politics, 1912 -72 (1977)
America's nearest thing to Dr Johnson, but less polysyllabic, Wilson was an opinionated, opinion-forming critic who, almost
single-handed, tried to make writing an important part of American life and sought, successfully, to be its monitor and prizegiver. The letters should be supplemented by his memoirs, eg The Twenties. See HISTORY/AMERICAN; LITERARY
CRITICISM; POLITICS
Woodforde, James The Diary of a Country Parson, 1758-1802 (1924) *Int
Kilvert's (qv) great rival, and a worthy one. Gossipy, self-indulgent account of the author's remarkably secular life and his
obsession with food. Vivid illumination of English village life: "Poor Tom Cary died this morn' of a violent fever ... His parents
almost distracted ... a very good-natured, inoffensive man. At cribbage this evening with Nancy won 0-6.” See Kilvert.
Woolf, Virginia A Writer's Diary (1953)
Possibly the best of the Bloomsbury diaries, though the standard is generally high. Woolf emerges as at once sympathetic arid
awesome, with a nice line in dismissive bitchery. Interesting to compare Mansfield (qv). Also: Letters. See BIOGRAPHY
(Bell, Woolf); FEMINISM (Woolf); FICTION/NOVELS (Woolf)
Wordsworth, Dorothy The Alfoxden and Grasmere Journals (1941) *
Vivid, unaffected account of Wordsworth's friendship with Coleridge and his daily life in the Lake District during one of his
most creative periods. See BIOGRAPHY (Coleridge, De Quincey, Lefebure); POETRY (Coleridge, Wordsworth)
Wordsworth, Dorothy, English, 1771-1855.
Grasmere Journal. Rec: Bloom
Drama
A selective list, covering a huge and varied field. Crucial playwrights, with typical (or best introductory) works: standard
guides and works of criticism, especially those that explain or define a vital area: a few biographies and memoirs for fun. The
interested reader will want to explore the heights (and crevasses) for himself—this list provides a base camp and a survival kit.
See DIARIES (Warren); HISTORY/BRITISH (Strong); HUMOUR (Green); LITERARY CRITICISM (Bradley, Johnson,
Stendhal)
Aeschylus The Oresteia (458 BC)
First and one of the greatest of all tragedians, Aeschylus was for long regarded as influential but unstageable, a reader's
dramatist. Recent productions have proved this false: his work is as accessible (and as fine) as Shakespeare's. The Oresteia is
magnificent with theatrical energy, its poetry as resonant and comprehensible as that of Hamlet. Good translations by Roche
( The Orestes Plays of Aeschylus, 1962) and by Raphael and McLeish ( The Serpent Son, 1979). Also: Prometheus Bound, etc
Aeschylus, Greek, 525-456/5 BCE.
Tragedies. Rec: Adler GBWW
The Oresteia (Agamemnon, Choephoroe, Eumenides). Rec: Aquinas Bloom Col37 Col61 Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good
Reading Lubbock Rex SJC Ward
Prometheus Bound. Rec: Bloom Lubbock SJC
Seven Against Thebes. Rec: Bloom
Persians. Rec: Bloom
Suppliant Women. Rec: Bloom
Albee, Edward Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?(1961)
Albee is one of the best post-war American dramatists; this is his most successful play. Raucously witty, agonized dissection of
campus marriage; a bravura piece for bravura actors. Also: The Zoo Story; A Delicate Balance, etc
Albee, Edward, American, 1928- .
The American Dream. Rec: LAT
Alfieri, Vittorio, Italian, 1749-1803.
Saul. Rec: Bloom
Anouilh, Jean Ring Round the Moon (1950)
Strong on character and theatricality, Anouilh is not as fashionable, but is certainly as entertaining as Miller (qv), and at times
(eg this play) as good as Shaw (qv). This, or Antigone (reworking of Sophocles (qv) in modern terms) are the best introductions
to a lively, graceful playwright. Also: Traveller without Luggage; Waltz of the Toreadors
Anouilh, Jean, French, 1910-1987.
Becket. Rec: Bloom
Antigone. Rec: Bloom
Eurydice. Rec: Bloom
The Rehearsal. Rec: Bloom
Arden, John Sergeant Musgrave's Dance (1959)
Sergeant and three soldiers descend on a small town, ostensibly seeking recruits. They are in fact deserters, obsessed with a
feverish mission to awaken their countrymen to the futility and cruelty of war. Arden's tendency to write tracts is here offset by
a sharp plot and vivid theatricality. An important heterodox dramatist. Also: The Workhouse Donkey; The Waters of Babylon,
etc
Arden, John, English, 1930- .
Plays. Rec: Bloom
Aristophanes Women in Power(4th century BC)
First and one of the greatest comic dramatists, Aristophanes is still fresh and funny today. Style is like modern Absurd drama
crossed with Laurel and Hardy. This play (original title Ecclesiazusae) is a satire on communism, women's rights and sex
(hilarious music-hall finale on the theme "the ugliest shall be first"): topical, timeless, vigorous. Good English translations by
Parker ( The Congresswomen, 1967) and by McLeish (in Aristophanes' Clouds, Women in Power, Knights, 1980). Also:
Lysisrrata; The Frogs; The Birds, etc
Aristophanes, Greek, 448-388 BCE.
Plays. Rec: Adler (Selections) GBWW Good Reading Ward
Lysistrata. Rec: Bloom Col61 Fadiman 4
The Clouds. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Col61 Collh91 Fadiman 4 Lubbock SJC
The Birds. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Fadiman 4
The Frogs. Rec: Bloom Col37 Col61
Plutus. Rec: Col37
Knights. Rec: Bloom Lubbock
Wasps. Rec: Bloom
Assemblywomen. Rec: Bloom
Arnott, Peter The Ancient Greek and Roman Theatre (1971) a -1 J
Short, crisp, non-specialist introduction.For fuller treatment (standard works accessible to the layman) see Kitto's Greek
Tragedy (1939), Dover's A ristophanic Comedy (1972) and Duckworth's The Nature of Roman Comedy (1952).
Artaud, Antonin The Theatre and Its Double (1938) 9
Artaud (1896-1948) was the leading theoretician of modem "experimental theatre". Believing that the theatre of his day lacked
any kind of authentic correlative, he advocated a theatre that would replace naturalism and realism with the old "magical"
elements of myth and ritual. This collection includes the seminal manifesto on the Theatre of Cruelty and also the controversial
article "Seraphim's Theatre" on the actor's craft and his role in society.
Aubigné, Agrippa d', French, 1552-1630.
Les Tragiques. Rec: Bloom
Auden, W. H. and Isherwood, C. The Ascent of F6 (1936)
Supreme example of high camp at high altitudes; straightfaced feu d'esprit which deserves its place in the margin of English
expressionist drama. Also: The Dog beneath the Skin. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES (Isherwood); LITERARY
CRTTICISM (Auden); POETRY (Auden)
Beaumont, Francis, and John Fletcher, English, 1584-1616 and 1579-1625.
Plays. Rec: Bloom
Beckett, Samuel Waiting for Godot(1952) *
One of the seminal texts of contemporary theatre. Two tramps (play originally conceived for Laurel and Hardy in old age) wait
by the roadside for arrival of Godot, whoever he may be. Their crosstalk, with interruptions, is like a sketch from an
existentialist, esoteric revue. Also: Krapp's Last Tape; Endgame, etc. See Esslin; FICTION/NOVELS ; FICTION/SHORT
STORIES; LITERARY CRITICISM
Beckett, Samuel, Irish writing in French and English, 1906-1989. Nobel Laureate
Trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamamable. Rec: Meaningful
Murphy. Rec: Bloom
Watt. Rec: Bloom
Waiting for Godot. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW NYPL Ward
Endgame. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Krapp's Last Tape. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Molloy. Rec: Bloom Ward
Malone Dies. Rec: Bloom Ward
The Unnamable. Rec: Bloom Ward
How It Is. Rec: Bloom
Benavente, Jacinto, Spanish, 1866-1954. Nobel Laureate
Works.
Blok, Aleksandr, Russian, 1880-1921.
The Twelve and Other Plays. Rec: Bloom
Bond, Edward, English, 1934- .
The Fool. Rec: Bloom
Saved. Rec: Bloom
Braun, Edward The Theatre of Meyerhold (1979)
Taught by Stanislayski (qv), Meyerhold was one of the first to grasp the significance of the grotesque for modern theatre. After
the Russian Revolution he committed himself to the Bolshevik cause, and became the first exponent of agitprop theatre. He is a
major influence; this book gives his essence, well. Also: Meyerhold on Theatre.
Brecht, Berthold Mother Courage (1939)
However alienated we have been by the "alienation-effect", Brecht here displays that indisputable theatrical sense which made
his Berliner Ensemble the eye-opening force that it was in the 1950s. The cyclic futility of war parades before us, spiked with
marvellous moments (eg that when Mother Courage must deny, with a smile, that she recognizes the corpse of her own son)
that make nonsense of theatrical ideology. Also: The Caucasian Chalk Circle; Galileo; The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, etc.
See Heilman.
Brecht, Bertolt, German, 1898-1956.
Poems, 1913-1956. Rec: Bloom
The Threepenny Opera. Rec: Bloom
Galileo. Rec: Bloom
Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
The Good Woman of Setzuan. Rec: Bloom Ward
Caucasian Chalk Circle. Rec: Bloom Ward
Mother Courage and Her Children. Rec: Bloom GBWW
Brook, Peter The Empty Space (1968) IMP* a Personal statement of intent by one of best–respected, most influential of
British experimental directors. Book (and Brook) something of a cult; but his theories are important and challenging.
Büchner, Georg, German, 1813-1837.
Danton's Death. Rec: Bloom
Woyzeck. Rec: Bloom
Calderón de la Barca, Pedro, Spanish, 1600-1681.
Life is a Dream. Rec: Bloom Ward
Mayor of Zalamea. Rec: Bloom
Mighty Magician. Rec: Bloom
Doctor of His Own Honor. Rec: Bloom
Capek, Karel, Czech, 1890-1938.
War with the Newts. Rec: Bloom
R.U.R.. Rec: Bloom
Chekhov, Anton The Cherry Orchard (1904)
"It has turned out not a drama," said Chekhov, "but a comedy, in parts a farce." Much is amusing; but (as always with
Chekhov) on the splinter-edge of tears. The cherry orchard falls; the old life, the old Russia pass with it. Also: The Seagull;
Three Sisters; Uncle Vanya. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese, 1653-1725.
Major Plays. (See also Takeda) Rec: Oriental Ward
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki. Rec: MW Asian
Churchill, Caryl, English, 1938- .
Cloud Nine. Rec: Utne (drama)
Cibber, Colley An Apology for the Life of Mr Colley Cibber, Comedian (1740)
18th-century dramatist, actor, inferior poet laureate, butt of Pope (in The Dunciad), Cibber in these memoirs discursively and
amiably describes, defines the vigorous theatre of his time. Book contains among other things, a famous description of Thomas
Betterton's performance as Hamlet.
Clurman, Harold The Naked Image: Observations on the Modern Theatre (1966)
One of the founders of Group Theatre, which in the rosy dawn of the New Deal tried to bring community theatre to 1930s New
York, tells of the trials and real achievements that brought to light Clifford Odets, and to bright lights men like Franchot Tone
who finally succumbed, graciously but inevitably, to Hollywood. See McCrindle.
Cocteau, Jean, French, 1889-1963.
Les Enfants Terribles (Children of the Game, Holy Terrors). Rec: Ward
The Infernal Machine and Other Plays. Rec: Bloom
Congreve, William The Way of the World (1700)
Superb comedy, in which plot is to wit (in words of play) "as a dead whiting's eye to a pearl of orient". The prose rhythms are
what matter, their lift and sway, the tumble of characters from the cheerful disorderly house of Restoration theatre.
Congreve, William, English, 1670-1729.
The Way of the World. Rec: Adler Bloom
Love for Love. Rec: Bloom
Various Authors, Various Nations, Various, 20th C.
Contemporary Drama. Rec: Fadiman 3
Corneille, Pierre, French, 1606-1684.
Chief Plays. Rec: Ward
The Cid. Rec: Aquinas Bloom
Polyeucte. Rec: Bloom
Nicomède. Rec: Bloom
Horace. Rec: Bloom
Cinna. Rec: Bloom
Rodogune. Rec: Bloom
Coward, Noel Private Lives (1930)
Definitive Coward comedy, perhaps his best play. Clipped, brittle dialogue is all. Coward is as dazzling (though not as
rhetorical) as Wilde (qv), as sparkling (though not as warm) as Travers (qv). Also: Hay Fever, Blithe Spirit, etc
Dürrenmatt, Friedrich, Swiss writing in German, 1921- .
The Visit. Rec: Bloom Ward
The Physicists. Rec: Ward
Echegaray, José, Spanish, 1832-1916. Nobel Laureate
Works. (drama)
Eliot, T. S. Murder in the Cathedral (1935)
Eliot's play on the murder of Thomas a Becket (in a 20th-century reinterpretation of Greek classic style) is a masterpiece of
modern theatre: fine dramatic verse, measured argument, a noble exposition of the nature of saintliness. This is his most
accessible and resonant play: the others are elliptical, mannered, sometimes tedious. Also: The Confidential Clerk; The Family
Reunion; The Elder Statesman. See LITERARY CRITICISM (Eliot, Gardner); POETRY
Esslin, Martin The Theatre of the Absurd (1961)
Ai Ma
Absurd (meaning "at odds with the surroundings" rather than "ridiculous") drama is the dominant, most fruitful style of postwar theatre: it has influenced other arts (notably film and the novel), and partly helped shape social attitudes and manners at
large. This book is a finely written account of the theories, and a guide to the work of major figures (Adamov, Beckett, Genet,
Ionesco and a dozen followers such as Grass, Pinter and Kopit).
Etherege, Sir George, English, ca. 1634-1691.
The Man of the Mode. Rec: Bloom (drama)
Euripides The Bacchae (405 BC)
Euripides is the most controversial of the great Greek tragedians; raw ideas ride through his plays, invested with superb
theatrical power. The Bacchae (religious ecstasy and the tearing apart of the king who opposes it) is his most "contemporary"
play: resonance (eg for drug culture) remarkable; action horrific, irresistibly in the theatre-of-cruelty mode. Good translation by
Volanakis in Corrigan (ed): Laurel Classical Drama: Euripides, 1965. Also: Medea; The Trojan Women; Hippolytus
Euripides, Greek, 484-406 BCE.
Plays. Rec: Adler (Selections) GBWW Good Reading Rex Ward
Alcestis. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Andromache. Rec: Bloom
Bacchae. Rec: Bloom Col61 Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 SJC
Cyclops. Rec: Bloom
Electra. Rec: Col37 Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Hecuba. Rec: Bloom
Helen. Rec: Bloom
Heracles. Rec: Bloom
Hippolytus. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Col61 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Rexmo SJC
Iphigeneia at Aulis. Rec: Bloom
Iphigenia in Taurus. Rec: Col37
Ion. Rec: Bloom
Medea. Rec: Bloom Col61 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Lubbock Meaningful
Orestes. Rec: Bloom
Trojan Women. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Farquhar, George The Beaux' Stratagem (1707)
One of the most revived of 18th-century plays, this marks the end of Restoration drama and the beginning of modern dramatic
sensibility. Farquhar died at 28; this, his last play, makes one wonder what he might have accomplished if he had survived into
a new age. Also: The Recruiting Officer
Farquhar, George, Irish, 1678-1707.
Beaux' Strategem. Rec: Bloom
Recruiting Officer. Rec: Bloom
Fitzsimons, Raymund Edmund Kean: Fire from Heaven (1976)
Kean was one of the greatest actors in 19th-century British theatre. Hazlitt said "He bore on his brow the mark of the Fire from
Heaven"; Coleridge, "To see him act is like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning". This biography is vivid, relaxed,
readable—interesting to compare with Sartre's (qv) play (where Kean is an existential mirror-man, only himself when
performing). Also: The Charles Dickens Show
Various Authors, German, 18th-19th C.
Five German Tragedies. Rec: Ward
Fo, Dario, Italian, 1926- . Nobel Laureate
Works.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Rec: Utne
Ford, John, English, 1586-after 1639.
'Tis Pity She's a Whore. Rec: Bloom
Frisch, Max The Fire–raisers(1959)
Brechtian fable: bourgeois household invaded by endlessly talkative terrorists intent on destroying it. Absurd comedy, or black
parable of Europe in decline? Either way, it brings the house down. Also: Andorra. See Heilman.
Frisch, Max, Swiss writing in German, 1911-1991.
Andorra. Rec: Ward
Fugard, Athol, South African, 1932- .
A Lesson from Aloes. Rec: Bloom
García Lorca, Federico, Spanish, 1898-1936.
Gypsy Ballads. Rec: Meaningful NYPL
Three Tragedies. Rec: Bloom Ward
Theory and Play of the Duende. Rec: Ward
Garnier, Robert, French, 1544-1590.
Mark Antony. Rec: Bloom
The Jewesses. Rec: Bloom
Gascoigne, Bomber World Theatre (1968) m 10*1
Scholarly, zestfully written history of "drama" from Stone-Age ritual to theatre of the absurd.
Gay, John, English, 1685-1732.
Beggar's Opera. Rec: Bloom
Genet, Jean, French, 1910-1986.
The Balcony. Rec: Bloom
Gilbert, W. S., English, 1836-1911.
Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan. Rec: Bloom
Bab Ballads. Rec: Bloom
Giraudoux, Jean Tiger at the Gates (1935)
Marvellous retelling of Homer showing in a modern context how the Trojan War had to take place although nobody wanted it
—political parallels in the 1930s were clear and compelling. The Mad Woman of Chaillot (1946) was Giraudoux's post-war
comment on the idiocy of the intervening years.
Giraudoux, Jean, French, 1882-1944.
Four Plays. Rec: Bloom
Goethe, J. W. von Faust (1808)
It sometimes escapes notice that this play, which influenced so many subsequent 19th-century creative minds, also exists in its
own powerful right. Good translations: C. F. Maclntyre; A. Raphael. See POETRY
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, German, 1749-1832.
Egmont. Rec: Bloom
Faust. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Col61 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Lubbock Meaningful Rexmo SJC
(Selections) Ward
Faust, Part 1. Rec: Col37 Collh91
Verse Plays. Rec: Bloom
Goldoni, Carlo The Servant of Two Masters (c. 1750)
Goldoni is underrated in the English-speaking world (possibly because of scarce, poor translations). He is as funny as Moliere
(qv) or Beaumarchais; a master of farcical comedy, with a warmth like that of (say) Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Also:
The Campiello, etc
Goldoni, Carlo, Italian, 1707-1793.
Mine Hostess. Rec: Ward
The Boors. Rec: Ward
The Fan. Rec: Ward
Servant of Two Masters. Rec: Bloom
Goldsmith, Oliver She Stoops to Conquer (1773)
Perennial stage favourite; classic upstairs-downstairs comedy, with the downstairs characters having rather the better of it.
Goldsmith, Oliver, Irish-English, 1729-1774.
Vicar of Wakefield. Rec: Bloom Lubbock Ward
She Stoops to Conquer. Rec: Bloom Ward
The Traveller. Rec: Bloom
The Deserted Village. Rec: Bloom Ward
Gorky, Maksim, Russian, 1868-1936.
The Lower Depths and Other Plays. Rec: Ward
Granville-Barker, Harley The Madras House (1910)
In The Madras House (the name of a London dress shop) Granville-Barker, the leader with Shaw of the Edwardian theatre of
ideas, examined feminine repression and, in general, the state of women and their future. Best remembered now for his fine 3volume Prefaces to Shakespeare (herewith recommended), he was also a powerful, Ibsenish dramatist. Also: The Voysey
Inheritance; Waste, etc
Various Authors, Indians writing in Sanskrit, 5th C BCE-8th C CE.
Great Sanskrit Plays in New English Transcreations. (See also Kalidasa and Shudraka) Recommended by: Ward
Grotowski, Jerzy Towards a Poor Theatre (1968)
Grotowski created the Theatre Laboratory in Poland in 1959, a company as revolutionary and as influential for contemporary
drama as Stanislayski's (qv) Moscow Arts Company was at the beginning of the century. This book records the company's
methods and discoveries, a seminal text for those who seek a philosophical basis for theatre of today.
Hampton, Christopher Savages (1974)
Kidnapped by guerillas and kept in a cell while his ransom is negotiated, an ineffable English diplomat provides the backbone
of a play which sets out to do nothing less than indict Western man for his wholesale murder of a tribe few, if any, of us have
ever heard of. Hampton was a new, disturbing voice in the 1970s—dazzling theatrical style, uncomfortable messages.
Hartnoll, Phyllis Concise History of Theatre (1968) itif/*
Hauptmann, Gerhart, German, 1862-1946. Nobel Laureate
Five Plays. Rec: Ward
Havel, Vaclav, Czech, 1936- .
Garden Party. Rec: Ward
Memorandum. Rec: Ward
Largo Desolato. Rec: Bloom
Living in Truth. Rec: TLS (drama)
Heilman, Robert E. The Iceman, the Arsonist and the Troubled Agent (1973)
Excellent study of "tragedy and melodrama on the modern stage". Balances O'Neill. Williams and Miller against three
Europeans, Brecht, Frisch and Durrenmatt. Useful scholarly adjunct to Esslin (qv) and Taylor (qv).
Hethman, Robert H. (ed) Strasberg at the Actors' Studio (1965)
The home of American Method acting: tape-recorded sessions transcribed, with commentary by Strasberg and his colleaguepupils. Fascinating first-hand account of a central development in modern acting.
Heyse, Paul von, German, 1830-1914. Nobel Laureate
Works.
Ibsen, Henrik Ghosts (1881)
One of the group of plays on a favourite Ibsen theme: the way we are haunted, dominated by the past, the way (as he put it)
"We sail with a corpse in the cargo". Good translation (of complete plays) by Michael Meyer, whose biography of Ibsen is also
the standard account. Also: The Wild Duck; Hedda Gabler, etc
Ibsen, Henrik, Norwegian, 1828-1906.
Plays. Rec: Adler (Selections) Good Reading
Selected Plays. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Brand. Rec: Bloom Ward
Peer Gynt. Rec: Bloom Ward
Emperor and Galilean. Rec: Bloom
Pillars of Society. Rec: Ward
Doll's House. Rec: Aquinas GBWW Meaningful Ward
The Wild Duck. Rec: GBWW
Hedda Gabler. Rec: Bloom GBWW
The Master Builder. Rec: Bloom GBWW
Lady from the Sea. Rec: Bloom
When We Dead Awaken. Rec: Bloom
Ionesco, Eugene The Bald Prima Donna (The Bald Soprano) (1948)
Surreal parody of drama itself; hilarious surface masks bleak philosophy—"I imagined I had written something like the tragedy
of language", he later wrote of it. Also: Rhinoceros; Walking on Air; The Chairs, etc. See Heilman.
Ionesco, Eugène, Romanian-French, 1912-1994.
The Bald Soprano. Rec: Bloom
The Chairs. Rec: Bloom
The Lesson. Rec: Bloom
Amédée. Rec: Bloom
Victims of Duty. Rec: Bloom
Rhinoceros. Rec: Bloom
Johnson, Pamela Hansford Six Proust Reconstructions (1958) A bonne bouche: Hansford Johnson has extended and
"improved" Proust in a radio sequence which at once criticizes (affectionately), embellishes and reveals his world: Marcel airwaved a la mode. See BIOGRAPHY (Painter, Pickering); FICTION/NOVELS (Proust); LITERARY CRITICISM (Beckett)
Jonson, Ben The Alchemist(1610) 0 One of the best plays (and certainly the easiest to begin with) by Jacobean dramatist and
poet second only to Shakespeare. The "quick theatre-stuff" of his plays carries all the "humours" of Jacobean London. Absurd
drama, 17th-century style: like Aristophanes (qv) crossed with a dictionary of antique slang. Also: Volpone; Bartholomew Fair,
etc
Jonson, Ben, English, 1573-1637.
Plays. Rec: Bloom Ward
Volpone. Rec: Rex
Poems. Rec: Bloom
Masques. Rec: Bloom
Kanze Kojiro Nobumitsu, Japanese, 1435-1516.
Ataka. (See also No [Noh] Theatre) Rec: MW Asian (drama)
Kleist, Heinrich von, German, 1777-1811.
Writings. Rec: Ward
Five Plays. Rec: Bloom
Kushner, Tony, American, 1956- .
Angels in America. Rec: Bloom Utne
Kyd, Thomas, English, 1558-1594.
The Spanish Tragedy. Rec: Bloom
Lessing, Gotthold, German, 1729-1781.
Nathan the Wise. Rec: Bloom (drama)
Lorca, Frederico Garcia The House of Bernarda Alba (1936)
Lorca was murdered by Fascist gunmen at age of 37. (See Ian Gibson's The Death of Lorca, 1957.) This play is a parabolic
comment on 1930s Spain—the tyranny of the central female character paralleling that of Franco. He is a great poet of the
theatre; Synge or Yeats with dark Iberian overtones. Also: Blood Wedding; Yerma
Massinger, Philip, English, 1583-1640.
A New Way to Pay Old Debts. Rec: Bloom
Mayer, Edwin Justus, American, 1896-1960.
Children of Darkness: A Tragi-Comedy in Three Acts. Rec: Bloom (drama)
McCrindle, Joseph F. (ed) Behind the Scenes (1971)
Outstanding theatre and film interviews from the Transatlantic Review. Littlewood, Kopit, Stoppard, Orton, Tynan, Fellini,
Clurman, Marceau, Pinter, Vidal, and dozens more. Should be on every theatre-lover's shelf.
Mamet, David, American, 1947- .
American Buffalo. Rec: Bloom
Speed-the-Plow. Rec: Bloom
Marivaux, Pierre Carlet de Chamblin de, French, 1688-1763.
Seven Comedies. Rec: Bloom
Up From the Country. Rec: Ward
Marlowe, Christopher Tamburlaine the Great(1590) * At its best, Marlowe's poetry approaches Shakespeare's; his plays are
like magnificent symphonies of language. But they are loosely structured and often fall into rant and obscurity. Tamburlaine
shows these qualities, all of them, at peak; better seen, perhaps, than read; unforgettable. Also: Dr Faustus; The Jew of Malta,
etc
Marlowe, Christopher, English, 1564-1593.
Complete Plays. Rec: Bloom Ward
Marston, John, English, ca. 1575-1634.
The Malcontent. Rec: Bloom
Masefield, John William Shakespeare (1911)
a Good general introduction. Masefield's style is direct as a Roman road;
he never wastes a word. Almost everything one needs to know; no fruitless speculation; well-judged quotations. See GranvilleBarker; Shakespeare; Van Doren; CHILDREN'S BOOKS; LITERARY CRITICISM (Bradley, Johnson, Knight, Stendhal);
POETRY (Shakespeare)
Maugham, W. Somerset For Services Rendered (1932)
Maugham, precise storyteller, can be an over-estimated dramatist; but this play is likely to last. A picture of the chaos brought
by war, symbolized by events in a small Kentish household. Also: Collected Plays (3 vols); Theatre (a novel). See
AUTOBIOGRAPHY; FICTION/CRIME ; FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Menander, Greek, 343-292 BCE.
Girl from Samos. Rec: Bloom (drama)
Middleton, Thomas and William Rowley, English, 1580-1627 and ca. 1585-1626.
The Changeling. Rec: Bloom (drama)
Miller, Arthur The Crucible (1953)
* Miller is one of finest American tragedians of the century: clear prose, good
characterization, rock-solid theatricality. This play (on witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692) discusses freedom of
conscience, and develops it so as to draw parallels with the 20th century (the play was produced shortly after the McCarthy
scandal, in the early 1950s). Also: Death of a Salesman; A View from the Bridge, etc. See Heilman.
Miller, Arthur, American, 1915-2005.
Death of a Salesman. Rec: Bloom
Various Authors, Spanish, 20th C.
Modern Spanish Theatre: An Anthology of Plays. Rec: Ward
Moliëre, Jean Baptiste Poquelin de The Misanthrope (1666)
Rhymed verse not being too popular on the English-speaking stage, Moliere is often represented by shoddy translations which
capture plot but nothing of style or atmosphere. This may account for his comparative neglect. Read him (or see him) in French
if possible; there is a tolerable English translation by Tony Harrison (1975), and even that is sometimes arch, over-sophisticated
and false. Also: The Miser, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, etc
Molière, French, 1622-1673.
Comedies. Rec: Adler (Selections) Fadiman 3 (Selections) Fadiman 4 (Selections) Good Reading Lubbock (Selections) Ward
(Selections)
School for Wives. Rec: Bloom Col61 GBWW
Critique of the School for Wives. Rec: GBWW
Tartuffe. Rec: Bloom Col37 Col61 GBWW SJC
Misanthrope. Rec: Bloom Col37 Col61 SJC
The Learned Ladies. Rec: Bloom
Physician in Spite of Himself. Rec: Col37 Col61
Don Juan. Rec: Bloom GBWW
School for Husbands. Rec: Bloom
Ridiculous Precieuses. Rec: Bloom
The Miser. Rec: Bloom GBWW
Would-Be Gentleman. Rec: Bloom GBWW
Imaginary Invalid. Rec: Bloom GBWW
Molina, Tirso de, Spanish, 1583-1648.
Rogue of Seville. Rec: Bloom Ward (drama)
El Burlador de Sevilla is a play by Tirso de Molina, published in Spain around 1630 , and set in the 14th century. Its title
translates as "The Scoundrel of Seville" or "The Playboy of Seville." Evidence suggests it to be the first written version of the
Don Juan legend. The author's name, Tirso de Molina, is a pen name.
Mrozek, Slawomir, Polish, 1930- .
Tango. Rec: Ward
The Ugupu Bird. Rec: Ward (drama)
Various Authors, Japanese, 14th C.
No (Noh) Theatre (selection such as Twenty Plays of the Noh Theatre). (See also Kanze, Zeami) Rec: Oriental StJE Ward
O'Casey, Sean The Silver Tassie (1928)
Poignant, tragic play on war and its aftermath, free of the surface Irish whimsy that can disfigure even O'Casey's best work.
Also: The Shadow of a Gunman; Juno and the Paycock; The Plough and the Stars
O'Casey, Sean, Irish, 1884-1964.
Juno and the Paycock. Rec: Bloom Ward
The Shadow of a Gunman. Rec: Bloom Ward
The Plough and the Stars. Rec: Bloom Ward
O'Neill, Eugene The Iceman Cometh (1946)
* At his worst, O'Neill is portentous and bombastic; at his best (as here)
he earns the extravagant praise once heaped on him ("greatest genius of American theatre"). In a cheap tavern, craven dreamers
are startled into action by a travelling salesman—in effect a salesman of death. Also: Anna Christie; Mourning Becomes
Electra; Long Day's Journey into Night. See Heilman.
O'Neill, Eugene, American, 1888-1953. Nobel Laureate
Plays. Rec: Good Reading
Mourning Becomes Electra. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW
The Iceman Cometh. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Long Day's Journey into Night. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Ward
Lazarus Laughed. Rec: Bloom
Orton, Joe, English, 1933-1967.
The Complete Plays. Rec: Bloom
Osborne, John Look Back in Anger (1956) 0 Resolute, over-praised play ("Love it or leave me," said Tynan), whose peevish,
ranting anti-hero set a long trend in snappy nihilism. It now seems dated, pat and over-emphatic. But it has energy and dramatic
power—the main qualities of Osborne's later, increasingly misanthropic output. Also: Luther, The Entertainer, Inadmissible
Evidence
Ostrovsky, Alexander Nikolayevich, Russian, 1823-1886.
The Thunderstorm. Rec: Bloom Ward (drama)
Otway, Thomas, English, 1652-1685.
Venice Preserv'd. Rec: Bloom
Pinero, Arthur W. The Second Mrs Tanqueray (1893)
Drawing-room Ibsen: urbanely concerned and wittily reflective. Pinero was overshadowed (not to say eclipsed) by early Shaw,
but is a solid craftsman producing enjoyable evenings in the theatre. Also: Trelawny of the "Wells"; The Magistrate, etc
Pinter, Harold No Man's Land (1975)
* Paranoid despair expressed in ambiguous, poetic prose: the rhythms of ordinary
speech given elusive, unnerving hardness. Also: The Caretaker, The Homecoming; The Birthday Party, etc. See Esslin;
McCrindle.
Pinter, Harold, English, 1930- . Nobel Laureate
The Caretaker. Rec: Bloom Ward
The Room. Rec: Ward
The Dumb Waiter. Rec: Ward
The Homecoming. Rec: Bloom
Pirandello, Luigi Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921)
A company of six characters appears during a rehearsal, announces that it is the incomplete, unused creation of the author's
imagination, and demands to be allowed to perform the drama that was never written for them but is implied in their lives.
Also: Henry IV; Tonight We Improvise, etc. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Pirandello, Luigi, Italian, 1867-1936. Nobel Laureate
Naked Masks: Five Plays. Rec: Bloom
The Late Mattia Pascal. Rec: Ward
Six Characters in Search of an Author. Rec: Boston PL GBWW NYPL Ward
Plautus, Roman, ca. 254-184 BCE.
Comedies. Rec: Ward
Pseudolus. Rec: Bloom
Braggart Soldier. Rec: Bloom
The Rope. Rec: Bloom
Amphitryon. Rec: Bloom
Priestley, J. B., English, 1894-1984.
The Image Men. Rec: Burgess
The Good Companions. Rec: Good Reading
Rabe, David, American, 1940- .
Streamers. Rec: Bloom
Racine, Jean Phaedra (1677)
*
Pellucid, civilized verse, grave and sonorous, animates gory human dilemmas (incest, parricide, assassination) from the
mythology and history of Greece and Rome. Like Moliere (qv), Racine is not notably well served in English translation: best
enjoyed in French. This play is an exception: Robert Lowell's translation (1963) is dignified and fine, poet matching poet line
for line. Also: Berenice; Andromache; A thaliah, etc. See LITERARY CRITICISM (Stendhal)
Racine, French, 1639-1699.
Tragedies. Rec: Adler (Selections)
Phèdre. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Rexmo SJC
Berenice. Rec: GBWW
Andromache. Rec: Bloom
Britannicus. Rec: Bloom
Athaliah. Rec: Bloom
Rattigan, Terence The Winslow Boy (1946)
Switchback critical reputation; but Rattigan's best work (this play; The Deep Blue Sea; Separate Tables) will last. He is a firstclass dramatist of the second rank, the Galsworthy of drama (except that Galsworthy got there first).
Redfield, William Letters from an Actor (1966)
a When Gielgud and Burton toured Ham let in America in 1964, Redfield
played Guildenstern. Throughout, he wrote letters describing the preparation, performance and reception; then worked the
letters up into this enjoyable, informative book.
Roberts, Vera M. The Nature of Theatre (1971)
Magnificent book on the aesthetics and practicalities of drama: what comedy, tragedy, melodrama are; the role of the audience
in "creating" a performance; the function of spectacle. Accessible, compendious, important.
Sartre, Jean-Paul Crime Passionel (Les Mains Sales)(1948)
Probably the best political play of the post-war period, embraced by cold warriors as an expose of Communist opportunism—
the plot hinges on a change in the Party "line"—and as often disowned by Sartre because he felt he had betrayed the cause he
intermittently endorsed. Also: Nekrassov; Kean; The Flies; and (again, superb theatre) Vicious Circle (Huis-clos). See
BIOGRAPHY; FICTION/NOVELS; PHILOSOPHY
Sartre, Jean Paul, French, 1905-1980. Nobel Laureate
No Exit. Rec: Adler Bloom
Sayers, Dorothy, L. The Man Born to Be King (1943)
Dated but exemplary version of the Gospels, simplified but never falsified (especially for those who greet the news as
genuinely good). Radio drama is a relatively neglected field; Sayers was a pioneer and a masterly popularizer. See
FICTION/CRIME
Schiller, Friedrich von, German, 1759-1805.
Wilhelm Tell. Rec: Lubbock
The Robbers. Rec: Bloom
Mary Stuart. Rec: Bloom
Wallenstein. Rec: Bloom
Don Carlos. Rec: Bloom Ward
Shaffer, Peter Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964)
Mannered, stylish, theatre-of-spectacle mixed with Rattiganesque private agonizing, this stunning play charts the relationship
between the conquering Pizarro and the Incas of Peru in 1533. A healing friendship: they adopt, invest each other. Also: Equus;
Five Finger Exercise, etc
Shakespeare, William Othello (c. 1604)
What can one say? He is an Everest, and all other dramatists stumble in his foothills; the poet of poets, the man of men? All of
that, and none of that: he is unique. Othello is one of the most accessible of his greatest plays: poetry, form and spectacle are
kept in perfect balance. For readers, the excellent Arden edition is recommended for good text, interesting and useful notes.
Also: Complete Works. See Granville-Barker; Masefield; Van Doren; LITERARY CRITICISM (Bradley, Johnson, Knight,
Stendhal); POETRY
Shakespeare, William, English, 1564-1616.
Henry VIII. Rec: Harvard
Complete Works. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Lubbock Seymour-Smith Ward
Richard II. Rec: Aquinas SJC
Henry IV, Part 1. Rec: Aquinas Col37 Col61 SJC
Henry IV, Part 2. Rec: Col37 SJC
As You Like It. Rec: SJC
Twelfth Night. Rec: Aquinas SJC
Hamlet. Rec: Aquinas Meaningful SJC
Othello. Rec: Aquinas Meaningful SJC
King Lear. Rec: Aquinas Col61 Collh91 Meaningful SJC
Macbeth. Rec: Aquinas Rex SJC
Antony and Cleopatra. Rec: Col61
Tempest. Rec: Aquinas Col61 Rex SJC
Sonnets. Rec: Aquinas SJC
Julius Caesar. Rec: Aquinas
Coriolanus. Rec: Utne
Shank, Theodore J. (ed) A Digest of 500 Plays (1963)
10 Compact guide: outline of plots, difficulties and production
requirements of significant plays from Aeschylus' Persians to Wouk's The Caine Mutiny Court Martial.
Shaw, George Bernard Saint Joan (1924) * Shaw's unsentimental, unfussy drama at its best. Prose has poise and point;
arguments lucid, not too wordy; stage action compelling; portrait of clear-headed young girl (a recurring theme in Shaw's
work) persuasive and warm. Also: Our Theatres in the Nineties (critical writings)
Shaw, George Bernard, Irish, 1856-1950. Nobel Laureate
Plays and Prefaces. Rec: Adler (Selections) Good Reading
Selected Plays and Prefaces. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Heartbreak House. Rec: Bloom
Man and Superman. Rec: Ward
Pygmalion. Rec: Bloom NYPL
Saint Joan. Rec: Bloom GBWW Ward
Major Barbara. Rec: Bloom
Back to Methuselah. Rec: Bloom
Major Critical Essays. Rec: Bloom
Shepard, Sam, American, 1943- .
Seven Plays. Rec: Bloom
Sheridan, Richard B. The School for Scandal(1777) * One of the most enduring comedies in English: funny dialogue, in
graceful 18th-century prose; razor characterization; fast action. For grace and speed, matched by his other most enduring play,
The Rivals, a generally tighter, less prismatic piece. Also: The Critic, etc
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, Irish-English, 1751-1816.
The Critic. Rec: Lubbock
Plays. Rec: Ward
School for Scandal. Rec: Bloom Lubbock
Rivals. Rec: Bloom Lubbock
Shudraka, Indian writing in Sanskrit, ca. 400.
Little Clay Cart. (See also Great Sanskrit Plays in New English Transcreations) Rec: MW Asian Oriental
Sophocles King Oedipus (c. 430 BC)
11: One of the rocks on which all later European drama is founded. Formal,
elegant poetry: for grandeur of themes, Sophocles is matched only by Shakespeare (qv); for limpidity of style, by Racine (qv).
His work resists translation: good English versions are by Kitto (Sophocles: Three Tragedies, 1962—plain), and by Roche (The
Oedipus Plays of Sophocles, 1958—fancy). Pound's magnificent The Women of Trachis (1956) is one of the crankiest
translations ever made. Also: Antigone; Electra, etc
Sophocles, Greek, 496-406 BCE.
Tragedies. Rec: Adler GBWW Ward
Oedipus Rex. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Col37 Col61 Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Lubbock Meaningful Rex SJC
Oedipus at Colonus. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Rex SJC
Antigone. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Col37 Col61 Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Rex SJC
Ajax. Rec: Bloom Col61
Philoctetes. Rec: Bloom Col61 SJC
Electra. Rec: Bloom
Women of Trachis. Rec: Bloom
Theban Plays (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone). Rec: Good Reading
Soyinka, Wole Death of the King's Horseman (1972) * The greatest play of the greatest African playwright. Based on a true
story of the jarring conflict between old ways and new, between tribal mores and the imposed ways of the British resident, in
southern Nigeria at the end of World War II. Soyinka has some of the power and eloquence of the Greek tragedians, though he
lacks their poetry. An extraordinary and forceful play.
Soyinka, Wole, Nigerian writing in English, 1934- . Nobel Laureate
A Dance of the Forest. Rec: Bloom
Aké. Rec: Good Reading
Stanislayski, Constantin Building a Character (1950)
fiiP
Greatest single influence on 20th-century acting technique, Stanislayski was responsible for the school of "method acting",
advocating intense inward preparation for the physical realization of character on stage. Also: An Actor Prepares
Stoppard, Tom Travesties (1972)
Considers wittily what might have happened if Lenin, Joyce and the Dadaist poet Tzara (all living in Zurich simultaneously
during World War I) had met each other. Stoppard's passion is the interplay of intransigent philosophies: his method is a cold
cascade of words. Also: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Jumpers; Night and Day, etc. See McCrindle
Stoppard, Tom, English, 1937- .
Travesties. Rec: Bloom
Strindberg, August, Swedish, 1849-1912.
Plays. Rec: Ward
To Damascus. Rec: Bloom
Miss Julie. Rec: Bloom
The Father. Rec: Bloom
The Dance of Death. Rec: Bloom
The Ghost Sonata. Rec: Bloom
A Dream Play. Rec: Bloom
Synge, J. M. The Playboy of the Western World (1907)
Magical Irishness, about a stranger arriving at a remote Mayo inn (the Iceman cometh?); whimsical surface with skeleton of
steel. Also: Riders to the Sea; The Well of the Saints, etc
Synge, John Millington, Irish, 1871-1909.
Collected Plays. Rec: Bloom
Taubman, Howard The Making of the American Theatre (1965) fi 0 Lively history of the growth of the theatre in 19thcentury America. For some, first nights in Boston and New York; for others, touring in covered wagons, treading the dusty trail,
bringing theatre like water to thirsty desert land. Great fun.
Terence, Roman, ca. 195-159 BCE.
Comedies. Rec: Ward
Girl from Andros. Rec: Bloom
The Eunuch. Rec: Bloom
The Mother-in-Law. Rec: Bloom
Tourneur, Cyril, English, ca. 1575-1626.
The Revenger's Tragedy. Rec: Bloom
Travers, Ben Rookery Nook (1926)
*
Travers' Aldwych farces are definitive works: warmer and more humane than Feydeau or Coward (qv), full of ingenious twists
of plot and language. His stature increases with time; his plays are sure to last. Also: Thark; Plunder, The Bed before Yesterday,
etc
Van Doren, Mark Shakespeare (1939)
di .1
Trenchant essays on each of the plays by a well-known American poet-teacher. Influential on production style in the 1940s and
1950s; full of insight and good sense, in a fluent and graceful style. Also: Don Quixote's Profession. See Granville-Barker;
Masefield; Shakespeare; LITERARY CRITICISM (Bradley, Johnson, Knight, Stendhal); POETRY (Shakespeare)
Vega, Lope de, Spanish, 1562-1635.
Peribáñez. Rec: Ward
Fuente Ovejuna. Rec: Bloom Ward
Dog in the Manger. Rec: Ward
Knight from Olmedo. Rec: Bloom Ward
Justice Without Vengeance. Rec: Ward
La Dorotea. Rec: Bloom
Lost in a Mirror. Rec: Bloom
Vicente, Gil, Portuguese writing in Spanish and Portuguese, ca. 1465-ca. 1536.
Four Plays. Rec: Ward
Wang Shifu, Chinese, fl. 1295-1307.
Story of the Western Wing (Romance of the Western Chamber). Rec: MW Asian
It is an amplified tsa-chu; a then popular theatrical form. (wikipedia)
Webster, John The White Devil (1612)
T. S. Eliot said that Webster "saw the skull beneath the skin", and this is certainly true of the two "revenge" tragedies on which
his reputation rests. Violent and macabre; all-pervasive evil and darkness relieved by passages of fiercely brilliant poetry. Also:
The Duchess of Malfi, etc
Webster, John, English, ca. 1578-ca. 1632 .
White Devil. Rec: Bloom
Duchess of Malfi. Rec: Bloom Rex
Wedekind, Frank, German, 1864-1918.
Lulu Plays. Rec: Bloom
Spring Awakening. Rec: Bloom
Wilde, Oscar, The Importance of Being Eamest(1895)
Cool as a cucumber sandwich, reasonable as Euclid, this famous farce avoids the melodrama that often flaws Wilde's other
work. Also: Lady Windermere's Fan, etc. See BIOGRAPHY; DIARIES; FICTION/NOVELS
Wilde, Oscar, Irish, 1854-1900.
Plays. Rec: Bloom
Wilder, Thornton Our Town (1938)
By now the American classic, revived almost every year in almost every American town. The play deserves this fate, being
utterly simple and basic, about birth, love, life, death, the immemorially important dramatic themes. Also; The Skin of Our
Teeth; The Matchmaker
Wilder, Thornton, American, 1897-1975.
Three Plays. Rec: Bloom
The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Rec: ML Novels Time
Heaven's My Destination. Rec: BOMC
Williams, Raymond Drama in Performance (1954)
Brilliant recreations of first audiences' experience of Greek theatre (Sophocles' Antigone), English medieval drama
(Everyman), Shakespeare (Antony and Cleopatra), Restoration theatre, Stanislayski (Moscow Arts' The Seagull), modern
experimental theatre (Eliot, Brecht, Beckett) and film (Bergman's Wild Strawberries). Analyses the relationship between text
and performance, a neglected, vital subject. Revised edition (1968) recommended. Also: Drama from Ibsen to Eliot. See
MEDIA
Williams, Tennessee A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)
Theatre of magnolia-scented exoticism. Set in the French quarter of New Orleans, with characters and dialogue as lush and
exuberant as the place itself. Williams' stature is hard to assess; the theatrical power of his plays is undeniable. Also: Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof, Sweet Bird of Youth, etc. See Heilman.
Williams, Tennessee, American, 1911-1983.
The Glass Menagerie. Rec: Bloom
A Streetcar Named Desire. Rec: Bloom
Summer and Smoke. Rec: Bloom
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Rec: LAT
Moise and the World of Reason. Rec: Harvard
Wilson, August, American, 1945-2005.
Fences. Rec: Bloom
Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Rec: Bloom Utne
Wycherley, William The Country Wife (1675)
Savage but nonetheless comic satire of Restoration—and human—foibles. This was the first great stage success after the return
of the English court from exile in France, and is still a successful theatrical piece. Important for brilliant comic dialogue,
unheard of on the English stage before. Also: The Plain Dealer Yeats, W. B. The Countess Cathleen (1892)
Yeats' plays (really dramatic poems) display a mixture of influences, treating Gaelic legend in styles adapted from Greek and
Japanese theatre. Unstageable; unique; unforgettable. See POETRY
Wycherley, William, English, 1641-1715.
The Country Wife. Rec: Bloom
The Plain Dealer. Rec: Bloom
Yamauchi, Wakako, American, 1924- .
Songs My Mother Taught Me. Rec: Hungry Mind
Zeami, Japanese, 1363-1443.
Atsumori. (See also No [Noh] Theatre) Rec: MW Asian
Izutsu. (See also No [Noh] Theatre) Rec: MW Asian
William Alfred
William Alfred is the Abbott Laurence Lowell Professor of the Humanities at Harvard. A native of New York City, he is a noted
playwright (Hogan's Goat), translator (Modern Library Beowulf) and teacher. Besides his achievements in the classroom, he
continues to produce screenplays and scripts for television and the theater.
These books might prepare their readers for the challenges of the twenty-first century by prompting them to ask questions of
the fictions they indulge themselves in, along these lines:
1. Since changes inevitably alter life and our way of dealing with it, so threatening any fixed order we may aspire to that we
grow desperate or enraged, can no way be found to assess the perils of that desperation and rage by assessing the fictions in
which those feelings are expressed?
2. Does private rage avalanche into international catastrophe?
If that be the case, can no means be found to divert that rage from racist, religious, national or political objects to those
elements in our nature which in the nobly furious words of Conor Cruse O'Brien "make us more eager to die for the good of
mankind than to live and work for it"?
John Dos Passos. Three Soldiers (1921). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1964. (Pb)
I saw the Lew Ayres—Lewis Wohlheirn movie version of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front when I was
eight or nine, and remembering it still at sixteen, took Three Soldiers out of the library. Reading it made me a pacifist.
Evelyn Waugh. Vile Bodies (1930). Boston: Little, Brown, 1977. (Pb)
In the pinched, sad thirties, I became an addict of P. G. Wodehouse through reading his novels serialized in the Saturday
Evening Post, which at a nickel a copy even I could afford. Someone told me Evelyn Waugh was funnier; and I read Vile
Bodies. Funnier the book was; but I was as troubled as amused by such passages as:
"Adam darling, what's the matter?"
"I don't know... Nina, do you ever feel that things can't go on much longer?"
"What do you mean by things—us or everything?" "Everything."
Those, taken together with the book's ending, in 1930, on a battlefield during World War II gave me a bleak pause.
Wodehouse's irrepressibly cheerful Noel Coward fox-trot had turned into Ravel's "La Valse" under Waugh's manic baton.
Waugh, Evelyn, English, 1903-1966.
Vile Bodies. Rec: Bloom
Put Out More Flags. Rec: Bloom
Thomas Mann. The Magic Mountain (1924). H. T. Lowe-Porter, trans. New York: Random House, 1969. (Pb)
I read Mann's ironic diagnosis of the diseases which brought imperial Europe down in Harry Slochower's unforgettable course
at Brooklyn College. I had just returned, my pacifism even more confirmed, from service in the war in the Pacific. I was
particularly struck by the way Mann built toward the bloody delirium of his last chapter by dramatizing the growing anger of
his characters at private unfulfillment and the fright and disappointment that accompanies the death of an accepted order.
Elizabeth Bowen. The House in Paris (1935). New York: Avon, 1979. (Pb)
Years later, advising a tutorial student on a thesis, I reread The House in Paris; and I saw the anger which Mann had
anatomized in his male characters embodied in a woman. Appalled by the prospect of a stuffy marriage with a man of her own
class, that book's upper-middle-class heroine betrays both her husband-to-be and her best friend by sleeping with her best
friend's fiancé. Waking the next morning in a gray hotel room, she assesses that experience in terms of a failed revolution:
"People must hope so much when they tear streets up and fight at barricades. But, whoever wins, the streets are laid again and
the trams start running again. One hopes too much by destroying things." She must be the first writer who noticed the
dangerous fusion of elated hope with destructiveness.
George Orwell. Coming up for Air (1940). New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1969. (Pb)
I reread Corning up for Air with that same tutorial student when I assigned it to her to widen her sense of the uses of narrative
in that period. In the third chapter of that book, its protagonist, a white-collar worker, looks out of his commuters' train at a
bomber overhead and thinks, with a calmness that seems part relief, that in two years' time such planes will be blasting
everything in sight to kingdom come. I also assigned the letters of Evelyn Waugh from the years preceding and immediately
following the First World War that she might notice the reaction of exasperated envy that irascible seismograph of his culture
had to those returning from the international massacre.
Robert Brustein
Robert Brustein is artistic director of the acclaimed American Repertory Theater company in Cambridge, director of the Loeb
Drama Center and professor of English at Harvard University. As one of the leaden of the American resident theater movement,
he is known for his enormous support of innovative work and his ability to galvanize other creative people. He is theater critic
for the New Republic.
Anton Chekhov. Plays and Letters (1884-1904). New York: W. W. Norton, 1977. (Pb)
The best example—after Shakespeare—of how an artist can express himself truthfully and still retain the full measure of his
humanity.
Lionel Trilling. The Liberal Imagination (1950). New York: Harcourt Brace jovanovich, 1979.
At the same time a great collection of essays on literature and society, and a demonstration of the continuing tension between
liberalism and art.
William Butler Yeats. The Poems of W B. Yeats (1887-1939). Richard Finneran, ed. New York: Macmillan, 1962. (Pb)
The master modern poet, finding language for every human emotion from the pangs of unrequited love to the ache of old age.
Henrik Ibsen. Complete Major Prose and Plays (ca. 1880s). Rolf Fjelde, trans. New York: New American Library, n.d. (Pb)
. Speeches and New Letters (ca. 1880s). Arne Kildal, trans. Brooklyn: Haskell, 1972.
No better record of the adversarial relationship between the artist and the state.
James Joyce. Ulysses (1918-20). New York: Random House, 1976. (Pb)
All of English literature in one book—compressed and mythologized through the language and vision of a unique modern
artist.
Friedrich Nietzsche. Philosophy and Truth (1870s). Daniel Breazeale, ed. and trans. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities
Press, 1979.
A revolutionary series of treatises on the transvaluation of all inherited values.
THEATRE: WORLD THEATRE
Graham Ley
Study and appreciation of the theatre have expanded in recent decades from close attention to scripts and plays to a
consideration of performance. In this reading list I have concentrated on introductions with that emphasis, accepting that
readers may wish to `travel' in their interests outside Britain and Europe, and back from the present to the past. Illustrations are
undoubtedly important in any appreciation of performance, and, with some specific exceptions, the books listed here are
helpful in that respect.
By whatever means it is accomplished, the prime business of the play is to arouse
the passions of the audience so that by the route of passions may be opened up new
relationships between a man and men, and between men and Man.
ARTHUR MILLER
Theatre Through the Ages (1975) by Cesare Molinari. A clear and coherent presentation, with excellent illustrations, that
concentrates on Europe.
Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Theatre (1977) edited by Martin Esslin. A broad introduction edited by one of the most
impressive of modern critical thinkers on the theatre.
Illustrated History of British Theatre (1994) by Simon Trussler. An ambitious and informative new survey of British theatre
from its beginnings to the present day.
Shakespeare's Theatre (1992) by Peter Thomson. The second edition of an excellent and thoroughly readable introduction to
the Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatrical performance.
A Short Introduction to the Ancient Greek Theatre (1991) by Graham Ley. A companion for those particularly interested in
the performance of Greek tragedy and comedy.
The New Comedy of Greece and Rome (1985) by Richard Hunter. An excellent introduction to the forms of Greek and
Roman comedy which anticipate modern social comedy.
The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre (1993) by James Brandon. An excellent, short introduction to the immense range of
theatrical performance in Asia by a leading expert.
Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance (1990) edited by Farley Richmond and others. A thoughtful appreciation, in
informative detail, of traditions which include a strong emphasis on dance as well as drama.
The Cambridge Guide to African and Caribbean Theatre (1994) by M Barham and others A new survey of drama and
theatre practice which offers an unparalleled introduction.
A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology (1990) by E Barba. This look at intercultural theatre practice and experiment has
fascinating illustrations.
The Director and the Stage (1982) by E Braun. On the art of the director.
British Theatre Design: The Modern Age (1989) by J Goodwin. This has superb illustrations, and is a good starting point for
an interest in this aspect of theatre.
SHAKESPEARE
Derek Parker
One of Dr Johnson's chief regrets at being mortal was the thought of leaving this world for one in which Shakespeare's works
were no longer available. I am on his side. A good edition of the Complete Works is an essential: probably in the celebrated
Arden edition, though there are plenty of handy individual paperbacks of the plays and poems. Shakespeare is quite simply
inexhaustible: and if the time comes when you think you have exhausted him, there is a long line of critics and biographers to
remind you that far from touching bottom, you are still splashing in the shallows. My favourite biography is Samuel
Schoenbaum's wonderful Shakespeare: A Documentary Life, which came out in 1975 and reproduced every contemporary
document remotely connected with the poet.
This is sadly long out of print, but is well worth seeking out; and happily, Professor Schoenbaum has followed it up with a
simpler edition, William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life (1977). As for the rest, we shall never be able to put our
hand on Shakespeare's shoulder, but through the plays, the criticism, the biographies, we can make an effort to clutch at his
sleeve - and sometimes seem to feel it flutter in our grasp, across four centuries.
Shakespeare's writing was a magic circle in which he himself could only tread ... He invented a work which was peculiar to
himself, and not to be compared with the productions of any writer of any nation - in which he had no follower nor second.
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE
Shakespeare: A Documentary Life (1975) by Samuel Schoenbaum. Contrary to popular belief, we know a great deal about
Shakespeare's life - perhaps more than about any other Elizabethan except the Queen herself. Schoenbaum gives it to us
straight: no interpretation, no guesses - just the facts.
Going to Shakespeare (1978) by J C Trewin. Trewin saw every notable Shakespearean production between 1920 and 1980;
his comments on the plays are based on performance, and in this book he shows us how they work, illuminating many a scene
by remembering how Laurence Olivier declaimed a particular speech, or how Godfrey Tearle moved on a particular line. For
sheer insight, this beats many a scholarly tome hollow.
Young Shakespeare (1988) and Shakespeare: The Later Years (1992) by Russell Fraser. There are more lives of
Shakespeare in and out of print than the strongest man could shake the largest number of sticks at; these two are among the
most accessible. There is a certain amount of conjecture, but it is sensible conjecture, and Fraser not only presents all the
alternatives, but supports the most likely with good argument - and gives us at the same time some excellent background to the
age.
Shakespeare: Court, Crowd and Playhouse (1993) by Francois Laroque. A charming little book which gives us a vivid
picture of life in Shakespeare's time – with excellent and often unusual illustrations - and a selection of the most important contemporary documents.
The Elizabethan World Picture (1943) by E M W Tillyard. One of the difficulties about reading Shakespeare is his age is so
remote to us: his anti-Semitism and vivid chauvinism ring strangely in our ears. Professor Tillyard helps us over all the stiles
with an insight into the Elizabethan world which is dazzlingly interesting as well as illuminating.
The Characters of Shakespeare's Plays (1817; recent editions available) by William Hazlitt. Hazlitt was perhaps the most
sympathetic of all 19th-century critics of Shakespeare. Wonderfully readable, his opinions have dated little - and he is man
enough to know when he is beaten: he wishes he did not have to write about Lear, because 'all that we can say must fall far
short of the subject'.
Shakespeare's Workmanship (1918) by Arthur Quiller-Couch. Here is a critic who, first beaten down by F R Leavis, has
remained stubbornly out of fashion; but there are few writers about Shakespeare's plays in whose company I would rather be.
Quite simply and above all, the king of enthusiasts, he makes you want to read the man.
Prefaces to Shakespeare (1923-47) by Harley Granville Barker. Barker, one of the great Shakespeare directors of all time,
sadly failed to write prefaces to all the plays; but those he did prepare are among the great examples of practical Shakespeare
criticism.
A Notebook on William Shakespeare (1948) by Edith Sitwell. Nobody would now put forward Edith Sitwell as a great critic,
but her devotion to Shakespeare gave her quirky insights and a sense of excitement which raise the short hairs on the back of
the neck.
ELIZABETHAN AND JACOBEAN DRAMA
Derek Parker
The best option is, of course, to read about the plays and then see them in performance. However, the best dramas can well bear
reading as well as seeing, and there is beauty in Marlowe, fun in Ben Jonson, darkness and honor in John Webster and Thomas
Middleton which delight and intrigue almost as much on the page as on the boards. If the Elizabethans had an unequalled way
with language, the harsher, more astringent tragedies of the Jacobeans can be as exciting - and in the absence of novels, bring
their period alive with quite extraordinary brilliance.
Great drama is the souvenir of the adventures of a master
among the pieces of his own soul.
GEORGE JEAN NATHAN
Five Pre-Shakespearean Comedies (1934) edited by F S Boas. Among these, Nicholas Udall's Ralph Roister Doister 1553 is
the earliest known English comedy, about the courting of the Widow Custance, and Henry Medwall's Fulgens and Lucrece
1486 the earliest `straight' secular play. They show a distinct debt to the ancient Greek and Roman dramatists, though
thoroughly anglicised.
The Collected Plays (1590-1604; several modem editions) by Christopher Marlowe. The bloodshed, treachery and titanic
ambition of Tamburlaine the Great, the isolated pathos of Edward II, and above all the tragic, ironical dignity and majesty of
Doctor Faustus, make Marlowe's plays pioneering works for their time, and a considerable influence on Shakespeare.
The Collected Plays (1598-1631; several modem editions) by Ben Jonson. `0 rare Ben Jenson!' says the stone over his grave in
Westminster, and if his plays now seem stronger in production than on the page, The Alchemist and Bartholomew Fair repay
reading, bringing the London of the early 1600s vividly alive - swindlers and mountebanks, lawyers and pickpockets, idle
women and busy gossips.
Early English Stages (1959) by Glynne Wickham. To understand fully just how the Elizabethan dramas appeared on the stages
of the time, we need to know about the boy players, methods of staging, the theatrical politics of the time, the rivalries between
the various companies - and how the productions slowly began to take a form we would recognize today.
English Plays and Players (1956) by G B Harrison. A fascinating survey of the 35 years or so which comprised the great
period of Elizabethan drama - that is, from the writing of Marlowe's Tamburlaine in the 1580s to Shakespeare's Hamlet at the
turn of the century, with just a few reputable dramas in the following 15 years. Stage and university, the boy players, the lives
of Jonson, Marlowe, Robert Greene, Essex's rebellion ... all written with vigour and commitment.
The Rise of the Common Player (1962) by M C Bradbrook. It takes a real effort of imagination, now, to believe that a boy
could have played Cleopatra or Lady Macbeth; but reading a good account of the actors of the Elizabethan theatre we begin to
under-stand how it may have been - and how the often clumsy comedy must have been leavened by the jigs and knockabout
farce of the period.
ENGLISH DRAMA 1700-1900
Derek Parker
Really excellent dramatists were thin on the ground between the end of the Restoration period and the years of the solid, safe
Victorian theatre - where nevertheless a number of anti-Victorian dramatists beavered away subversively - Wilde, Shaw, Arthur
Pinero, T W Robertson, Henry Arthur Jones managing to entertain but also shock and educate audiences.
We do not go to the theatre like our ancestors to escape from the pressure
of reality, so much as to confirm our experience of it.
CHARLES LAMB
Four English Comedies (1950) edited by J M Morrell. Just four plays give us a bird's-eye view of the English theatre between
1606 (when Ben Jonson's Volpone was first performed at Lincoln's Inn) and 1777, when Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The
School for Scandal delighted audiences at Drury Lane. In between are William Congreve's The Way of the World 1700 and
Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer 1773 - four of the best, wittiest, most delightful plays in the language.
Restoration Tragedy (1930) by Bonamy Dobree. A first-rate survey of the subject, including the work of John Dryden, George
Etherege, Thomas Shadwell, and John Vanbrugh - most of whose plays are brilliant comments on the period and its foibles.
The Plays of Oscar Wilde (1892-95) by Oscar Wilde. If there is any British comedy after She Stoops to Conquer which can
compare with Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest 1895, it is probably one of Wilde's other plays; his theatrical instincts
were impeccable, his wit coruscating; here are four plays that are as enjoyable to read as to see.
Our Theatre in the Nineties (1932) by George Bernard Shaw. For a general survey of English drama towards the end of the
19th century, turn to Shaw, who remains the most entertaining (if not always the shrewdest) of all theatre critics, even including
the great William Hazlitt. The articles he wrote for the Saturday Review between 1895 and 1898 are quite simply wonderful.
Around Theatres (1953) and More Theatres (1969) by Max Beerbohm. Beerbohm succeeded Shaw as drama critic for the
Saturday Review, and his essays lead us gently into the 20th century with articles on all the major plays produced between
1898 and 1910.
BRITISH DRAMA 1900 TO THE PRESENT
Derek Parker
World War I changed the theatre just as it changed everything else; soon came Coward, ready to show the 1920s their own face
in The Vortex 1924, putting drugs on stage for the first time. There was a brief flirtation with poetic drama, led by T S Eliot and
Christopher Fry, with W H Auden and Christopher Isherwood in the wings; Terence Rattigan, with elegant, mannered
comedies, bridged the period between the 1930s and the 1950s, when came the new generation - Samuel Beckett, Harold
Pinter, Arnold Wesker, John Arden followed by Tom Stoppard, Edward Bond, David Storey, David Hare - and the most fruitful
period of English drama for 400 years.
We do not think that a play can be worth acting and not worth reading.
W B YEATS
The Complete Plays of Bernard Shaw (1882-1948; several modern editions) by Bernard Shaw. Here is the Goliath of modern
drama, who produced a body of work that cannot be ignored. Few of his plays failed to rouse audiences to argument, from
Widowers' Houses (and in 1892 a play about a prostitutes' madam and her daughter made a sensation) to The Apple Can 1929,
which ends with America pleading to be allowed to rejoin the Commonwealth. It is difficult to conceive of anyone who would
not find the majority of these plays amusing and stimulating.
The Voysey Inheritance (1905) and The Madras House (1907) by Harley Granville Barker. The former, about a scandal which
destroys a family business, and the latter, a feminist social comedy, show what can be done in the way of skilful workmanship
(Barker started life as an actor) combined with a strong sense of social values. Read, too, Barker's Prefaces to Shakespeare
(1923-47), the best of Victorian Shakespearean criticism.
The Collected Plays of Noel Coward (several editions) by Noel Coward. Two of Coward's plays may be (a dangerous
prophesy) as near immortal as any writer could hope: Hay Fever 1925 and Private Lives 1930. These are comedies such as the
English stage had not seen since Congreve. But recent productions have shown other, less regarded plays - Design for Living
(1933) and even Peace in Our Time (1949) to be well worth revival.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1967),Jumpers (1972), and Arcadia (1994) by Tom Stoppard. All his plays are
examples of high wit and dramatic ingenuity. These three at least should be read. Elegance is not a quality we immediately
associate with most contemporary playwrights; here it energizes rather than weakens the plays.
The Birthday Party (1958), The Caretaker (1960), and No Man's Land (1965) by Harold Pinter. The Caretaker bears
perhaps a stronger resemblance to traditional drama than any other of his pieces. These lead into the writer's private dream
world; asked what any line of his play `means', the author replies that it means what it says, and we must make what we can of
that; but few people will read his work without at the very least a puzzled fascination, and at best a feeling of being in the
presence of a very considerable dramatist.
Murder in the Cathedral (1935) by T S Eliot. Arguably the best verse drama of our time, though The Family Reunion (1939)
has fine passages; Eliot wrote three other plays, none of which has found a place in the contemporary repertory.
The Lady's Not for Burning (1949) by Christopher Fry. Fry is the only other verse dramatist since 1900 whose work survives
in occasional production; this remains his best play, and still delights through his pleasure in playing with language; but some
of his others - notably A Phoenix Too Frequent (1946) - are better than some critics allow.
Look Back in Anger (1956) by John Osborne. A seminal play which altered the face of English drama by its rage, invective,
emotional conviction, and determination to present on stage the passions of our time. It must be read for that reason, though
recent revivals have proved it irredeemably second-rate as drama. The Entertainer (1957) is a somewhat better play.
Waiting for Godot (1955) by Samuel Beckett. Many a playgoer went to see Waiting for Godot convinced that it was nonsense,
only to emerge - perhaps without 'understanding' the play - convinced that s/he had been in the presence of greatness. It now
seems easier than it did 40 years ago; Happy Days 1962, End Game 1958 and others still present difficulties for the literalminded, but cannot, should not, must not be ignored.
The Norman Conquests (1974) by Alan Ayckbourn. The astonishingly prolific Ayckboum has probably brought more
audiences to the edge of hysteria than any dramatist since Coward. His plays must be seen, but many of their qualities come
through on the page - including his amazing ingenuities of construction, and his darkly effective talent for showing us tragedy
through the lens of comedy.
AMERICAN DRAMA
T J Lustig
“There are no dramatic subjects in a country which has witnessed no great political catastrophes and in which love invariably
leads by a straight and easy road to matrimony” - Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835). Right about so
much else, de Tocqueville was signally wrong in this, for the political and emotional problems of 20th-century American
democracy have produced a rich body of dramatic work. The tradition has been a predominantly realist one, though it has often
strained that overstretched word well beyond its breaking point. But within its characteristic concentration on the relation
between the (mainly middle-class) individual and society, American drama has told the story of the nation from the period of
colonial expansion to that of imperial domination. It has dramatized the political in the personal in its treatment of the
individual and the family. And it has staged the personal in the political in its analysis of the American dream and its spiritual
evacuation. Often concerned with property, violence, truth, and the presence of the past, 20th-century American drama has seen
itself both as weapon and as cure.
American drama stages a nation thinking (or not thinking) in front of itself.
MATTHEW ROUDANE
Trifles (1916) by Susan Glaspell. An early one-act play with a poignant and beautifully crafted feminist twist. Glaspell's
treatment of women from their own point of view has not been equalled until the more recent works of Marsha Norman and
Beth Henley.
Desire under the Elms (1924) and Long Day's Journey into Night (1956) by Eugene O'Neill. Precise notations of family
conflict, underwritten by an eerie sense of the presence of the past and the hard American landscape. O'Neill's use of language
and symbol can seem heavy-handed, but these are works of unparalleled dramatic intensity, crucial statements of the central
dynamic forces in American drama.
Waiting for Lefty (1935) by Clifford Odets. With its triumphant final chorus of `Hello America! ... We're stormbirds of the
working class', this is the definitive American agitprop play.
A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) by Tennessee Williams. Unique in its raw intensity, but apparently committed to emotional
sensationalism at the cost of any political or philosophical engagement
Death of a Salesman (1949) and Broken Glass (1993) by Arthur Miller. The most powerful, coherent, and ethically engaged
of American dramatists, Miller has made his work a long attempt to assert the value of connection, of the individual's profound
relation and responsibility to wider communities.
True West (1980) by Sam Shepard. This highly focused treatment of sibling rivalry resonates with American myths.
Fences (1985) by August Wilson. Beginning with family life in the back yard of a black American family, this play goes on to
expose inexorably the historical determinants of 20th-century African-American experience.
Oleanna (1992) by David Mamet. Misunderstood by some audiences of the first production as an attack on political
correctness, Mamet's latest play is in fact a classic liberal study of the ineluctable corruptions of power.
Economics
Watching economists tear at one another's throats, and reflecting on the holes in his own pockets, the layman might be forgiven
for wondering, cynically, just how relevant this subject is to human life. The books in this list (an unpolemical, undogmatic
selection) may go some way to providing an answer, or answers. "You pays your money . .
See ANTHROPOLOGY (Dalton); MEDICINE (Fuchs); PHILOSOPHY (Ortega y Gasset); POLITICS (Schumpeter);
SOCIOLOGY (Weber)
Barber, William J. A History of Economic Thought (1967) Pa
Introduction to the work of Smith, Ricardo, Mill, Marx, Marshall, Keynes. Critical outline of their theories, set in the context of
the particular economic problems they were trying to solve.
Beckerman, Wilfred In Defence of Economic Growth (1974)
Reply to Mishan (qv) and the Club of Rome, making a strong case that the hidden costs of growth can be accounted for, and
that economic growth that takes these into account will still show a net gain in welfare.
Boyer, Richard O., American, 1903-1973.
Labor's Untold Story (With Herbert M. Morais). Rec: Counterpunch NF
Braverman, Harry, American, 1920-1976.
Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Chaianov, A. V. (Chayanov), Russian, 1888-1939.
The Theory of Peasant Economy. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Donaldson, Peter Economics of the Real World (1973)
A concise introduction, in accessible language.
a
Drucker, P. F. The Age of Discontinuity (1969)
a
Lucid discussion of the wider issues at the heart of the new economy: micro-technology, industrial pluralism, mass leisure, the
multinational economic state. Full of theories and programmes for action—still (a dozen years after the book was written)
relevant, essential and largely unfulfilled. Ideal reading for those baffled by today's economic headlines. Also: Landmarks of
Tomorrow; The Future of Industrial Man, etc
Friedman, Milton Capitalism and Freedom (1962) 9*
The Samuel Smiles of the "New Monetarism" shows the relationship between his brand of laissez-faire economics and his
ideology. Read it to understand the wider—or narrower—significance of the current fashion for monetarist economic policies.
Also: Essays in Positive Economics, etc
Friedman, Milton, American, 1912- .
Capitalism and Freedom. Rec: National Review TLS
Tax Limitation, Inflation and the Role of Government. Rec: LAT
A Theory of the Consumption Function. Rec: NYPL
Galbraith, J. K. Economics and the Public Purpose (1974)
Galbraith was the first to draw widespread attention to the paradox of private affluence and public squalor, and to recommend
measures to deal with it. Roughly handled by critics, he remains one of the best starting points for exploring contemporary
economic concerns. Also: The Affluent Society; Money: Whence It Came Where It Went; The New Industrial State, etc
Galbraith, John Kenneth, Canadian-American, 1908-2006.
The Affluent Society. Rec: LAT ML Nonfiction NYPL TLS
Gamble, A. and Walton P. Capitalism in Crisis: Inflation and the State (1976)
Clear, uncomplicated polemic (with left-wing bias) about what has gone wrong with economic theories and the British
economy.
Gilder, George, American, 1939- .
Wealth and Poverty. Rec: National Review
Gilder points out that we have been misled by popular economics as it relates to how we increase wealth and curtail poverty.
He then introduces the concept of Supply-Side Economics to the general reader.
Glynn, A, and Sutcliffe, R. British Capitalism, Workers and the Profits Squeeze (1972)
A Marxist view of the crisis which has been developing in British industry since the 1960s. Compelling alternative to the
monetarist analyses and nostrums which are our daily fare.
Harrison, John Marxist Economics for Socialists (1978)
aka
Short, readable account of Marxist economics. Wide scope; clear style. Harrod, Roy Towards a Dynamic Economics (1949)
Significant (though now dated) first attempt for over a century to see the economic system as a fluid, not static phenomenon.
Also: The Trade Cycle
Hawken, Paul, American, 1946- .
The Ecology of Commerce. Rec: Utne
Heilbroner, R. L. The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers (1967)
Exceptionally useful—it replaces reading thousands of pages of impossible learned prose.
a
Hicks, John Capital and Time (1973)
Good example of solid workmanship, honest critique of the idiocy of last year's ideas.
Hirsch, Fred Social Limits to Growth (1977)
At the present level of development of rich economies, individual decisions become less effective in allocating resources. To
save capitalism again (shades of Keynes, qv) a more collectivist approach is required.
Hirschman, Albert, American, 1915- .
Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. Rec: TLS
Albert Hirschman's Exit, Voice and Loyality is a book written by an economist but accessible to all - a rare achieve in any
academic disipline, especially economics. The book was written in the early 70's but still has relevant today.
Innis, Harold A., Canadian, 1894-1952.
The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Jacobs, Jane, American, 1916-2006.
The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Rec: National Review NYPL TLS Utne
The Economy of Cities. Rec: National Review
Keynes, John Maynard The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936) f flip
Influential classic: a dialogue by Keynes with other economists and with his own past. Also: The Economic Consequences of
the Peace; Essays in Biography, etc
Keynes, Maynard, English, 1883-1946.
The Economic Consequences of the Peace. Rec: TLS
General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Rec: Boston PL Counterpunch NF GBWW ML Nonfiction National
Review NYPL Seymour-Smith TLS
Kidron, Michael Western Capitalism since the War (1968)
Kidron's major thesis (that the world economy has been kept going by the arms race—a view he has since radically revised)
was highly debatable; his book nevertheless applies a Marxist analysis to the problems of today with vigorous conviction. Also:
Capitalism and Theory
Kropotkin, Peter, Russian, 1842-1921.
The Conquest of Bread. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Kuznets, Simon Six Lectures on Economic Growth (1959) 9
Kuznets allies a strong sense of realism with humour and delicacy. Accessible specialist book. Also: Economic Growth of
Nations; Modern Economic Growth; Capital in the American Economy
Machlup, Fritz (ed) Essays on Hayek (1976)
Hayek was an innovative force in the establishment of a critical rationale and methodology for the social sciences. These
essays (by several leading US economists and economic journalists. including Buckley, Friedman and Dietz) discuss his
contribution to economics both as an academic study and as a programme for social change. Technical but accessible.
Malthus, Thomas, English, 1766-1834.
An Essay on the Principle of Population. Rec: Good Reading Seymour-Smith
Marshall, Alfred The Principles of Economics(1890)*
Useful, brilliant, essential.
Marx, Karl Capital (1867)
!* Magnificent sweep of excitement, raises profound questions about the workings of
industrial society. See POLITICS; SOCIOLOGY
Marx, Karl, German, 1818-1883.
(See also Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels)
Capital (Edited by Friedrich Engels). Rec: Adler Aquinas GBWW Good Reading SJC (Selections) Ward
Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Rec: Aquinas Counterpunch Trans SJC (Selections)
Mill, John Stuart Principles of Political Economy (1848)
&a
Characteristically clear, fair and liberal. See FEMINISM; PHILOSOPHY; POLITICS
Mishan, E. J. The Costs of Economic Growth (1967)
Economist's contribution to the case being made at the time by ecologists and conservationists. Sets out the hidden costs, in
terms of social and environmental effects, of continuing increases in current patterns of production and consumption. Also: 21
Popular Economic Fallacies
Myrdal, Gunnar Asian Drama: An Enquiry into the Poverty of Nations (1968)
Enormous study of the economic and social structures of southern Asian countries, demonstrating how the experiences of
developed countries are irrelevant for helping countries such as India escape from the teeming consequences of their own
population growth.
Various Authors, Various, 20th C.
The New Palgrave: The World of Economics (Ed. By John Eatwell, Murray Milgate, and Peter Newman). Rec: TLS
Norris, K. and Vaizey, J. Economics for Everyone (1973) a Makes other introductions redundant; elicits the minimal level of
belief necessary if economics is to be believed at all.
Robinson, Joan Economic Philosophy (1962)
Dismal state of a dismal science seen through the eyes of one of its few honest practitioners. Clear-headed; funny; gutsy. Also:
Accumulation of Capital; Collected Economic Papers (4 vols); Imperfect Competition
Rostow, W. W. How It All Began: Origins of the Modern Economy (1975)
a*
How did the world survive until the 18th century without a modern economy? What is economic sense, and can it be restored?
These and other awkward questions are brilliantly discussed in a book which should be as mortifying for orthodox monetarists
as it is fascinating for the rest of us—it's reassuring to find a professional so undogma tic and open-minded about his speciality.
Hawkish Rostow became enmeshed in the politics of the Vietnam War: this book reverts to the pure economics of his
distinguished earlier career. Also: The Process of Economic Growth; The Stages of Economic Growth; Politics and the Stages
of Growth, etc
Samuelson, Paul A. Economics: An Introductory Analysis (1948) OOP For those wanting, or needing, a solid basis in formal
economics theory, this is the text book several generations of students have cut their teeth on. Heavy, but authoritative.
Samuelson, Paul, American, 1915- .
Economics: An Introductory Analysis. Rec: TLS
Schumacher, E. F. Small Is Beautiful (1973)
*
You've heard the short slogan: now read the long book. Study of the requirements of an economic system based on meaningful
work, small-scale organization and respect for the environment.
Schumacher, E. F. (Ernst), English, 1911-1977.
Small is Beautiful. Rec: NYPL TLS Utne
Sen, Amartya, Indian writing in English, 1933- .
Resources, Values and Development. Rec: TLS
Smith, Adam The Wealth of Nations (1776) 1*
Jolly Smith was an early advocate of not-so-jolly laissez-faire. Influential—some say catastrophic—and essential. Also: Theory
of the Moral Sentiments
Smith, Adam, Scottish, 1723-1790.
Wealth of Nations. Rec: Adler Aquinas Colcc91 (Selections) GBWW Good Reading Lubbock (Selections) Seymour-Smith SJC
(Selections)
Stigler, George The Theory of Price (1966)
Classic statement of the case for believing that the market is the analogue by which any actual economy works.
Wanniski, Jude, American, 1936- .
The Way the World Works. Rec: National Review
The author sees human civilization as an unfolding story where societies find the best political and economic systems through a
trial and error process. This process, which continues through the present, is largely progressive. (amazon)
Westergaard, J. and Resler, H. Class in a Capitalist Society (1975) Authors' thesis is that economics is not about the balance
of payments but about power: control of institutions and the distribution of wealth and privilege. Analysis is more impressive
than the evidence; the book will be replaced by better ones; until then, it's merely indispensable.
Kenneth Andrews
Kenneth Andrews is the Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and until
recently was editor and publisher of the Harvard Business Review. His field is business policy and his principal book is The
Concept of Corporate Strategy.
The classics I have identified will be as relevant to the recurring problems of achieving results in organizations and of making
leadership effective that will characterize the twenty-first century as they are to those of the present day. The ideas are timeless;
their power and application are virtually unlimited.
Chester I. Barnard. The Functions of the Executive (1938). Thirtieth anniversary ed. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1968. (Pb)
As I said in the introduction to the thirtieth anniversary edition, this is the most thought-provoking book on organization and
management ever written by a practicing executive. The combination of intellect and experience is such that his conceptual
approach to organization and management has not been made obsolete. He applies systematic thought and a generous exposure
to responsibility in explaining the necessity to achieve results through cooperation.
Mary Parker Follett. Dynamic Administration (1940). Henry C. Metcalf and L. Urwick, eds. London: Pitman, 1973.
Follett examines the importance in a democratic society and in business organization of the effort to achieve an integration of
all points of view and to find in conflict a way to a higher-order solution that is more satisfactory to those who participate in it
than would be dominance of their original point of view. Her paper on constructive conflict and the superiority of integration
over domination and of compromise as ways of dealing with it has influenced all the work I have done in trying to understand
purposeful management.
George C. Homans. The Human Group (1950). London: Rout-ledge and Kegan Paul, 1975.
This book was my introduction to the possibility that the human group can be understood as a functioning entity. Here, some of
the consequences of the Western Electric experiments are applied to current understanding of human organization.
William James. Pragmatism (1907). Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978. (Pb)
Pragmatism is the quintessential American philosophy and an integral part of the intellectual history from which the other
books that I have found influential have emerged. Though denigrated by those who misunderstand the essential nobility of
James's conviction that emotion and action can transform the world and that truth can be found in experience, this book is a
monument to the effort to make ideas influential and transform them into action. That reality consists of human experience
shaped by purpose is a central truth of great importance to leaders of business and other kinds of organizations.
F. J. Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson. Management and the Worker (1934). Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1946.
This is the definitive account of the Western Electric experiments at the Hawthorne Works which transformed the study of
business administration and, in effect, originated the study of what was once called "human relations" and is now designated
"organization behavior." Perverse interpretation of this research and its finding as exploitation of workers does not obscure its
classic importance in the understanding of human organization.
Abraham Zaleznik. Human Dilemmas of Leadership. New York: Harper & Row, 1966.
This is the central volume in Zaleznik's successful application of psychoanalysis to the study of human behavior and
organizations. It has informed my still partial understanding of problems of power, authority, and dependency, and their
implications for leadership.
Alfred D. Chandler
Alfred Chandler is the Straus Professor of Business History at the Harvard Business School. He is the author of numerous
works, including Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise (1962) and The Visible
Hand: The Managerial Revolution in Modern Business (1977). For many, he is considered to be the dean of the organizational
school of historians. His forthcoming work, a cross-national study, is tentatively titled Scale and Scope.
Max Weber. The Theory of Social and Economic Organization (1922). A. M. Henderson and Talcott Parsons, trans. New York:
Free Press, 1947. (Pb)
. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (1946). H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds. and trans. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1979. (Pb)
These are the two best translations of the works of Max Weber, one of the world's most influential social scientists. When I
read these as an embryonic historian, they opened up a new world. From a vast array of historical data Weber developed
concepts—bureaucracy, charismatic, idea types and many others—that are still central in analyzing the recent experiences of
modern man.
Ralph Henry Gabriel. The Course of American Democratic Thought (1940). New York: Ronald Press, 1956.
A masterpiece of synthesis, this study reviews changing American attitudes and values from the early nineteenth century to
World War II, by focusing on what Gabriel calls the "American democratic faith." It provides an impressively coherent
overview of the development of ideas of such American writers, philosophers, and political thinkers as Emerson, Thoreau,
Melville, Whitman, Calhoun, Summner, Royce, Henry Adams and others, as the nation transformed itself from a rural, agrarian
westerly-moving entity to an industrial, urban world power.
Stephen K. Bailey. Congress Makes a Law. The Story Behind the Employment Act of 1946 (1950). Westport, Conn.:
Greenwood Press, 1980.
This is still the most illuminating book that I have read on the American legislative process. It begins by reviewing the
economic and political situations and the ideological attitudes and values that led to the gestation of this legislation and then
follows the bill along a torturous course from committees, through the Senate and House and then to the final compromises in
conference committee. Few studies illustrate more clearly and precisely the interactions of ideas and attitudes and of
procedures and traditions, as well as the impact of perceived needs and opportunities and individual personalities, on the
definition of a piece of legislation that helped to reshape the role of government in the American economy.
Thomas C. Cochran. Railroad Leaders, 1845-1890: The Business Mind in Action. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1953.
This is one of the finest pieces of economic and social history written in the past generation. It does more than tell a story. It
provides a systematic understanding of the ideas and actions of a discreet and most influential group, the presidents of major
American railroads from 1840 to 1890. By carefully reviewing the working correspondence of sixty senior executives, it
reveals the views of the men who created the nation's first big business on finance, ownership and control, administration,
strategies of growth, technological innovation, labor relations, public opinion and the role of government. There is no better
introduction to the implications of the rise of modern managerial enterprise than this book.
Theodore Roosevelt. The Letters of Theodore Roosevelt. Elting E. Morison, ed. 8 vols. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1951-54.
Carefully selected and annotated, these letters are, like those of the railroad presidents, operating documents used to direct and
carry out the multifaceted business of the presidency. There are also letters to family, friends and a wide variety of
acquaintances in prominent positions throughout the world. T. R. was a man of energy, enthusiasm and convictions who wrote
what he meant. So these letters reveal much about the nature of the man and the nature of the presidency. They are particularly
valuable in showing a wide variety of complex matters that an active president like T. R. had to handle in a single day. Again,
like the letters of the railroad presidents, such letters are basic sources of information with which historians must work.
C. Roland Christensen
C Roland Christensen is Harvard's Robert Walmsley University Professor. He is the first member of the Harvard Business
School faculty to receive this honor. At the Business School he is known by peers and students as the father of the case method,
although he attributes the distinction to the ancient Greeks. He is well known for his association with boards of directors as a
member, as a course topic and as a field of research. He has a passionate interest in business policy.
Here are the books—all old, dog-eared, reread and reread, little (no big fat volumes), most committed to memory—of my fiveinch bookshelf. But they miss the greatest influence on this educator—Miss Adams, a seventh-grade teacher in Iowa City,
Iowa. She introduced me to poetry, where the ultimate wisdom —the philosophy of life—is found. The first step in the
development of an anthology was our study of "Miniver Cheevey" by Edwin Arlington Robinson.- It is still exciting fifty-four
years after that original encounter.
Edward H. Carr. What Is History? (1961). New York: Random House, 1967. (Pb)
Carr's little book has a magnificent message—to live we must understand our historical roots. Carr gives us a way of
understanding the past so as to predict the future.
Jean Rostand. Can Man Be Modified? (1956). Jonathan Griffin, trans. New York: Basic Books, 1959.
Rostand, a biologist, views man in a very human way, examines how science is impacting that basic humanness and then teases
us with what he/she will be in future centuries.
Mark Spade [Nigel Balchin]. How to Run a Bassoon Factory, or Business Explained (1934). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1936.
Spade tickles the mind; with tongue in cheek, he describes business so that one laughs—even roars—at his chosen vocation.
Edwin Way Teale, ed. The Insect World of J. Henri Fabre (1949). New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
Fabre looks at the smallest and lowest—insects—and shows us their great abilities—even wisdom. A constant reminder to look
at the ordinary to see the extraordinary.
William I. Beveridge. The Art of Scientific Investigation (1951). New York: Random House, 1960. (Pb)
For the investigator, this little book is a gold mine of reflection and practical suggestion. He brings the power of scientific
discipline to bear on everyday life.
Adolph A. Berle, Jr. Power Without Property; A New Developtnent in American Political Economy. New York: Harcourt,
Brace, 1959.
The book raises fundamental questions about modern business organization and ownership. It outlines the quiet revolution
which has changed the power bases of our industrial society.
Richard N. Cooper
Richard Cooper is the Boas Professor of International Econom ics at Harvard's Graduate School ofArts and Sciences. From
1963 to 1977, he was professor of economics and provost at Yale University. He served as undersecretary of state for economic
affairs from 1977 to 1981.
The accumulated wisdom of others can give direction to action, provide tools for analysis and thought, and warn of dangers to
a productive, tolerant and humane society. These books help in that.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. The Vital Center: The Politics of Freedom (1949). London: Deutsch, 1970.
Eric Hoffer. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (1951). New York: Harper & Row, 1966. (Pb)
Karl R. Popper. The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945). 2 vols. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966.
Sir John W. Wheeler-Bennet. The Nemesis of Power: The German Army in Politics, 1918-1945 (1953). New York: St.
Martin's, 1964.
These four books impressed on me the danger to civilized society of persons with an intolerance of dissent from their own
agenda for society, and the importance of continued vigilance to keep them from gaining and exercising power. Schlesinger's
book addresses the dangers of political extremism both on the right and on the left; Hoffer describes the psychology of what he
calls a true believer; Popper traces the philosophical history of political authoritarianism since Plato; and Wheeler-Bennett
offers a detailed history of how Adolf Hitler out-maneuvered the senior German Officer Corps in his successful pursuit of
absolute power.
Robert L. Heilbroner. The Great Ascent: The Struggle for Economic Development in Our Time. New York: Harper & Row,
1963.
William H. McNeill. Plagues and Peoples (1976). Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977. (Pb)
These two books indicate as well as any that history is much more than kings and generals. Famine and disease have played a
much greater role in mankind's misery, and reducing the prevalence of both is a worthy, even noble, vocation.
Paul A. Samuelson. Economics (1953). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
Roy F. Harrod. The Life of John Maynard Keynes (1951). New York: W. W. Norton, 1983. (Pb)
These two books suggested to me that economics is a subject worth studying.
I have identified books that were formative to my own thinking, so most of them were read long ago. They are still worth
reading, though some of them will sound dated to younger minds. I read fewer books now, and more articles, which get more
rapidly to the point. For instance, I benefited greatly from John Rawls's A Theory of Justice (1971), but I benefited even more
from Kenneth Arrow's sympathetic yet critical review of it in the Journal of Philosophy. The core argument of Robert Axelrod's
important book The Evolution of Cooperation (1984) can be found more succinctly stated in a 1981 article in the American
Political Science Review.
Hugh Heclo
Hugh Heclo was born in Marion, Ohio, studied and taught at several British universities and received a Ph.D. in political
science from Yale University in 1970. He is now a professor of government at Harvard. A former senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Professor Heclo is also a part-time tree farmer and author of three award-winning
books in public policy and American politics.
The challenge of the future is always one of trying to make sense of oneself and one's times. Books, even great books, can help
only a little bit by showing how other persons in other times have made that effort. Those forearmed in this way may be
somewhat less foolish and prideful as they write the novels, plays and social-science interpretations of the next century.
James Fenimore Cooper. The Leather-stocking Tales (1823-41). New York: Avon, 1980. (Pb)
A romantic and tragic study of manly character. Beyond their attraction as an adventure tale, these books left me as a teenager
with a troubled awareness of the conflict between American "progress" and the living of an honest life.
Alexis de Tocqueville. Democracy in America (1835-40). G. Laurence, trans. New York: Random House, 1981. (Pb)
This book threw a new light onto things about this country that I had always taken for granted. Then at the end of the Harper &
Row volume, edited by Max Lerner in 1965 or so, one could also read de Tocqueville's notes and earlier materials for what
would become Democracy in America. One obtained a sense of how a work of penetrating insight evolves rather than happens
in a great flash.
G. W. F. Hegel. Philosophy of Right (Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts, 1821). T. M. Knox, trans. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1965.
The Philosophy of Right offered an intoxicating excursion into a self-contained realm of abstract ideas. It seemed to show how
one could penetrate into a deeper reality simply by thinking about ideas, abstractions that moved and unfolded through time. To
realize that Hegel was saying things in German about dialectics that could not be expressed in English gave one a real sense of
intellectual accomplishment.
Karl Marx. Das Kapital (1867). Friedrich Engels, ed. Canton, Ohio: International, 1984. (Pb)
Volume 1 especially was simply stunning as an exercise in comprehensive social-historical analysis. Hegel had been brought
down to earth.
Karl Polanyi. The Great Transformation (1944). Boston: Beacon, 1985. (Pb)
Another instance of comprehensive historical analysis that seemed to turn conventional wisdom upside down (free-market
economics as the true social radicalism) and began my enduring interest in interpreting the modern "welfare state."
Polanyi, Karl, Austrian-American writing in English, 1886-1964.
The Great Transformation. Rec: Counterpunch NF TLS
Eugene O'Neill. A Long Day's Journey into Night (1940) and A Moon for the Misbegotten (1943). In Final Acts, Judith E.
Barlow, ed. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press,
1985.
Having read his earlier plays, I found these last works expressed many of my own ill-formulated broodings about family life,
personal careers and the meaning of it all. Again, it was Leatherstocking's honest life without the wilderness.
Duncan Kennedy
Duncan Kennedy is a professor of law at the Harvard Law School. He teaches contracts, torts, property, the history of legal
thought and housing law and policy. Two of his works are Legal Education and the Reproduction of Hierarchy (1983) and The
Structure of Blackstone's Commentaries (1979). He is a founding member of the Conference on Critical Legal Studies.
What attracts me to these books may be the effort to come to grips with large, frightening facts of inequality, oppression,
alienation, while at the same time exploring the slippery, self-contradictory nature of the self as it tangles and disentangles itself
in the world of others, without giving up on survival by speculation. collective struggle and self-doubt.
G. W. F. Hegel. The Phenomenology of Mind (Die Phdnomenologie des Geistes, 1807). J. B. Baillie, ed. and trans. New York:
Harper & Row, 1967. (Pb)
An attempt to put everything together before anything was clear, revolutionary and romantic but also a classical integration. I
tried to read it three times with no success, finally made it through with a friend in tiny chunks. More than worth the pain.
Karl Marx. Das Kapital, vol. 1, The Process of Capital Production (1867). Friedrich Engels, ed. Canton, Ohio: International,
1984. (Pb)
After Book 1 (impossibly obscure) it's more like Middlemarch or Balzac than my picture of orthodox Marxism. This is the
book you're not supposed to read and that you know is all wrong before you start. But it's not much about economic
determinism or materialism or state control of everything. Instead it's how the powerful got their power and what they did with
it.
Sigmund Freud. A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis (1909, 2d ed. 1920). New York: Boni & Liveright, 1977. (Pb)
As with Marx, it's not the tight, totalitarian theories the disciples have spun that count here. It's the unconscious, there all the
time but never there until you trick it into sight, the self permanently destabilized.
Marcel Proust. Remembrance of Things Past (1913-27). 3 vols. C. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin, trans. New York:
Random House, 1982. (Pb)
The more perfectly you grasp what you and I are like and how we fit in, the more it seems our next and contradictory selves
wait around the corner in a world turned upside down. Again you have to get through a slow opening, toward bliss.
Virginia Woolf. To the Lighthouse (1927). New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1964. (Pb)
This is my favorite book, an intensely loving, utterly critical revelation of marriage and family life, men, women and children.
It gets at the amazingly complex but ephemeral ideas and emotions that are there every second in everyone without ever telling
you anything straight out. •
Jean-Paul Sartre. Critique of Dialectical Reason (1960). New York: Schocken, 1983.
As with the Phenomenology, everything is here, but now after we know we can know nothing in the way Marx and Freud
wanted to know everything. The vindication of Proust and James and Virginia Woolf, also transcendence of what's passive in
their work, without their pure genius.
Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey Sachs is a professor of economics at Harvard College and a former junior fellow in Harvard's Society of Fellows. An
adviser to many Latin American governments. Professor Sachs has also been a consultant to the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund. He is a member of the Brookings Panel of Economists and a contributor to newspapers and
magazines in the United States and Japan.
These studies make clear that economic processes can only be understood in conjunction with politics and other social forces.
The world's economic problems cannot be solved through any simple fix of technical economics, but only through the broadest
understanding of the role of economics in the larger social order.
Max Weber. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904). Talcott Parsons, trans. New York: Scribner's, 1977. (Pb)
In this and related studies (for example, General Economic History) Max Weber brilliantly illuminated the social organization
and belief system that contributed to the rise of modern capitalism.
Fernand Braudel. Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century (1967, 1982-84). Sian Reynolds, trans. 3 vols. New York:
Harper & Row, 1985, 1986. (Pb)
This is a magnificent history of the material development of modern society. Braudel uses paintings, literature and other
surprising sources in a remarkable evocation of day-to-day life in the formative period of modern society.
John Maynard Keynes. Essays in Persuasion (1931). New York: W. W. Norton, 1963. (Pb)
This is a series of remarkable and pithy essays by the greatest political economist of this century. Keynes comments brilliantly
and with great prescience on the major economic issues of his day. In the process we see the unfolding of the modern science
of macroeconomics.
Joseph A. Schumpeter. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (1942). New York: Harper & Row, 1983. (Pb)
Schumpeter captured the essence of modern economic development with his focus on technological change and the "creative
destruction" that it brings about. Added to this focus are Schumpeter's trenchant insights into political competition in the
industrial democracies and the role of the intellectual in the capitalist order.
Schumpeter, Joseph, Austrian-American writing in English, 1883-1950.
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. Rec: National Review TLS (economics)
Scitovsky, Tibor, American, 1910-2002.
The Joyless Economy. Rec: TLS (economics)
Scitovsky shows that economic practices are aspects of one's culture: people in different countries spend their money very
differently.
John Kenneth Galbraith. The Affluent Society (1958). New York: New American Library, 1978. (Pb)
This is political economy at its polemic best. Galbraith helped to define modern American liberalism with his call for an
enlarged role for the public sector. Worth rereading in a period of shrinking government and widespread budget cutting.
Bruce Scott
Bruce Scott first joined the Harvard Business School as an M.B.A. student in 1954. Since then he has become widely respected
for his international research and course development in national economic strategies. In 1973 he was appointed the first Paul
Whiten Cherington Professor of Business Administration.
These readings should raise a question of the adequacy of the role and direction of current economic theory as it affects
business policy and public policy in the United States and Europe.
Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. Strategy and Structure. Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press, 1962. (Pb)
. The Visible Hand. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1977. (Pb)
Two prize-winning books showing how senior managers of large corporations broke away from the static notions of
microeconomics to fashion strategies based in part on internalizing market forces rather than remaining dependent upon them.
Chalmers A. Johnson. MITI and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford
University Press, 1982. (Pb)
Miyohei Shinohara. Industrial Growth. Trade and Dynamic Patterns in the Japanese Economy. Tokyo: University of Tokyo
Press, 1982.
Ezra F. Vogel. Japan as Number One: Lessons for America (1979). New York: Harper & Row, 1985. (Pb)
Three views on how and why Japan has become more competitive than any of the older industrial countries. Shinohara
explains Japan's departure from Western economic theory to create a growth-oriented economic strategy. Johnson explains how
it was conceived, by whom, and how it has been implemented. Vogel explains why Japan is not and does not wish to become a
consumer-oriented welfare state.
Thomas S. Kuhn. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. (Pb)
Pierre Wack. "Scenarios: Uncharted Waters Ahead." Harvard Business Review (19 September 1985).
Wack explains the value of scenarios as alternative theories of the case. Kuhn explains revolutionary changes in the sciences as
occurring only when one theory replaces another.
The Great Transformation
K. Polanyi
Trade
Trade and Economy in the Early Empires K. Polanyi
The Kula
"J.W. Leach, E. Leach" Trade
Symbols of Excellence J.G.D. Clark
Trade
Ulysses' Sail
M.W. Helms
Trade
Trade
Das Kapital
K. Marx Capitalism
Capitalism and Freedom M. Friedman
Capitalism
The Third Way A. Giddens
Capitalism
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism M. Weber
Civilizations
F. Fernandez-Armesto
Capitalism
Capitalism
John Maynard Keynes R. Skidelsky
The Age of Keynes
R. Lekachman
The Age of Uncertainty J.K. Galbraith
"Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy"
Welfare Economics
Welfare Economics
Welfare Economics
J.A. Schumpeter Welfare Economics
The Wealth of Nations
Free Market
A. Smith
Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
D. Ricardo
Labor Theory of Value
The Legacy of Ricardo G.A. Caravale Labor Theory of Value
The Economics of David Ricardo S. Hollander
Labor Theory of Value
Capital K. Marx Labor Theory of Value
The School of SalamancaM. Grice-Hutchinson
Monetary Theory
Monetary Theory: 1601-1758
A.E. Murphy
Monetary Theory
The Great Wave D.H. Fischer
Monetary Theory
Mercantilism L. Magnusson Mercantilism
The Modern World-System (Vol. 2)
I. Wallerstein
Mercantilism
Civilization and Capitalism
F. Braudel
Mercantilism
Population: Contemporary Responses to Thomas Malthus A. Pyle Overpopulation
The Economics of Robert Malthus
S. Hollander
Overpopulation
A Concise History of World Population
M.L. Bacci
Overpopulation
ECONOMICS
Alain Anderton
Modern economics is often said to date from the publication of Adam Smith's book The Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith was
the first writer to describe a market economy as we might recognize it today. Since 1776, economic thought has developed
considerably against a backdrop of ever more complex economies. David Ricardo, an economist working in the early 19th
century, predicted that eventually economies would cease to grow and that workers' wages would settle down at a subsistence
level while landowners and capitalists would reap huge rewards. His prediction led to economics being dubbed `the dismal
science'. We know today that Ricardo's thinking was flawed and that workers in the rich industrialized countries of the world
enjoy a prosperity undreamed of in Ricardo's time. However, economics has always been controversial because it is used by
individuals, businesses, and governments to make decisions. Economic agents all too often look around for an economic theory
that confirms their prejudices rather than accepting that our understanding of how a system as complex as a market economy
works is often imperfect. The ever changing nature of economics and the potential for entering a debate about causes, effects,
and policy implications are just some of the factors that make economics so fascinating.
The theory of economics does not furnish a body of settled conclusions immediately applicable to policy. It is a method rather
than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique for thinking, which helps its possessor draw correct conclusions.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES
History of Economic Thought (1991) by William J Barber. Like any discipline, economics and its concerns have changed
over time. This book is one of the most read-able and authoritative guides to these changes in economic thought which in turn
have influenced the way governments have run their economies.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776; many later editions) by Adam Smith. Adam Smith
is often considered to be the founder of modem-day economics because he was the first writer to outline and appraise the
workings of a free-market economy. The workings of the `invisible hand' of the marketplace, which allocated resources
according to the self-interest of both producers and consumers, led to the promotion of the social good. Limiting competition,
for instance through monopolies, raised prices and led to less being produced. His story of the pin factory, which he used to
illustrate the benefits of the division of labour, is particularly memorable.
Capital (1867-95; many editions) by Karl Marx. This is definitely one of those books to take to your desert island. Widely
bought but rarely read, it is a seminal work which had a profound influence on the 20th century. For those who lack the time or
the patience to read this large tome, some extracts, or The Communist Manifesto (1849), will give the reader the flavour and an
insight into the abstract nature of Marxian analysis but also the very real social problems that Marx attempted to address.
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936) by John Maynard Keynes. This book was the starting
point for our modern-day understanding of macroeconomics, the study of how the economy works as a whole. It is very much
a book written by an economist to other economists about the great issue of the day - why could economies stay in deep
depression over a long period of time, and how could governments get economies out of the depression? In it, Keynes argues
that governments have a responsibility to kick-start an economy in deep depression by spending money, and then allowing
private businesses and consumers to take over with more investment expenditure and consumption expenditure as the recovery
proceeds.
Keynes and After (1991) by Michael Stewart. This book, which has been regularly updated over time, provides the lay
person's guide to the Keynesian revolution in economic thinking. Stewart explains Keynes's thinking and sets it in its historical
context. He then considers the monetarist counterattack to Keynesian thought mounted from the late 1960s which rapidly
became a counter-orthodoxy.
The Affluent Society (1958) by J K Galbraith. J K Galbraith has been the great popularizer of left-wing liberal economics in
the USA since the mid-I950s. This, his first seminal work, was an attack on the failure of government to provide a social infrastructure that matched the growing affluence of private spending. He coined the phrase 'private affluence, public squalor' to
encapsulate his main theme. Galbraith has since written a number of important works, including the highly readable The Great
Depression and The Liberal Hour.
Free to Choose (1980) by Milton Friedman (with A J Schwartz). In the 1950s and 1960s, belief in the importance of state
intervention to correct a market system that was prone to failure became increasingly dominant. The tide was turned by Milton
Friedman, who became a great popularizer of right-wing economics. In Free to Choose, he outlined the benefits of allowing
markets to decide what is to be produced and how it is to be produced. Individuals should be allowed to control their own
destinies, whereas government power and control in the economic sphere should be reduced to its barest minimum. For
Friedman, governments usually made far worse decisions than the individuals whose lives were being affected by those
decisions.
Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered (1973) by E F Schumacher. Traditional economics, whether
of the right or of the left, is not with-out its critics. There are those who are that we need completely new economic structures if
the planet is to survive and human beings are to be allowed to be fully human. This seminal work provided such an alternative
vision. Schumacher argues that we need to go back to small structures in society and that the trend towards the large - the large
firm, large production, global consumption - is self-defeating and unsustainable.
The State We're In (1995) by Will Hutton. A surprise best seller of 1995, this left-wing analysis of the state of the British
economy paints a gloomy picture of today's Britain. It vigorously attacks Thatcherite economic policies and argues the case for
more state intervention both to increase the efficiency of the economy and to reduce growing inequalities.
The Death of Economics (1994) by Paul Ormerod. A very readable critical appraisal of current thinking on economics and
how that thinking has influenced government policy. It is particularly harsh in its judgement on the way mathematics and
statistics have been used within the discipline and tries to suggest a way forward that is more concerned with the dynamics and
institutions of the economy.
BUSINESS
Alain Anderton
The study of business is relatively young. It is also changing so fast that what seems important today is of only historical
interest in the business climate of tomorrow. As John Harvey Smith writes in an introduction to the Penguin edition of Igor
Ansoff's Corporate Strategy: “Despite the fact that the world of business prides itself on its self-analytical and ordered
approach to things, businessmen are no less prone than the next man to fashion and crazes. As the ground of what constitutes
business success is ploughed over again and again `new discoveries' are made, new methodology is produced and new
panaceas for success are recommended, and as eagerly sought.”
Any airport bookshop will contain a wide selection of the latest books from today's fashionable gurus, testament to the
ephemeral nature of the subject. Nevertheless, there are some classics in the field and the very fact that business is so
changeable makes it one of the most compelling and exciting areas for reading today.
The best class of scientific mind is the same as the best class of business mind. The
great desideratum in either case is to know how much evidence is enough to
warrant action. It is as unbusiness-like to want too much evidence before buying
and selling as to be content with too little.
SAMUEL BUTLER
The Principles of Scientific Management (1911) by Frederick W Taylor. A business classic in which the US author analyses
how work can be organized under scientific principles to maximize output per labourer. For Taylor, labourers are motivated
only by money, so they need to be scientifically motivated and controlled by management.
The Practice of Management (1994) by Peter Drucker. A management classic by the father of American business gurus. In
this seminal book, he laid down many of the ideas about how managers should manage by setting objectives which were taken
up and reworked by others, such as Charles Handy and Tom Peters.
The Human Side of Enterprise (1960) by Douglas McGregor. In a counterblast to Frederick Taylor, Douglas McGregor
outlined a complex theory of what motivates workers. For McGregor, pay is just one of many factors that are important in
deter-mining motivation. He placed stress on the positive side of human nature and saw labour as a resource to be released
rather than controlled. McGregor was one of a number of people who helped develop our modem understanding of workplace
motivation.
Strategic Management (1979) by Igor Ansoff. Strategic Management is a heavy-weight classic by an author who has
specialized in writing about how businesses should operate within the business environment in which they find themselves.
Ansoff discusses, for instance, how businesses should decide what to produce, how to sell, what size to be, and how to respond
to competitors.
When Giants Learn to Dance (1992) by Rosabeth Moss Kantor. This is book aimed at those interested in the giants of the
business world - the IBMs, the Fords, and the Shells. Kantor discusses how big can mean cumbersome, bureaucratic, and
inefficient. To remain like this is to die. To survive in today's climate, giant companies need to learn how to be responsive,
nimble, flexible, and efficient.
In Search of Excellence (1982) by Tom Peters and Robert H Waterman. The case-study approach is at the root of business
education. In this seminal work, Peters and Waterman look at a number of American companies which, in their opinion, have
been immensely successful. They then focus on the management of these companies and explore why particular managers and
management cultures stand above the rest.
Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990) by Michael Porter. Some countries have been immensely successful economically.
The economic performance of other countries has been mediocre, and some very poor. Michael Porter explores why this has
been the case, and in particular discusses what it is about businesses and the business environment that has contributed to
nations such as Japan being so successfully competitive.
The Age of Unreason (1989) by Charles Handy. In an information age, structures within businesses and within society will be
far more flexible than before. To survive, organizations will have to be in a continuous process of learning. To create this
environment, workers will be constantly changing their roles. Those employed within organizations will have a number of
temporary briefs. A large number of workers, however, will work on the periphery, accumulating a portfolio of jobs
subcontracted from organizations. Inevitably, the number of workers employed permanently by an organization will diminish.
Education will be a constant feature of the worker's life, and many will choose to work part-time in retirement. Handy predicts
that fewer and fewer workers will have a `job for life'.
Troubleshooter (1991) by John Harvey Jones. The former chair of ICI, famous for his loud ties, is constantly providing a
stream of light, easy-to-read but penetrating books. This book, based on a BBC television series, has John Harvey Jones
reporting on a number of businesses that faced problems. He identifies those problems and suggests solutions. A fun read!
Body and Soul: How to Succeed in Business and Change the World (1992) by Anita Roddick. This is a book for those who
want an alternative perspective on the business world. In this book, Anita Roddick describes how she founded the Body Shop
and discusses the ethics and values - including spirituality - upon which the Body Shop has been built.
Education
Freire, Paulo, Brazilian, 1921-1997.
(See also Freire, Paulo and Myles Horton)
Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Freire, Paulo and Myles Horton, Brazilian and American writing in English, 1921-1997 and 1905-1990.
(See also Freire, Paulo)
We Make the Road by Walking. Rec: Utne
Illich, Ivan, Austrian-American writing in English, 1926-2002.
Deschooling Society. Rec: Counterpunch NF (education)
Montessori, Maria, Italian, 1870-1952.
The Montessori Method. Rec: Boston PL
Jeanne S. Chall
Jeanne S. Chall is professor of education and director of the Harvard Reading Laboratory. Her most widely known books
include: Learning to Read: The Great Debate; the Dale-Chall Formula for Predicting Readability; and
Stages of Reading Development. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and a member of the National Academy
of Education, she has served on the board of directors of the National Society for the Study of Education and the International
Reading Association. and has been president of the Reading Hall of Fame. She is regarded as Harvard's "expert on reading."
The first three works influenced directly my choice of career and early research and scholarship. The next two influenced,
broadly. my approach to analysis of issues. And the last two represent more recent influences on my thinking.
Irving Lorge. "Predicting Reading Difficulty of Selections for Children." Elementary English Review, Volume 16 (October
1939), 229-33.
This article was the first I read on readability, and in a real sense it changed my life. Soon after reading it, I decided to go to
graduate school to become an educational psychologist and researcher. The article presented the first easy-to-use readability
formula based on a synthesis and refinement of earlier research and the author's original ideas—and it did it so clearly, simply
and effectively. The ideas and the analysis are still as fresh and compelling today as they were when first written more than
forty years ago.
Edgar Dale. The Higher Literacy: Selections from the Writings of Dr. Edgar Dale. Champaign: University of Illinois Film
Center, 1982.
Edgar Dale's writings on readability, vocabulary and the mass media have also had a strong and lasting influence on me. His
writings have also served as models of clarity and grace.
George K. Zipf. The Psycho-Biology of Language (1935). Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press, 1965.
I do not recall how I happened to read George K. Zipf s The Psycho-Biology of Language. But I thought of it as a personal
discovery. Based on a different body of theory and evidence than the one with which I was familiar, he documented that in all
languages one could find an inverse relationship between word frequency and word length. This gave me a convincing
explanation as to why readability research had consistently found word length and frequency of usage predictive of difficulty.
Zipf provided the bigger explanation—that the more the words are used, the shorter they become, and the more meanings they
tend to have.
Ruth F. Benedict. Patterns of Culture (1934). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1961.
I read Patterns of Culture. in paperback, when it had long been accepted as a classic work, to be read by all concerned with the
human condition. It was, for me, a great awakening—a view of society and of the individual through a new lens. Societies
could be viewed in broad patterns of values and behaviors that influence what individuals do and value. Thus, behavior that is
considered abnormal in one society may be accepted and even honored in other societies. I have read and reread it entirely and
in part many times. I was influenced, first, by its ideas. I have also been influenced by its methods and have used the idea of
contrasting patterns in my research and analysis of educational issues.
David Riesman, with Reuel Denny and Nathan Glazer. The Lonely Crowd (1950). New Haven: Yale University Press,
1973. (Pb)
The Lonely Crowd had a similar influence on me. What I admired, and still admire in the book, is the broad sweep of the
analysis—historical, social, psychological—of the change in the American character. Similar to Patterns of Culture, I found
both books beautifully written.
Jean Piaget. Structuralism (1968). Chaninah Maschler, ed. and trans. New York: Basic Books, 1970.
J. B. Carroll. "Developmental Parameters of Reading Comprehension" (1974). In J. T. Guthrie, ed., Cognition, Curriculum, and Comprehension. Newark, Del.: International Reading Association, 1977. (Pb)
I have had an almost lifelong friendship with the works of Jean Piaget. It became more intense when, in the early 1970s, I was
working on a model of reading development and a friend gave me a copy of his Structuralism. This started me on a ten-year
study of the development of reading. Toward the last phases of my work, I was encouraged Further by the model of John
Carroll.
Henry James. The Wings of the Dove (1902). New York: Penguin, 1974. (Pb)
My first introduction to Henry James was through a friend who shared with me a copy of The Americans. From then, until
about a decade ago, I was always reading or rereading some Henry James. What made him so compelling? Perhaps it was his
complexities—of character, incidents and style. I think they offered me an escape from my own work in which I strive for
clarity, simplicity and directness. I have also learned much about the psychology of reading from Henry James. When I first
started reading James, I found his sentences almost impossible. They became quite readable with exposure and practice.
Nathan Glazer
Nathan Glazer is professor of education and social structure at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. His courses focus on
issues in education, ethnicity and American social problems. He is coeditor of The Public Interest and has been on the editorial
staff of Commentary. His most notable works include Ethnic Dilemmas 1964-1982, (1983); Ethnicity: Theory and Experience,
coedited with Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1975); and Beyond the Melting Pot, on which Daniel Patrick Moynihan also
collaborated.
Richard Hofstadter. Academic Freedom in the Age of the College. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955. (Pb)
Walter P. Metzger. Academic Freedom in the Age of the University. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955. (Pb)
These books discuss the kind of issues that are part of the history of freedom in the United States—academic freedom and
rights. They provide a perspective on how we have developed, to the point that in America these issues of freedom are no
longer major problems, for we have for the most part settled them. People have little sense of how the American college and
university came to be, how they developed, how they are organized, and why they play such an important part in American life.
This book will help them, as it did me, to understand them.
Lawrence A. Cremin. American Education. 2 vols. to date. New York: Harper & Row, 1982-. (Pb)
This is a monumental work of scholarship which deals with key aspects of American life—schools, books and news. Cremin's
work explains how we have tried to educate not only in classrooms but in all sorts of other ways. It gives a unique view of
American history.
Robert E. Klitgaard. Choosing Elites. New York: Basic Books, 1985.
Klitgaard's recent book looks at some of the key issues we face in choosing people for scarce positions. It is relevant to every
area in which difficult choices must be made. While the book focuses on choices primarily in higher education, it tells us a
good deal about problems of minority representation in the professions and in politics.
Donald L. Horowitz. Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.
This is a powerful analysis of ethnic conflict in the developing world, where it is a hindrance to development and where there
is destruction of people and property on a vast scale. It raises serious and grave issues for every country. The book represents
fifteen years of scholarly work and is important reading for an understanding of the problems in the developing world.
E. G. West. Education and the State. 2d ed. London: Institute of Economic Affairs, 1970.
Education and the State is one of those books that formed part of the revival of conservative thinking in various spheres of
public policy. It raises, in a more convincing way than any other work, the questions, Why should the state educate? How
should the state educate? and Should the state have a monopoly on education? West approaches these questions with wonderful
scholarship and elegant analytical skills. I can't imagine anyone coming to contemporary issues of education, such as tuition tax
credits and vouchers, without reading this book. Any person with an open mind will say, "Here are things I never thought of
before."
Francis Keppel
Francis Keppel is a senior lecturer on education at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. He was dean of the Education
School from 1948 to 1962 and U.S. Commissioner of Education from 1962 to 1966. He later served as chairman of the General
Learning Corporation (1966-74) and is now chairman of Appropriate Technology International. His teaching focuses on state
and federal policies affecting education, with special interest in federal programs in compensatory education, student financial
aid and desegregation and educational boards, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York.
These books may help the reader to avoid being surprised, and surprise often leads to bad judgment.
The Bible (Both the King James version and recent translations).
Even apart from matters of personal belief, the Bible is indispensable to an understanding of the history of the West. Without it,
literature and art lose some of their meaning, and the visual arts particularly have been a central part of my life.
Werner W. Jaeger. Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture (1934). Gilbert Highet, trans. New York: Oxford University Press,
1965. (Pb)
Jaeger's conclusion that society itself is the major force in educating the young formed my thinking when I started a lifelong
career in education after World War II.
Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. The Federalist [Papers] (1788). Benjamin F. Wright, ed. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1961.
For any citizen of the United States, and particularly one with strong interests in public affairs, The Federalist [Papers] helps to
explain our mixture of optimism for social progress and realism about man's weakness.
Lawrence A. Cremin. American Education. 2 vols. to date. New York: Harper & Row, 1982—. (Pb)
This massive and magisterial account, stretching from colonial to modern times, puts schools and colleges into context. It is for
me a successor to Jaeger, and its annotated bibliography is incomparable.
James B. Conant. Education in a Divided World (1948). New York: Greenwood Press, 1969.
Almost forty years later, Conant's analysis stands up well, and brings back to a devoted admirer a man of remarkable honesty
and moral courage.
New York Times, daily and Sunday (1948 to date).
Candor compels me to report that I have probably spent more time reading the Times than reading books. But it is the best
continuing set of unbound volumes on paper that I know about the times of my own life and about future possibilities.
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN EDUCATION
Maureen O'Connor
Education in most countries today finds itself in the front line of the war between ideologies. A utilitarian view conflicts with
the liberal notion of education for self-fulfilment more fiercely than ever. The introduction of competition and market forces is
resisted by those who hold education as a right which should be equally available to all. Education is variously regarded as a
means to social and political liberation and as a weapon in the international battle for economic hegemony. The books I have
chosen provide an introduction to these conflicts without necessarily offering solutions because one thing at least is clear: the
great education debate will continue.
Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.
CLAUS MOSER
The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970) by Paulo Freire. The seminal text on education as empowerment, based on Freire's
experience with illiterate Brazilian peasants but equally applicable to those trapped in a `culture of silence' anywhere.
Education as an alternative to revolution.
The Unschooled Mind (1989) by Howard Gardner. Building on his work on multiple intelligences, Gardner argues that
teaching and learning must be adapted to the needs of individual children, who may learn in particular ways.
Teach Your Own (1981) by John Holt. A fierce critic of American schooling advises parents to take control of their children's
education and educate them at home.
School Matters (1988) by Peter Mortimore, Pamela Sammons, Louise Stoll, David Lewis, and Russell Ecob. The research
study which by analysing the progress of children in London primary schools gave the first scientific basis upon which school
improvement might be based.
Closely Observed Children (1980) by Michael Armstrong. A fascinating first-hand account of a progressive primary school
by a determined advocate of child-centred learning, written in the form of a teacher's diary.
Parents and Schools, Customers, Managers or Partners? (1993) edited by Pamela M. A collection of discussion papers on
the growing involvement of parents in education.
Education and the Social Order (1991) by Brian Simon. The final volume of Simon's definitive history of British education
up to and including the Thatcher revolution which has still not run its course. This and the following book look closely at the
impact of radical - or controversial - changes in educational policy of the British government during the 1980s and 1990s.
Take Care Mr Baker! (1988) edited by Julian Haviland. The initiative that brought into the light of day the responses to
Kenneth Baker's Education Reform Bill from public bodies and individuals. It exposes the strengths and weaknesses of the
legislation that still affects British schooling and is still being amended.
Essays
Chamfort, Sébastien-Roch Nicolas de, French, ca. 1740-1794.
Products of the Perfected Civilization. Rec: Bloom (essays, sayings)
Cioran, Emil M., French, 1911-1995.
Short History of Decay. Rec: Ward
Temptation to Exist. Rec: Ward
Fall Into Time. Rec: Ward
New Gods. Rec: Ward
Diderot, Denis, French, 1713-1784.
Memoirs of a Nun. Rec: Ward
Dialogues. Rec: Ward
Rameau's Nephew. Rec: Bloom GBWW Ward
Jacques the Fatalist and His Master. Rec: Meaningful Ward
The Encyclopedia (Ed. by Diderot). Rec: Seymour-Smith
Didion, Joan, American, 1934- .
Slouching Toward Bethlehem. Rec: Hungry Mind LAT (essays)
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, American, 1803-1882.
Selected Works. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Ward
Nature. Rec: Bloom
Representative Men. Rec: Adler Bloom
Conduct of Life. Rec: Bloom
Essays. Rec: Adler Bloom Good Reading Lubbock
Journals. Rec: Adler Bloom
Poems. Rec: Bloom
Hazlitt, William, English, 1778-1830.
Essays and Criticism. Rec: Bloom
Kenko Yoshida, Japanese, 1283-1350.
Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa). Rec: App Oriental Ward
Lamartine, Alphonse de, French, 1790-1869.
Meditations. Rec: Bloom (essays)
Lamb, Charles, English, 1775-1834.
Essays. Rec: Bloom
Essays of Elia. Rec: Ward
Last Essays of Elia. Rec: Ward
Macaulay, Thomas Babington, English, 1800-1859.
Essays. Rec: Lubbock
Mencken, H. L., American, 1880-1956.
Prejudice: A Selection. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Plutarch, Greek, ca. 46-ca.120 CE .
Moralia. Rec: Adler Bloom
Schweitzer, Albert, German, 1875-1965.
Out of My Life and Thought. Rec: Ward
On the Edge of the Primeval Forest. Rec: Ward
More From the Primeval Forest. Rec: Ward
Voltaire, French, 1694-1778.
Candide. Rec: Adler Bloom Col37 Col61 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Seymour-Smith Smiley Ward
Zadig. Rec: Bloom Lubbock Ward
L'Ingénu. Rec: Ward
Letters on the English. Rec: Adler Bloom
Philosophical Dictionary. Rec: Adler
The Lisbon Earthquake. Rec: Bloom
Other Works. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Micromegas. Rec: Lubbock
White, E. B., American, 1899-1985.
(See also Strunk, William and E. B. White)
Essays. Rec: National Review
David M. Livingston
David Livingston is a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School—molecular biology is his field. He teaches, runs a
laboratory and does active clinical medicine. His special interest is oncko genes, their products and how the latter function. He
wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times on the irksome vacuous noise broadcast over airplane loudspeakers. Additional
op-ed pieces he writes may follow.
William Thackeray. Vanity Fair (1847-48). John Sutherland,
ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. (Pb)
This poignant story left me with the indelible impression that privilege and success are not necessarily eternal even for the
brightest and / or the most well-intended people. It also exposed me, early on, to the possibility that there might be unfortunate
consequences to taking those who are apparently dependent or less fortunate for granted,
Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities (1859). New York: Bantam, 1981. (Pb)
I remember feeling that I could nearly palpate the passion of the murderous French anti-Royalists and, for the first time,
appreciate the possibility that chronic oppression could break down the barriers which normally block the expression of
uncivilized instincts.
John Steinbeck. In Dubious Battle (orig. Dubious Battle in California, 1936). New York: Penguin, 1979. (Pb)
One's cynical views of what activates the passions of many people need not be all-consuming, for there are "ordinary"
individuals who are not weird, whose daily behavior is based largely on moral principles, and who are, therefore, worth
emulating.
Paul H. DeKruif. Microbe Hunters (1926). New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1966. (Pb)
I didn't decide to become a physician or scientist immediately after finishing this book. However, it provided me with my first
taste of the excitement associated with a scientific hunt.
Ford Madox Ford. The Good Soldier (1915). New York: Random House, 1951. (Pb)
The practiced arts of civility among educated people are an important manifestation of the gentle nature of the human spirit.
However, from this novel I became more aware than ever that they can also be used as cover by those whose morality has been
eroded by passion.
David Halberstam. The Best and the Brightest (1972). New York: Penguin, 1983. (Pb)
This book gave me my clearest appreciation yet for the enormity of the powers held by senior American foreign-policy makers.
It also showed how easily the thin line between responsible and irresponsible use of these powers could be crossed in the
interest of serving narrow logic.
Feminism
Feminist literature dates back to the 18th century, but there have been intervals of quiescence, during which writers devoted
their energies more to the novel and to social reform. The earliest examples of the genre tended to formal rectitude, despite the
vigour of the political argument. More recently, the tone has become personal, at times violently polemical. The American
women's movement has been especially vociferous. However. a comparison of, say, Mary Wollstonecraft with Germaine Greer
suggests that women's grievances remain much the same, as do basic attitudes on both sides of the sexual divide. Natural
history or indoctrination? It remains true that despite the considerable economic and social changes in Western society. the
repression of women has had and continues to have ugly effects all round. We have limited ourselves to books worth reading
for their originality and vigour as well as for their socio-historical importance. We hope that this list may soon be scrapped—
for the battle will have been won at last.
See ANTHROPOLOGY (Kitzinger): AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Brittain, Mead): BIOGRAPHY (Tomalin):
HISTORY/AMERICAN (Krantor); MEDICINE (Boston Women's Collective); MYTHOLOGY (Slater); RELIGION (Warner):
SEX (Hite); SOCIOLOGY (Mead)
Beauvoir, Simone de The Second Sex (1949)
!P*
Wordy "philosophical" analysis of the condition of women; historical, biological and literary perspectives. Rational, erudite,
convincing. Also: Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter. See FICTION/NOVELS
Beauvoir, Simone de, French, 1908-1986.
The Second Sex. Rec: Bloom Boston PL Colcc91 (Selections) Counterpunch Trans Good Reading NYPL Seymour-Smith TLS
Utne
Bird, Caroline Born Female (1970)
Eloquent review of the physical and psychological make-up of the female human being. Dispels many myths. Revised edition
(1971) recommended.
Brownmiller, Susan Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape (1975)
Main, chilling argument is that rape is about male-female power politics. Evans, Sara Personal Politics (1979)
Vital for understanding the roots of women's liberation in the USA. Author traces the connections between the civil rights
movement and the New Left in the emergence of an autonomous feminist movement.
Brownmiller, Susan, American, 1935- .
Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. Rec: NYPL
Christine de Pizan, Italian-French, ca. 1364-ca. 1430.
City of Ladies. Rec: Bloom Colcc91
Various Authors, American, 20th C.
Feminist Frameworks (Ed. by Alison Jaggar and Paula Rothenberg). Rec: Colcc91
Figes, Eva Patriarchal Attitudes (1970)
*
Basic premise is that over the centuries women have fulfilled a role cast for them by men and that the way women are is not
given in nature but a product of society. The author discusses ideas of women in such diverse and influential sources as
religion, Schopenhauer and Freud, and suggests possibilities for change.
Firestone, Shulamith, American, 1945- .
The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Flexner, Eleanor Century of Struggle: The Woman's Rights Movement in the United States (1959)
Excellent historical overview. 1979 revision brings it up to date.
Friedan, Betty The Feminine Mystique (1962)
This book inspired the emergence of the women's liberation movement in the USA. About "the problem that has no name": the
denial of the humanity of women in American society; concluding chapters explain ways to escape the trap.
Friedan, Betty, American, 1921-2006.
The Feminine Mystique. Rec: Boston PL LAT NYPL Seymour-Smith
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, American, 1860-1935.
Herland. Rec: NYPL
Greer, Germaine The Female Eunuch (1970)
r*
Witty, entertaining attack on the absurdities of the female condition, with a convincing analysis of how they arose. Makes
stylish mincemeat of the charge that feminists are humourless. Also: The Obstacle Race (on women artists)
Griffin, Susan, American, 1943- .
Woman and Nature. Rec: Utne
Hall, Radclyffe, English, 1880-1943.
The Well of Loneliness. Rec: Harvard
Hiley, Michael Victorian Working Women (1979)
Everyday lives, photographed and described in dispassionate detail by Arthur Munby, a leading 19th-century barrister.
Alternately horrifying and uplifting, the triumph over circumstance of the human spirit. See Munro; BIOGRAPHY (Hudson);
SOCIOLOGY (Chesney, Reeves)
hooks, bell, American, 1952- .
Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. Rec: Hungry Mind
Hufstedler, S. M. Women and the Law (1977)
Judge Hufstedler reviews the general field of American women's rights—and obligations—under the law. They are different
from men's although not in all respects: women, like men, are not allowed to commit murder, although as a general rule it is
still easier for a man to get away with killing a woman than vice versa.
Irigaray, Luce, French, 1930- .
This Sex Which is not One. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Janeway, Elizabeth Mans World, Woman's Place: A Study in Social Mythology (1971) *
The title says it all. This is one of the best feminist books—measured, eloquent, overwhelming for all of good will.
Jelinek, Elfriede, Austrian, 1946- . Nobel Laureate
Works.
Kollontai, Alexandra Selected Writings (1977)
First major collection (ed Alex Holt) of famous Russian revolutionary's writings to be published in English. Kollontai raises
still relevant questions about the family, morality and love. The publisher, Virago (London), is doing notable work in
republishing works of revolutionary and feminist interest, many from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Kingston, Maxine Hong, American, 1940- .
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts. Rec: Hungry Mind
Lennox, Charlotte, English, 1729?-1804.
The Female Quixote. Rec: Smiley
MacKinnon, Catharine, American, 1946- .
Feminism Unmodified. Rec: Colcc91
Mill, John Stuart The Subjection of Women (1869) * Argues strongly that both sexes have lost out because of the political
and legal subjection of women. Stresses mutal support and the importance of a "just" society. Inspiring, influential. See
ECONOMICS; PHILOSOPHY; POLITICS
Millet, Kate Sexual Politics (1969)
How women have been and are portrayed by historians, sociologists, politicians, psychologists and writers. A revelation to
anyone who remains unimpressed by the validity of feminism. Her attacks upon Mailer, Lawrence et al (if flawed) make one
shout for joy. Also Sita; The Prostitution Papers
Mitchell, Juliet Woman's Estate (1971)
a From within the politics of women's literature Mitchell defines the specific areas
of oppression and describes current attempts to break the pattern of repression imposed on women. Useful summary of the
debate between feminists and Marxist-socialists on the nature of oppression.
Munro, Alice Lives of Girls and Women (1973)
Sensitive description of growing up in small-town Canada. Brilliant descriptions of agonies of "first-dates" and the sex-versusintellect debate which presented itself to many 18-year-olds. Strikes many right notes; delightful, insightful read.
Munro, Alice, Canadian, 1931- .
Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You. Rec: Bloom
Lives of Girls and Women. Rec: Smiley
Norris, Jill and Liddington, Jill One Hand Tied Behind Us (1978)
* A study of interconnections between trade unionism,
suffrage and socialism in Lancashire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moving accounts of those radical suffragists'
personal lives and political views—partly gleaned from interviews.
Olsen, Tillie, American, 1912- .
Tell Me a Riddle. Rec: Hungry Mind
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves (1975) Fascinating study of women in classical antiquity. "The
hand that rocks the cradle rules the world"—a comfortable (male) view, definitively examined. Lucid, elegant, shocking.
Porter, Cathy Fathers and Daughters (1976)
Women as political and social activists in the reign of Tsar Alexander II (1855 –81). The real Revolution began here. Also:
Alexandra Kollontai. See Thomas.
Ramelson, Marian The Petticoat Rebellion (1967) a Moving general account of various strands in the women's movement
in Britain from the late 18th century to the early 20th century.
Rosen, R. and Davidson, S. (eds) The Maimie Papers (1979)
Maimie Pinzer, a Philadelphia prostitute at 20, a drug addict at 25, began at 30 a correspondence with Fanny Quincey Howe, a
rich Boston feminist, reformed, and devoted her life to rehabilitating prostitutes, and to feminist causes. Warm, raucous,
passionate, she is full of good sense, full of the true life force.
Rossi, Alice The Feminist Papers (1973)
to Simone de Beauvoir (qv).
a Comprehensive anthology of major feminist writings from the late 18th century
Rowbotham, Sheila Women, Resistance and Revolution (1972) Wide-ranging survey of the roots of inequality from the 17th
century to the present. As the author says, "feminism and Marxism come home to roost". They cohabit somewhat uneasily,
being at once incompatible and in need of each other. Essential for those not convinced of this mutal dependence.
Russell, Dora The Tamarisk Tree (1975)
Links the British new feminism of the 1920s and socialism in the Independent Labour Party with intellectual and political
movements, progressive education and sex reform. Social change seen in terms of the personal quest of one woman "for liberty
and love," first stimulated and then overshadowed by "Bertie's (Bertrand Russell's) genius." Also: Hypatia, or Woman and
Knowledge, etc
Thomas, Edith The Women Incendiaries (1963)
Moving description of the role of women in the Paris Commune of 1871, women on the barricades persuading the soldiers not
to shoot, standing in bread queues, speaking in the revolutionary clubs, killed and imprisoned after the fall of the Commune.
Wollstonecraft, Mary Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)
One of the first British feminists was also Mary Shelley's mother and married to the anarchist philosopher, William Godwin.
Her arguments for the liberation of women are still relevant. See BIOGRAPHY (Tomalin)
Wollstonecraft, Mary, English, 1759-1797.
Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Rec: Colcc91 Seymour-Smith
Woolf, Virginia A Room of One's Own (1929)
Long essay on the need for women to have economic independence to fulfil their potential. Beautifully written, though now
(dated by the changes it helped to bring about) seems rather ladylike. See BIOGRAPHY (Bell, Woolf); DIARIES:
FICTION/NOVELS
Vindication of the Rights of Woman
M. Wollstonecraft
Feminism
"Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman" M. Wollstonecraft
Feminism
Rights of Woman O. de Gouges
Feminism
The Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft C.L. Johnson
Feminism
FEMINISM
Gloria Steinem
Feminism, women's liberation, the women's movement, women's rights, woman-ism, and feminisms in the plural - all these and
more are terms to describe the current transformative movement for female equality as human beings. This wave follows the
19th- and early-20th-century wave known as suffrage or female emancipation, in which women succeeded in winning an
identity. Previously they had been chattels with a legal status that provided the model for slavery.
Indeed, there have been successive waves of rebellion in every pan of the world, in public and in private, for the last few
thousand years since patriarchy replaced ways of life in which power seems to have been more balanced.
By now, the feminist argument for equal status for females of all races, classes, ages, ethnicities, abilities, and sexualities has
begun to sound reasonable and to have majority support in public opinion polls, but it is still opposed by forces that range from
religious fundamentalists to multinational companies, from right-wing patriarchs to left-wing nationalists. After all, equal pay
and equal access to land, credit, and inheritance would constitute a massive redistribution of wealth; women's sexual and
reproductive freedom would take away control of the means of reproduction from family, religion, and state; redefining and
revaluing work to include the unpaid or underpaid production and reproduction now done by 'women who don't work', whether
homemakers in overdeveloped countries or food producers in underdeveloped ones, would eliminate the world's largest source
of cheap labour; challenging the division of human nature into 'masculine' and `feminine' would uproot the passive/dominant
paradigm on which race, class, and other hierarchies are based; shifting from religions in which God looks like the ruling class
to spiritualities in which god is present in women and all living things would delegitimize man's domination of women and
nature; and nurturing the full range of human qualities in both males and females would eliminate the violence implicit in
having to prove `masculinity', and transform our ideas about human nature itself.
Whether we are working towards each person's empowerment in ways large or small, we are part of the feminist movement.
Most of these books come from North America and Europe, but many include references to movements on other continents. In
general, each book will lead you to many more.
I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only
know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that
differentiate me from a doormat.
REBECCA WEST
Beyond Power: On Women, Men, and Morals (1985) by Marilyn French. A well-documented and mind-changing argument
that current power systems are neither inevitable nor natural.
The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth (1987) by Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor. Starting in
Africa, where human beings first developed - and with the 95% of human history that preceded patriarchy, monotheism, and
nationalism - this fills in some of the knowledge dismissed as `prehistory'.
The Mermaid and the Minotaur: Sexual Arrangements and Human Malaise (1976) by Dorothy Dinnerstein. By exploring
why women have such unequal responsibility for child-rearing - and the far-reaching impact of men raising children as much as
women do - Dinnerstein creates a starting place for changing everything from women's double role to the roots of male
violence.
Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings (1972, 1992, and 1994) and Feminism in Our Time: The Essential Writings,
World War II to the Present (1994) edited with an introduction and commentaries by Miriam Schneir. These are excerpts from
essays, fiction, memoirs, letters, and political theory by major feminist writers, from pre-suffrage through Simone de Beauvoir,
Betty Friedan, Kate Millett, Susan Brownmiller, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and other modern pioneers (though its
commentary misunderstands Carol Gilligan, Andrea Dworkin, and others). You can browse and see which ones you want to
read in their entirety.
Sisterhood Is Powerful (1970) edited by Robin Morgan; Radical Feminism (1973) edited by Anne Koedt, Ellen Levine, and
Anita Rapone; and This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (1983) edited by Charrie Moraga and
Gloria Anzaldua. Any of these three anthologies will take you from the personal to the political and back again. Consciousnessraising, rap groups, revolutionary cells: what-ever you want to call this process of learning from each other's lives and sharing
insights, it is made portable here.
Various Authors, American, 1901-2000.
Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement (Ed. by Robin Morgan). Rec:
NYPL
Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology (1984) edited by Robin Morgan. An unmatched
overview of female history and status in almost every country, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, with a modem feminist also
writing a personal essay from each one.
If Women Counted: A New Feminist Economics (1988) by Marilyn Waring. A practical, visionary, international plan for
attributing value to women's unpaid labour and to the environment.
The New Our Bodies Ourselves: A Book by and for Women (revised edition 1995) by the Boston Women's Health Collective.
This premier self-help book of the women's health movement has been updated periodically over more than 20 years, and
translated into most of the world's major languages. (See also Ourselves Growing Older.)
Writing a Woman's Life (1988) by Carolyn Heilbrun. A slender volume full of insight into the current cultural differences
between male and female life patterns that mean many women become ourselves after 50.
Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations (1994) by Bell Hooks. An astute and passionate black feminist critic's essays on
contemporary culture, from sex and movies to love and freedom.
Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence, from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror (1992) by Judith Lewis Herman.
A brilliant analysis of the parallels between the mostly female survivors of child sexual abuse and domestic violence. By
exposing the similar political and spirit-breaking results of trauma, she offers ways of healing.
Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development (1988) by Vandana Shiva. Linkage among these mega-issues of our time by
an Indian philosopher of science and activist.
The Anatomy of Freedom: Feminism in Four Dimensions (1982; second edition 1994) by Robin Morgan. How feminism and
the new physics are breaking down hierarchy and creating holographic ways of perceiving reality.
For men - all of the above, plus:
Against the Tide: Pro feminist Men in the United States, 1776-1990, a Documentary History (1992) edited by Michael S
Kimmel and Thomas E Mosmiller.
WOMEN AND LITERATURE
Kadiatu Kanneh
Women's literature has become a wide and varied field, with the range of texts, collections of essays, and criticism about
women's literature reflecting this. The following, necessarily truncated list provides an introduction to the range of writing that
women's literature represents, writing from a variety of cultures, countries, historical periods. The following provide an
overview of different feminist perspectives on the literature, different contextualizing strategies, and often conflicting
arguments.
To be a woman and a writer is / double mischief, for / the world will
slight her who slights `the servile house,' and who would rather / make
odes than beds.
DILYS LAING
Political Gender (1994) edited by Sally Ledger et al. This collection of essays by a range of academics with different critical
viewpoints approaches the issue of gender and its significance in literature. The essays discuss both historical and more
contemporary literatures.
New Feminist Discourses (1992) edited by Isobel Armstrong. A collection of essays that provides contemporary critical
analyses of women's texts from various feminist viewpoints.
Black Women Writers (1985) edited by Mari Evans. This text brings together a range of interviews with African-American
women writers, including excerpts from their poetry and prose.
Horne Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (1983) edited by Barbara Smith. This is a collection of critical and creative writing
by contemporary African-American women writers, allowing theory, politics, and analysis to be read together.
Black Women Novelists and the Nationalist Aesthetic (1994) by Madhu Dubey. Using black feminist theory, this text reads
writing by authors such as Toni Morrison and Alice Walker to challenge traditional notions of black female identity.
Contemporary African Literature and the Politics of Gender (1994) by Florence Stratton. Studies the influence of
colonialism and race on African literatures, especially those by women.
Francophone African Women Writers (1994) by Irene Assiba D'Almeida. A survey of writing by French-speaking African
women that discusses the issue of silence in women's texts.
Sexual/Textual Politics (1985) by Toril Moi. Ground-breaking critical analysis of women's writing and its relation to sexual
politics.
A Literature of Their Own (1977) by Elaine Showalter. More traditional feminist analyses from a less theoretical perspective.
Lacks the range of attention to differences between women, but remains useful as an introduction to the field.
Fiction
The story. it has been argued, is finally all that men can contrive to leave behind them. their only personal immortality. Their
riches are perishable (unless they become the stuff of museums or vaults), but a man's story is his true legacy, the ghost through
which we see him forever. But man is not only a speaking and a writing animal: he is unique in being a lying animal as well.
His fictions are made of the same stuff as truth and if truth is stranger than fiction, fiction is sometimes truer. Thus though
common sense may assert that the novel is merely a narrative form and that "creative writing" is but entertainment, we have a
persistent feeling that novelists have more to tell us about life than all the psychoanalysts and sociologists. When all has been
said and done, there is one more thing to say and do: write and tell stories, read and recommend and pass them on.
The books recommended here are chosen not only to entertain, but also to give a cross-section—including a fair proportion of
masterworks—of a form of literature in which everyone will have his own taste. Some great books have, no doubt, been
omitted (especially if they are not in English), sometimes because (as in the case of. say. Doeblin's Alexanderplatz) no reliable
translation yet exists. Classics have tended to prevail over contemporary work, not least because it would have been ridiculous
to leave them out. Only a Cretan would claim that all the best novels and short fictions are contained here, and Cretans, as we
all know, are renowned for telling stories.
Crime Fiction and Thrillers
See CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Buchan, Haggard, Stevenson)
Allingham, Margery The Tiger in the Smoke (1952)
Allingham has been described as "sensitive enough to make human beings out of victim, criminal and detective alike." Secure
plotting; magnificent feel for poetry of place. Also: More Work for the Undertaker-, Mystery Mile; The Beckoning Lady
Ambler, Eric The Mask of Dinzitrios (1939)
Astringent, unromantic, meticulously detailed, Ambler introduced a new and radical approach to the novel of espionage.
Buchan-style yarns told with icy irony. Also: The Dark Frontier, Dirty Story; Dr Frigo, etc
Bardin, John Franklin The Deadly Percheron (1946)
With his rediscovery in 1976, Bardin's particular brand of surreal imagination and obsession with morbid psychology have
brought him new recognition. Flawed but interesting minor master. Also: The Last of Philip Banter; Devil Take the Blue-Tailed
Fly
Canning, Victor The Golden Salamander (1947)
Canning's inventiveness, his sense of pace and humour compensate for a certain implausibility in the plotting. Also: Birdcage;
The Rainbird Pattern
Caudwell, Sarah, English, 1939-2000.
Thus Was Adonis Murdered. Rec: Good Reading
Chandler, Raymond The Big Sleep (1939)
It was not until his forties that Chandler began to write pulp novelettes for Black Mask. This apprenticeship produced the most
famous private eye of them all—Philip Marlowe. Chandler's desire to make him a modern knight-errant is redeemed by a
sardonic wit that salts the sentimentality. Also: Farewell, My Lovely; The Long Goodbye; The Little Sister
Chandler, Raymond, American, 1888-1959.
The Long Goodbye. Rec: Burgess
The Big Sleep. Rec: NYPL Time
Christie, Agatha The ABC Murders (1936)
The dapper little master detective, Hercule Poirot, took his first bow in 1915, and thanks to those phenomenal "little grey
cells", never failed to unravel puzzles of murderous duplicity. Simplistic, irritating prose-style; every other hair in place. Also:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd; Ten Little Niggers (sometimes Indians); Curtain: Poirot's Last Case. etc
Christie, Agatha, English, 1890-1976.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Rec: NYPL (mystery)
Collins, Wilkie The Moonstone (1868)
* T. S. Eliot called this "the first, the longest and the best of modern English
detective novels." Also: The Woman in White
Crispin, Edmund The Moving Toyshop (1946)
Crispin's highly-wrought, suave mysteries, starring the eccentric and erudite Oxford professor, Dr Gervase Fen, delight in
bizarre bafflement. Also: The Case of the Gilded Fly; Love Lies Bleeding; The Glimpses of the Moon
Davidson, Lionel Making Good Again (1968)
Davidson is not strictly a crime novelist, but rather a writer of vivid and atmospheric high adventure. This book and Smith's
Gazelle (1971) are serious novels, badged with the pace and narrative excellence of his other work. Also; A Long Way to
Shiloh; The Night of Wenceslas, etc
Deighton, Len Spy Story (1974)
Scrupulously researched, often iconoclastic writing; "a kind of poet of the spy novel" (Julian Symons). Working-class, laconic
hero—a rare treat in a generally snobbish, middle-class-oriented genre. Cracking style and pace. Also: The Billion Dollar
Brain; Yesterday's Spy
Deighton, Len, English, 1929- .
Bomber. Rec: Burgess
It is the fictionalised account of the events of "31st June" (sic), 1943 in which an RAF bombing raid on the Ruhr area of
western Germany goes wrong.
Dickinson, Peter The Poison Oracle (1974)
After five books unglamorous, elderly but crafty copper's copper, Superintendent Pibble, was obliged to retire from Scotland
Yard. Dickinson's range is now wider—stylish mysteries fizzing with bizarre invention. Also: The Lively Dead; Sleep and His
Brother, etc. See CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894) Despite time, competition and the Reichenbach Falls,
Holmes survives as the greatest, most famous detective in literature, an enduring part of popular mythology. Also: The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; The Hound of the Baskervilles; His Last Bow, etc
Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur, English, 1859-1930.
Sherlock Holmes stories. Rec: Rexmo Ward
The Hound of the Baskervilles. Rec: NYPL Smiley
Ellin, Stanley The Blessington Method (1964)
Despite a number of fine and varied novels Ellin is best-known for his short stories. He writes with a compressed imaginative
intensity that transcends the genre. Also: The Speciality of the House and Other Stories; The Eighth Circle, etc
Fleming, Ian, English, 1908-1964.
Goldfinger. Rec: Burgess
Forsyth, Frederick The Day of the Jackal (1971)
It is a tribute to Forsyth's dramatic skill that the threat to assassinate General de Gaulle remains nailbitingly tense and
convincing, despite our knowledge that the attempt is doomed from the outset. Later books less good; this one excellent.
Francis, Dick Bonecrack (1971)
An ex-champion jockey, Francis knows the value of a good start. He hooks you on the first page and never lets go. His intimate
knowledge of horse racing has provided background for a series of tautly written adventure stories, consistent winners. Also:
Dead Cert; Nerve; For Kicks, etc
Freeling, Nicolas Criminal Conversation (1965)
After killing off Van der Valk, Freeling has not quite managed to replace the complex Dutch Inspector with the (not
unsympathetic) Frenchman Castang. An original writer, he sometimes allows philosophical ramble to obscure narrative drive.
Also: Love in Amsterdam; Gun before Butter, Because of the Cats, etc Gilbert, Michael The Night of the Twelfth (1976)
At one time, Gilbert was Raymond Chandler's legal adviser, and even drew up his will. His classic mystery, Smallbone
Deceased (1950), has a corpse discovered in a safe deposit box. Unfailingly accomplished. Also: The Crack in the Teacup;
Game without Rules
Haggard, William The Scorpion's Tail (1975)
"Haggard is a right-wing romantic of the Buchan school ... who has an agreeable streak of realism" (Julian Symons). Politics
intrusive at times; but pace and invention rarely flag. Also: The Doubtful Disciple; The Telemann Touch; The Powder Barrel
Hammett, Dashiell The Maltese Falcon (1932)
t"' Tougher and more uncomprising than Chandler, Hammett's spare,
cynical, unglamorized stories looked hard at violence, crooked police and urban corruption. Also: The Glass Key; The Dain
Curse; Red Harvest-, The Thin Man. See AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Hellman)
Highsmith, Patricia The Talented Mr Ripley (1955)
Since her success with Strangers on the Train (1950), Highsmith has explored criminal psychology with dark and imaginative
insight. Also: Ripley under Ground; The Two Faces of January; A Dog's Ransom, etc
Hornung, E. W. Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1899)
Raffles is the perfect English gentleman—finest slow-arm bowler of his generation, and a highly successful burglar. Also: A
Thief in the Night, Mr Justice Raffles
Household, Geoffrey Rogue Male(1938)
Classic chase story, where the hunter, an English aristocratic sportsman, becomes the hunted. Suspense never slackens. Also:
Watcher in the Shadows
Innes, Michael Hamlet, Revenge (1936)
Apotheosis of "don's delight" escapist detective fiction. Suave John Appleby solves the most obscure cases as he would a
Sunday crossword. Also: The Journeying Boy; Lament for a Maker, From London Far
James, P. D. The Black Tower (1975)
Brooding, atmospheric style, and a sensitive sleuth in Adam Dagleish. Also: A Mind to Murder, Death of an Expert Witness, etc
Keating, H. R. F. Inspector Ghote Trusts the Heart (1972)
Gentle, intelligent stories, whose chief joy is the endearing and bumbling character of the little Inspector. Non-Ghote novels are
underrated, but funnier, more tightly plotted, sparkling with bizarre events. Also: A Rush on the Ultimate; Death and the
Visiting Firemen; Zen There Was Murder, etc
Kemelman, Harry Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet (1976)
Starting with Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964), Kemelman has now reached the end of a packed week. Whilst mystery
elements have become subservient to suburban American synagogue politics, that interesting but unlikely detective, Rabbi
David Small, has a sneaky advantage neither Holmes, Spade nor Maigret ever had—Talmudic logic. Also: Thursday the Rabbi
Walked Out, etc
King, Stephen, American, 1947- .
Carrie. Rec: NYPL
Lathen, Emma Murder against the Grain (1967)
it Behind the pseudonym lurk two Boston businesswomen who have
made Wall Street synonymous with murder and mayhem. Also: When in Greece; The Longer the Thread; By Hook or by
Crook, etc
Le Carrë, John The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963); The Naive and Sentimental Lover (1971)
Le Carre's achievement has been wildly exaggerated, and his work can be repetitive, hermetic and as dull as the routine he so
lovingly dissects. But at his best, he is grippingly good: in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold he created a true mirror of our
distracted times, and in The Naive and Sentimental Lover. he found a warmth, a depth and a dignity his other bleak visions
signally lack.
Le Carre, John, English, 1931- .
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. Rec: Time (thriller)
McBain, Ed Cop Hater (1956)
* Versatile, prolific, consistent, McBain has written a string of pacey police procedurals.
His detectives, Steve Carella, Cotton Hawes, Meyer Meyer get regular feature spots, but unusually it is the 87th Precinct itself
that has retained the limelight. Also: The Mugger, Like Love; Give the Boys a Great Big Hand, etc
Macdonald, Ross The Goodbye Look (1969)
* Lew Archer started life as a Marlowe imitator, but Macdonald's
exuberant relish for story telling has helped his sleuth acquire a precise personal identity. Also: The Far Side of the Dollar, The
Moving Target; Sleeping Beauty, etc
Maugham, W. Somerset Ashenden, or the British Agent (1928)
With these crisp short stories, Maugham not only pioneered the modern novel of espionage, but also introduced a new kind of
anti-hero with the downbeat character of Ashenden. See AUTOBIOGRAPHY; DRAMA; FICTION/NOVELS;
FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Poe, Edgar Allan Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1850)
Poe may not have held his "tales of ratiocination" in the highest esteem, but these stories alone earned him the title of "the
father of detective fiction". Even Holmes took lessons from C. Auguste Dupin. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Price, Anthony Other Paths to Glory (1974)
With cool intelligence, Price has added new polish to a sometimes tarnished genre. British right-wing upper-class heroics again
—and none the worse, perhaps, for that. Also: The Labyrinth Makers; The October Men, etc
Sayers, Dorothy L. Murder Must Advertise (1933)
Sayers claimed she wrote Wimsey stories only for money. But her inspired aristocratic detective still has few rivals. See
DRAMA
Simenon, Georges My Friend Maigret (1949)
11, How Simenon managed an output of six short novels a year coupled
with an endless series of amorous conquests is a subject for the record books. Best read in French: English translations (even
those by Baldick, the best) are slapdash and unstylish. Also: Maigret and the Enigmatic Letr, Maigret's Memoirs; Maigret
Meets a Milord, etc. See AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Sims, George Sleep No More (1966)
A thriller writer with a touch of class and an edge of anger, Sims manages to combine high-octane excitement with plausible
incident and an insider's knowledge of the antique and book trade. Succinct but never mannered, Luciferian heroes on the side
of the angels. Also: End of the Web, etc
Stout, Rex Fer-de-Lance (1934) it Who weighs one seventh of a ton, is nearly six feet tall, grows orchids, lives in a
brownstone in New York, and is a self-confessed genius? The answer is Nero Wolfe, who with his laconic legman, Archie
Goodwin, forms one of the most entertaining double acts in detective fiction. Also: The League of Frightened Men; The Silent
Speaker, A Family Affair, etc
Symons, Julian The Man Who Lost His Wife (1970)
Svmons's reputation and influence in the field of crime fiction have rested more with crusading criticism than with novels. His
mordant wit, psychological probing and clever plotting deserve a large audience. Also: The Man Who Killed Himself, A Threepipe Problem; The Blackheath Poisonings, etc
Tey, Josephine The Daughter of Time (1951)
A perennial seller, this historical detective story confines Tey's Scotland Yard Inspector Grant to his sickbed. To relieve the
boredom, Grant delves into the mystery of the murdered Princes in the Tower and absolves Richard III of guilt. A curio. Also:
The Franchise Affair, The Singing Sands, etc
Tey, Josephine, Scottish, 1896-1952.
The Daughter of Time. Rec: Good Reading
Wahloo, Per and Sjowall, Maj The Laughing Policeman (1970) Police procedurals, featuring the lugubrious Martin Beck,
take a hard and abrasive look at Swedish society. Gloomily compulsive. Also: The Abominable Man; The Locked Room; Cop
Killer, etc
Wambaugh, Joseph, American, 1937- .
The New Centurions. Rec: LAT
Wambaugh brings his unique real-life experience in LAPD to bear on this story, showing the maturation of cops in believable
fashion. The book is a little dated in terms of police procedure, but the underlying story and message are same-day fresh. This
is a cut above the typical cop's tale (amazon)
CRIME FICTION
Colin Dexter
More people read crime and detection novels than any other form of fiction. It cuts across differences of age, culture, gender,
and class, combining the fascination of crime with the reassurance of order restored, a mystery solved. It began in the 19th
century with the works of Wilkie Collins and Edgar Allan Poe, and soon became a genre with many (very different) forms such as the very English `murder in the vicarage' of Agatha Christie, the hardboiled American writing of Hammett and
Chandler, the psychological analysis of Patricia Highsmith. It can be pulp fiction, sophisticated entertainment, and (in the
hands of writers such as Jorge Luis Borges and Umberto Eco) philosophical speculation. One of the best introductions to crime
and detection fiction is Julian Symons's Bloody Murder (1972), a history of the genre. The following list includes
representative works from each of the main genres ('whodunnit', `whydunnit', `howdunnit', `thriller', `spy story', `historical
reconstruction').
Tremendous enjoyment underlies the superficially tragic
subject-matter of most crime fiction.
DIOGENES SMALL
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) by Agatha Christie. The most brilliant thing she ever wrote. A hugely imaginative
woman, today sometimes sadly underrated.
The Hollow Man (1935) by John Dickson Carr. Most implausible plot ever but the most staggeringly ingenious of all his
books. Excellent.
The Glass Key (1931) by Dashiell Hammett. Probably one of the best detective novels ever written. Balance between plot,
characterization, and tension is superb.
Farewell, My Lovely (1940) by Raymond Chandler. Almost everyone would have him on their list. Any book would do. This
is Chandler at his very best.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) by John Le Cane. Perhaps the finest and most poignant of all spy stories.
Haunting atmosphere, superb plot.
Malice Aforethought (1931) by Frances Iles. One of the most important crime books ever written. Frances Iles is a
pseudonym of Anthony Berkeley.
The Daughter of Time (1951) by Josephine Tey. Historical crime fiction - was Richard III a murderer? Not an easy read, but
wonderfully worth it.
A Fatal Inversion (1987) by Barbara Vine. Barbara Vine is a pseudonym of Ruth Rendell. This superb psychological thriller
displays her incredible talents to the full.
The Day of the Jackal (1971) by Frederick Forsyth. Probably the best thriller written since World War II. Everyone knows
there will be no assassination, but the ingenuity is breathtaking, and the pace splendidly maintained.
The False Inspector Dew (1982) by Peter Lovesy. Extremely clever, interesting, and so easy to read. Based on the
transatlantic liner route and the Crippen murder story. A very fine present-day writer.
Novels
See CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Tolkien, White, Williamson); HUMOUR (Chevalier, Dennis, Frayn, Jerome, Loos, Petronius,
Queneau, Smith, Tinniswood, Twain, De Vries, Westlake, Wodehouse); MYTHOLOGY (Mitchison): SEX (Cleland, Genet,
Haddon, Laclos, Miller, Nin, Reage, Sade, Southern)
Abbey, Edward, American, 1927-1989.
Desert Solitaire. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Abe Kobo, Japanese, 1925- .
Woman in the Dunes. Rec: MW Asian Ward
Abish, Walter, American, 1931- .
Alphabetical Africa. Rec: Bloom
How German Is It. Rec: Bloom
Eclipse Fever. Rec: Bloom
I Am the Dust Under Your Feet. Rec: Bloom
Achebe, Chinua Things Fall Apart (1958)
Wry African view of comedy and scandal of independence in a Nigeria at once debauched by its one-time masters and thrust,
by their departure, into a parody of their vanities. Also: No Longer at Ease; A Man of the People
Achebe, Chinua, Nigerian writing in English, 1930- .
Arrow of God. Rec: Bloom
No Longer at Ease. Rec: Bloom
Things Fall Apart. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 4 Meaningful NYPL Radcliffe Time Utne Ward
A Man of the People. Rec: Burgess
Alain-Fournier The Lost Domain (Le Grand Meaulnes) (1913)
School and adolescence in the French countryside: lost love rendered poignant by the author's death in the Great War, which
elevates his memory—book is surprisingly based on "reality"—into legend.
Alain-Fournier, French, 1886-1914.
Le Grand Meaulnes. Rec: Bloom
Alas, Leopoldo (Clarín), Spanish, 1852-1901.
La Regenta. Rec: Bloom
Aldiss, Brian, English, 1925- .
Life in the West. Rec: Burgess
Algren, Nelson The Man with the Golden Arm (1972)
Determinedly tough and wrong-side-of -the-trackish, Algren is of the Chicago school which refuses to make overtures to (or
accept them from) the literary establishment. His writing lacks conscious grace, but is consciously disgraceful instead: this
novel was one of the first to deal boldly, melodramatically perhaps, with drugs, and it has a typically rough, diamantine quality.
Algren is portrayed in Beauvoir's (qv) The Mandarins.
Algren, Nelson, American, 1909-1981.
The Man with the Golden Arm. Rec: BOMC
A Walk on the Wild Side. Rec: LAT
Allison, Dorothy, American, 1949- .
Bastard Out of Carolina. Rec: Harvard Hungry Mind Utne
Alvarez, Julia, American, 1950- .
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Rec: Harvard
These interconnected vignettes of family life, resilience, and love are skillfully intertwined and offer young adults a perspective
on immigration and families as well as a look at America through Hispanic eyes. (amazon)
Amado, Jorge Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon(1958)
Ilheus, a port city in the Brazilian province of Bahia, comes alive when beautiful Gabriela from the backlands is hired as a cook
by Nacib, owner of the town's most popular cafe. An enchanting novel teeming with Brazilian folklore and humour.
Amos, Kingsley Lucky Jim (1954)
Amos' first book grows ever slighter, more enduring; Jim Dixon, English grammar school-educated academic, has had a
thousand irreverent successors, none with quite his anarchic eye for the main chance.
Amis, Kingsley, English, 1922-1995.
Lucky Jim. Rec: Burgess Good Reading Time
The Anti-Death League. Rec: Burgess
Amis, Martin, English, 1949- .
London Fields. Rec: Harvard
Money. Rec: Time
Anantha Murthy, U. R., Indian writing in Kannada, 1932- .
Samskara. Rec: MW Asian
As a religious novel about a decaying brahmin colony in the south Indian village of Karnataka, Samskara serves as an allegory
rich in realistic detail, a contemporary reworking of ancient Hindu themes and myths, and a serious, poetic study of a religious
man living in a community of priests gone to seed. (amazon)
Anaya, Rudolfo, American, 1937- .
Bless Me Ultima. Rec: Hungry Mind
Andersen Nexø, Martin, Danish, 1869-1954.
Pelle the Conqueror. Rec: Bloom
Anderson, Jack, American, 1922-2005.
Confessions of a Muckraker. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Andric, Ivo, Bosnian, 1892-1975. Nobel Laureate
The Bridge on the Drina. Rec: Bloom
Anger, Kenneth, American, 1930- .
Hollywood Babylon. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Angulo, Jaime de, American, 1887-1950.
Indian Tales. Rec: LAT
Appelfeld, Aharon, Israeli, 1932- .
The Immortal Bartfuss. Rec: Bloom
Badenheim 1939. Rec: Bloom
Apuleius, Roman, fl. ca. 155 CE.
Golden Ass (also known as Metamorphoses). Rec: Bloom Rex Utne Ward
Arenas, Reinaldo, Cuban, 1943-1990.
The Ill-Fated Peregrinations of Fray Servando. Rec: Bloom
Asch, Sholem, Polish-American writing in Yiddish, 1880-1957.
East River. Rec: Bloom
Asturias, Miguel Angel, Guatemalan, 1899-1974. Nobel Laureate
Men of Maize. Rec: Bloom
Atkinson, Kate, English, 1951- .
Emotionally Weird. Rec: Harvard
Behind the Scenes at the Museum. Rec: Smiley
Atwood, Margaret, Canadian, 1939- .
Surfacing. Rec: Bloom
The Handmaid's Tale. Rec: Harvard NYPL
The Blind Assassin. Rec: Time
Austen, Jane Sense and Sensibility (1815) 10 The determination of orthodox criticism to find in Jane Austen the virtue of
moral sensitivity tends to make furtive the view that her books maintain their vitality because they are about what interests
readers: love and money. Her novels' view of life is alert to form and to reality; from that shaping tension comes classic quality.
Also: Pride and Prejudice; Em ma; Northanger Abbey, etc
Austen, Jane, English, 1775-1817.
Pride and Prejudice. Rec: Adler Bloom Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Meaningful SJC Ward
Emma. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW SJC
Mansfield Park. Rec: Bloom
Persuasion. Rec: Bloom Harvard Smiley Utne
Auster, Paul, American, 1947- .
The New York Trilogy. Rec: Harvard
Ayrton, Michael The Mazemaker (1967)
Myth of Daedalus relived by an artist as protean as the legendary Cretan craftsman; less a historical novel than a personalized
view of the relationship between power and art, grit and oyster.
Azuela, Mariano, Mexican, 1873-1952.
Underdogs. Rec: Ward
This is a marvelous book, especially for Gringos who want to understand a major element of the psyche of Mexico.
Baker, Nicholson, American, 1957- .
Vox. Rec: Smiley
Baldwin, James Another Country (1963)
Much better than Giovanni's Room—trash which brought him fame. American expatriates in 1950s and early 1960s search for
sexual and emotional liberation. Black and white, "queer" and "straight", matched with convincing sympathy and urgency.
Also: Go Tell It on the Mountain; The Fire Next Time (polemic), etc
Baldwin, James, American, 1924-1987.
The Price of a Ticket. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind
Notes of a Native Son. Rec: LAT ML Nonfiction
Go Tell It on the Mountain. Rec: Boston PL Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe Time
Collected Essays. Rec: Utne
The Fire Next Time. Rec: NYPL
The Devil Finds Work. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Another Country. Rec: Burgess
Balzac, Honore de Old Goriot (1834)
Old Goriot—a bourgeois King Lear living M a pension—is but one panel in The Human Comedy, and a good introduction to
its brilliant pageant of realism and fantasy, of observation and monstrous fancy. Also: Cousin Bette; Eugenie Grander, etc. See
BIOGRAPHY (Zweig)
Balzac, Honoré de, French, 1799-1850.
La Comédie Humaine. Rec: Rexmo Ward
Girl with the Golden Eyes. Rec: Bloom
Louis Lambert. Rec: Bloom
The Wild Ass's Skin. Rec: Bloom
Père Goriot. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Meaningful
A Harlot High and Low. Rec: Bloom
Eugénie Grandet. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading
Cousin Bette. Rec: Bloom GBWW Smiley
Ursule Mirouet. Rec: Bloom
Cousin Pons. Rec: Smiley
Banerji, Bibhuti Bhusan, Indian writing in Bengali, 1894-1950.
Pather Panchali (Song of the Road). Rec: Ward
Baroja, Pio, Basque Spanish, 1872-1956.
Restlessness of Shanti Andía and Other Writings. Rec: Ward
Barth, John The End of the Road (1962)
Best, early work of later logorrhoid; campus life with the blinds rolled up; scabrous tenderness illuminates characteristic 1950s
American milieu.
Barth, John, American, 1930- .
The Floating Opera. Rec: Bloom
The End of the Road. Rec: Bloom
The Sot-Weed Factor. Rec: Bloom Time
Giles Goat-Boy. Rec: Burgess LAT
Barthelme, Donald, American, 1931-1989.
The Dead Father. Rec: Bloom LAT
Bassani, Giorgio, Italian, 1916- .
The Heron. Rec: Bloom
Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de, French, 1732-1799.
Barber of Seville. Rec: Ward
Marriage of Figaro. Rec: Ward
Beauvoir, Simone de The Mandarins (1954)
Lacking wit, by a process of earnest accumulation and resolute seriousness de Beauvoir analyses post-war French intellectuals
—Sartre, Camus et al—in a book both seductive and self-indulgent. See FEMINISM
Beckett, Samuel Molloy (1950)
The novel reduced to literature; the skeleton as flesh; the flesh made words; words in a state of decomposition. Also: Murphy;
Malone Dies; Watt. See DRAMA; FICTION/SHORT STORIES; LITERARY CRITICISM
Beerbohm, Max Zuleika Dobson ( 1911)
Beerbohm's dandyism kept his literary wardrobe slim and neat. Zuleika Dobson is perhaps the most elegant bad example ever
set to the young; idle, gilded Oxford epitomized.
Beerbohm, Max, English, 1872-1956.
Zuleika Dobson. Rec: Bloom Good Reading ML Novels Smiley
Bellow, Saul The Victim (1947)
Tense study in paranoia in which forces of self-destruction and external menace are artfully balanced; one of his good early
books—Dangling Man (1944) is another—before The Adventures of Augie March (1953) led to fame and fat.
Bellow, Saul, American, 1915-2005. Nobel Laureate
Seize the Day. Rec: Bloom BOMC
Henderson the Rain King. Rec: ML Novels
The Adventures of Augie March. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading ML Novels Time
Herzog. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Hungry Mind LAT Time
Humboldt's Gift. Rec: Burgess Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Harvard
Mr. Sammler’s Planet
The Victim. Rec: Burgess
Bely, Andrey, Russian, 1880-1934.
Petersburg. Rec: Bloom
Bennett, Arnold The Old Wives' Tale (1908)
Lives of two sisters from one of Bennett's "Five Towns" (industrial Midlands of Britain, Victorian style), from girlhood to
grave; memorable scenes of Paris under siege in 1870. "Arnold has written a masterpiece," said Maugham. Also: Anna of the
Five Towns: Clayhanger, Buried A live, etc. See DIARIES
Bennett, Arnold, English, 1867-1931.
The Old Wives' Tale. Rec: Bloom ML Novels
Berger, John, English, 1926- .
Pig Earth. Rec: Utne
This book is part of trilogy - Pig Earth, In Europa, Lilac and Flag - depicting the erosion of traditional peasant culture and the
incorporation of the children of the peasantry into modern urban life. Taken together, these books comprise a kind of
fictionalized sociology of modernization. (amazon)
Berger, Thomas, American, 1924- .
Little Big Man. Rec: BOMC
In addition to being a great read and informative piece of historical fiction, this novel became a model for the anti-hero of a
number of other historical fiction series and works. The most notable of these is the George MacDonald Frazer, Flashman
books.(amazon)
Bernhard, Thomas, Austrian, 1931-1989.
Woodcutters. Rec: Bloom
The narrator of this story, which is told in a demanding, nonstop stream of consciousness, is a writer who finds himself roped
into a dinner party thrown by people he has avoided for 20 years. Spurning conversation, he reviews his grievances against his
hosts and their pretentious guests in what PW termed "a satirical jeremiad." (amazon)
Bjørnson, Bjørnsterne, Norwegian, 1832-1910. Nobel Laureate
Works.
Blanchot, Maurice, French, 1907-2003.
Thomas the Obscure. Rec: Bloom
Admirers of Kierkegaard, Sartre and Beckett will enjoy Blanchot's philosophical rumination on existence in the form of this
odd novela tragic existential romance of sorts. (amazon)
Böll, Heinrich, German, 1917-1985. Nobel Laureate
Billiards at Half-Past Nine. Rec: Bloom
The novel examines the lives of three generations of architects and their responses to the Nazi regime and its aftermath.
(amazon)
Borrow, George, English, 1803-1881.
Lavengro. Rec: Ward
Romany Rye. Rec: Ward
Bowen, Elizabeth, Anglo-Irish, 1899-1973.
The Death of the Heart. Rec: ML Novels Smiley Time
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom
The Heat of the Day. Rec: Burgess
Bowles, Paul, American, 1910-1999.
The Sheltering Sky. Rec: Bloom BOMC Harvard Hungry Mind ML Novels Time
Boyle, Kay, American, 1903-1992.
Three Short Novels. Rec: Bloom
Boyle, T. Coraghessan, American, 1948- .
Tortilla Curtain. Rec: Harvard (novel)
Bradbury, Malcolm, English, 1932-2000.
The History Man. Rec: Burgess
Husband and wife radical poseurs wreak havoc in British academia during the '60s and '70s in this satirical novel first
published in 1975. (amazon)
Braine, John, English, 1922-1986.
Room at the Top. Rec: Burgess (novel)
Broch, Hermann, Austrian, 1886-1951.
The Sleepwalkers. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Hugo von Hoffmannsthal and His Time. Rec: Bloom
Death of Virgil. Rec: Bloom Ward
Broch's Trilogy is the chronicle of the evolution of Germany in particular and the whole Europe in general between the years
1888 and 1918.
The book is about Virgil's infamous deathbed request that his magnum opus, The "Aeneid," be burned because it was
imperfect. Most of the book is told in a dazzling but recondite stream-of-consciousness mode, but the best section is Virgil's
deathbed discussion with Caesar Augustus.
Bronte, Charlotte Jane Eyre ( I 847)
1!1
"Realistic" wish-fulfilment in which the wish-bone sticks in the heroine's throat until a happily painful operation gives her the
stars while denying her the moon. See Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) for a recension of the life of Mrs Rochester. See
BIOGRAPHY (Gaskell, Gdrin)
Brontë, Charlotte, English, 1816-1855.
Jane Eyre. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 4 Harvard Smiley Ward
Villette. Rec: Bloom
Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights (1847)
The supreme Romantic fiction, archetypal and idiosyncratic for passion and for surging, self-justifying conviction; no parody
can match its hysterics, but Heathcliff continues to lord it over his detractors, both in the story and without. See BIOGRAPHY
(Gerin)
Brontë, Emily, English, 1818-1848.
Wuthering Heights. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Meaningful Smiley Ward
Poems. Rec: Bloom
Buck, Pearl S., American, 1892-1973. Nobel Laureate
Works.
Bukowski, Charles, American, 1920-1994.
Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions and General Tales of Ordinary Madness. Rec: LAT
Ham on Rye. Rec: Harvard
Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills. Rec: Harvard
Bulgakov, Mikhail, Russian, 1891-1940.
The Master and the Margarita. Rec: Bloom Harvard
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward, English, 1803-1873.
The Last Days of Pompeii. Rec: Lubbock
Burgess, Anthony The Malayan Trilogy (1956-59)
Best, least ostentatious early work of prolific man of letters; conscript life in the oriental twilight of empire reported in plain
but personal style.
Burgess, Anthony, English, 1917-1994.
A Clockwork Orange. Rec: Boston PL Good Reading ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Time
Nothing Like the Sun. Rec: Bloom
Burney, Fanny, English, 1752-1840.
Evelina. Rec: Bloom
Burroughs, William S., American, 1914-1997.
The Naked Lunch. Rec: Hungry Mind LAT Radcliffe Time
Butler, Samuel The Way of All Flesh (1903) ; Erewhon (1872) Creepy classic of the relationship between a British Victorian
father and his floundering, rationalist son, The Way of All Flesh is a consummate example of the novel-as-revenge. Erewhon is
elegant satire: illness as social crime, crime as illness have unhappily manifold modern reverberations. On father-son theme,
see AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Gosse)
Butler, Samuel, English, 1835-1902.
Erewhon. Rec: Bloom
The Way of All Flesh. Rec: Bloom ML Novels
Butor, Michel Second Thoughts (La Modification) (1957)
9
Regarded by Sartre as the best living French novelist, Butor is a nouveau romancierwhose experiments still leave us with a
story. Second Thoughtsis an innovative sequence of presents, urgent with traditional themes of personality, love and
redemption. More profound, though less readable, than Robbe-Grillet (qv).
Buzzati, Dino, Italian, 1906-1972.
The Tartar Steppe. Rec: Ward (novel)
The Tartar Steppe (Il deserto dei Tartari) is a novel written by Dino Buzzati in 1940, which focuses on the story of a young
officer, Giovanni Drogo, who is assigned to serve militarily in the Bastiani Fortress, a decadent, little-used border fortress. In
the nearby desert supposedly live the Tartars.
Byatt, A. S., English, 1936- .
Possession. Rec: Smiley Time
Cabrera Infante, Guillermo, Cuban, 1929- .
Three Trapped Tigers. Rec: Bloom
View of Dawn in the Tropics. Rec: Bloom
Cahan, Abraham, American, 1860-1951.
The Rise of David Levinsky. Rec: Bloom
Cain, James M., American, 1892-1977.
The Postman Always Rings Twice. Rec: BOMC ML Novels
Caldwell, Erskine, American, 1903-1987.
Tobacco Road. Rec: ML Novels
Calvino, Italo, Italian, 1923-1985.
The Non-Existent Knight and the Cloven Viscount. Rec: Ward
The Baron in the Trees. Rec: Bloom Ward
Invisible Cities. Rec: Bloom
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Rec: Bloom
T zero. Rec: Bloom
Camus, Albert The Outsider(L'Ètranger) (1942); The Plague (1948) 9E*
In The Outsider (also translated as The Stranger and The Bystander) Camus eliminated formal conditions of "character" and, in
Meursault, "invented" a hero without heroic attributes or psychological coherence. The Outsiderhas cinematic terseness; The
Plague is a denser, more pretentious book: the apocalypse in Oran, foreshadowing the Algerian bloodbath.
Camus, Albert, French, 1913-1960. Nobel Laureate
The Plague. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Ward
The Stranger. Rec: Bloom Boston PL Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Harvard Meaningful NYPL TLS Ward
The Fall. Rec: Bloom Ward
The Rebel. Rec: Bloom
The Myth of Sisyphus. Rec: National Review TLS
Notebooks 1935-1951. Rec: TLS
Cao Xueqin (Ts'ao Hsüeh-ch'in), Chinese, 1715-1763.
The Dream of the Red Chamber (also called The Story of the Stone) . Rec: App Fadiman 4 MW Asian Oriental Rex Ward
Capote, Truman, American, 1924-1984.
In Cold Blood. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind LAT ML Nonfiction NYPL Radcliffe
Other Voices, Other Rooms. Rec: BOMC
Carey, Peter, Australian, 1943- .
Oscar and Lucinda. Rec: Bloom
Illywhacker. Rec: Bloom
Carleton, Jetta, American, c.1913-1999.
The Moonflower Vine. Rec: Smiley
Carpentier, Alejo, Cuban, 1904-1980.
Explosion in a Cathedral. Rec: Bloom
Reasons of State. Rec: Bloom
The Kingdom of This World. Rec: Bloom
The Lost Steps. Rec: Bloom Ward
Cary, Joyce, Irish-English, 1888-1957.
The Horse's Mouth. Rec: Burgess Good Reading
Cather, Willa The Song of the Lark (1875)
The story of an ambitious girl from middle America who will not be silenced either by lack of opportunity or the prejudice of
family and neighbours. Her journey from prairie farm to the Metropolitan Opera is emblematic of the American Way at its
optimistic best. Also: My Antonia; Death Comes for the Archbishop, etc
Cather, Willa, American, 1876-1947.
My Ántonia. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Radcliffe
The Professor's House. Rec: Bloom
O Pioneers!. Rec: Hungry Mind Radcliffe
Shadows on the Rock. Rec: NYPL
A Lost Lady. Rec: Bloom GBWW
Death Comes for the Archbishop. Rec: BOMC Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe Time
Cela, Camilo José, Spanish, 1916- . Nobel Laureate
The Hive. Rec: Bloom
Journey to the Alcarria. Rec: Ward
Céline, Louis-Ferdinand, French, 1894-1961.
Journey to the End of the Night. Rec: Bloom Meaningful
Cervantes, Miguel de Don Quixote (1605)
Don Quixote, a gaunt country gentleman crazed by reading books of knight-errantry, sets out to redress the evils of the 17thcentury world.
Cervantes de Saavedra, Miguel de, Spanish, 1547-1616.
Don Quixote. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Col37 Col61 Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Harvard
Lubbock Meaningful Rex Seymour-Smith SJC Smiley Ward
Exemplary Stories. Rec: Bloom
Cheever, John Falconer (1977)
A Kafkaesque study of an intellectual, sensitive and savage, reduced (or promoted) to the level of his fellow-convicts in an
American "correctional facility", a prison where homosexuality is the rule. A sly, wished-for book with something of
Malaparte's dandyish nostalgie de la boue. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Chernyshevsky, Nikolay, Russian, 1828-1889.
What is to Be Done?. Rec: Bloom
Chopin, Kate, American, 1851-1904.
The Awakening. Rec: Bloom Radcliffe Smiley
Cisneros, Sandra, American, 1954- .
House on Mango Street. Rec: Hungry Mind
Clavell, James Shogun (1975)
An extraordinarily imaginative evocation of life in medieval Japan by a writer who previously specialized in potboilers. Here
Clavel found his subject, and treated it with range and skill.
Coetzee, J. M., South African, 1940- . Nobel Laureate
Foe. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Colette Cheri (1920)
1,1
No single work of Colette's is "great", but, in the tradition of French writing, the entire works constitute the achievement.
Language weakened in translation. Also: Claudine; The Vagabond; The End of Cheri, etc
Colette, French, 1873-1954.
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom
Retreat from Love. Rec: Bloom
Chéri. Rec: Good Reading
Collins, Wilkie, English, 1824-1889.
Moonstone. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Woman in White. Rec: Bloom Smiley
No Name. Rec: Bloom
Compton-Burnett, Ivy Mother and Son (1955) P * The hypnotic tone and knotty style of Compton-Burnett's novels are
notorious. Their grave absurdity and regular wit—they are all style, with little action—can seem merely ingenious; but
stringent perceptiveness is at work throughout. The Edwardian English "domus system" never had a more searching obituary.
Also: A God and His Gifts, etc
Compton-Burnett, Ivy, English, 1892-1969.
A God and His Gifts. Rec: Ward
The Mighty and Their Fall. Rec: Burgess
Conrad, Joseph Nostromo (1904); The Secret Agent (1907)
Set in an imaginary South American republic, Nostromo is a study of adventure and the temptations of power. The "South
American novel" originates and flowers here. The Secret Agent once seemed grotesque melodrama, but modern urban
terrorism has its roots in Mr Verloc's nihilistic mania and, perhaps, domestic despair. Useful biography: Karl's Joseph Conrad:
The Three Lives. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Conrad, Joseph, English, 1857-1924.
Heart of Darkness. Rec: Boston PL GBWW ML Novels Radcliffe SJC Smiley
Lord Jim. Rec: Bloom ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe
Nostromo. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Meaningful ML Novels
The Secret Agent. Rec: Bloom ML Novels Ward
Under Western Eyes. Rec: Bloom Ward
Victory. Rec: Bloom
Constant, Benjamin, French, 1767-1830.
Adolphe. Rec: Bloom
The Red Notebook. Rec: Bloom
Cooper, James Fenimore, American, 1789-1851.
Deerslayer. Rec: Bloom
Cooper, William Scenes from Provincial Life (1961)
Neat and humorous tales, understated but never etiolated, of English adolescent life before television and jeans. The school of
Amis and Larkin was equalled and perhaps preceded by Cooper's nicely scathing, affectionate study.
Cooper, William, English, 1910-2002.
Scenes from Provincial Life. Rec: Burgess
Coover, Robert, American, 1932- .
Spanking the Maid. Rec: Bloom
The Universal Baseball Association Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop.. Rec: LAT
Cortázar, Julio, Argentinian, 1914-1984.
Hopscotch. Rec: Bloom
All Fires the Fire. Rec: Bloom
Blow-up and Other Stories. Rec: Bloom
Cozzens, James Gould, American, 1903-1978.
Guard of Honor. Rec: BOMC
Crase, Douglas, American, 1944- .
The Revisionist. Rec: Bloom
Daumal, René, French, 1908-1944.
Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing. Rec: Bloom
Davies, Robertson, Canadian, 1913-1995.
The Deptford Trilogy. Rec: Bloom
The Rebel Angels. Rec: Bloom Burgess
Defoe, Daniel Robinson Crusoe (1719); A Journal of the Plague Year (1722)
1! Virtues of forthright style are seldom
virtuous in critical circles, but Defoe's capacity for creating suspension of disbelief bypasses aesthetics. Robinson Crusoe is an
early example of the creative use of "news stories"—it was suggested by an actual marooning—just as A Journal of the Plague
Year brilliantly impersonates an eye-witness account.
Defoe, Daniel, English, 1660-1731.
Roxana. Rec: Smiley
Robinson Crusoe. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Lubbock Rexmo Smiley Ward
Moll Flanders. Rec: Bloom Rexmo
Journal of a Plague Year. Rec: Bloom
DeLillo, Don, American, 1936- .
White Noise. Rec: Bloom Harvard Hungry Mind Radcliffe Time
Libra. Rec: Bloom
Running Dog. Rec: Bloom
Mao II. Rec: Bloom Harvard
Dennis, Nigel, English, 1912-1989.
Cards of Identity. Rec: Bloom
a witty psychological satire that gained cult acclaim. (wiki)
Desai, Anita, Indian writing in English, 1937- .
Fire on the Mountain. Rec: MW Asian
Games at Twilight. Rec: MW Asian
Dickens, Charles Great Expectations (1860 –61)
Dickens was a master of sentimental, savage Victorian journalism, the anatomist of his gory age; but plots, wit and warm
characterization triumph over particularity, and render him a timeless joy. Great Expectations is his masterpiece, autobiography
transmuted into art; but Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers and above all Bleak House make almost equal claims. See
BIOGRAPHY (Zweig)
Dickens, Charles, English, 1812-1870.
Works. Rec: Adler (Selections)
Pickwick Papers. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Lubbock Rexmo Ward
David Copperfield. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Lubbock
The Adventures of Oliver Twist. Rec: Bloom
A Tale of Two Cities. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Bleak House. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3
Hard Times. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Nicholas Nickleby. Rec: Bloom
Dombey and Son. Rec: Bloom
Great Expectations. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Meaningful
Martin Chuzzlewit. Rec: Bloom
Christmas Stories. Rec: Bloom
Little Dorrit. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW
Our Mutual Friend. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading
The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Rec: Bloom
Dickey, James, American, 1923-1997.
The Early Motion. Rec: Bloom
The Central Motion. Rec: Bloom
Deliverance. Rec: ML Novels Time
Didion, Joan, American, 1934- .
Play It As It Lays. Rec: Time
Döblin, Alfred, German, 1878-1957.
Berlin Alexanderplatz. Rec: Bloom Meaningful
The story concerns a small-time criminal, Franz Biberkopf, fresh from prison, who is drawn into the underworld. When his
criminal mentor murders the prostitute whom Biberkopf has been relying on as an anchor, he realizes that he will be unable to
extricate himself from the underworld into which he has sunk.
Doctorow, E. L., American, 1931- .
The Book of Daniel. Rec: Bloom
World's Fair. Rec: Bloom
Ragtime. Rec: BOMC ML Novels Time
Donleavy, J. P., Irish, 1926- .
The Ginger Man. Rec: Good Reading ML Novels Ward
Donoso, José, Chilean, 1924- .
The Obscene Bird of Night. Rec: Bloom
Dos Passos, John Three Soldiers (1922); Manhattan Transfer(1925); USA (1932-36)
Three Soldiers is a conventional but innovative study of Americans at war in 1917; Manhattan Transfer a montage of 1920s
life; USA an impressive attempt to manage a large, politically committed theme.
Dos Passos, John, American, 1896-1970.
U.S.A. (Trilogy). Rec: Bloom BOMC Hungry Mind ML Novels NYPL
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor Notes from the House of the Dead (1861); Crime and Punishment (1866)
Tolstoy's rival (according to the critic George Steiner), journalistic ranter (according to Nabokov, qv), Dostoyevsky's capacity
to dramatize deadly, comic dilemmas of Russian life under the Tsars makes him the master whose Crime and Punishment is the
best introduction. Notes from the House of the Dead—based on Dostoyevsky's life in Tsarist prisons—presages the Gulag.
Also: The Brothers Karamazov; The Idiot, The Devils, etc. See BIOGRAPHY (Zweig)
Dostoyevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich, Russian, 1821-1881.
Notes from the Underground. Rec: Bloom
Crime and Punishment. Rec: Adler Bloom Col61 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Harvard Meaningful Ward
The Brothers Karamazov. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Harvard Meaningful Rex
SJC Ward
The Idiot. Rec: Adler Bloom Meaningful Smiley Ward
The Possessed (The Devils). Rec: Bloom Meaningful
Short Novels. Rec: Bloom
Douglas (Brown), George, Scottish, 1869-1902.
The House with the Green Shutters. Rec: Bloom
The novel gives a strongly outlined picture of the harder and less genial aspects of Scottish life and character, and was regarded
as a useful corrective to the more roseate presentations of the kailyard school of J. M. Barrie and Ian Maclaren.
Douglas, Norman, English, 1868-1952.
Looking Back. Rec: National Review
South Wind. Rec: Bloom
Drabble, Margaret The Millstone (1970)
A characteristically sixties study (a milestone it ain't) of young motherhood, unsentimental, caustic and socially aware, though
with a strong sense of privilege (the unmarried mother is a scholarship girl). Drabble's fiction is self-conscious and less well
written than her reputation might imply. but if it is inclined to insularity, it is always at least aware of the deep water beyond the
smug island.
Dreiser, Theodore An American Tragedy (1925)
Inelegant, Zolaesque, Theodore Dreiser heaped up authenticity like a scrap merchant making his pile. Earnest anger makes his
social-climber hero's "murder" of his working class fiancée a "tragedy" of sentimental ruthlessness in the heyday of rugged
individualism. Also: Sister Carrie
Dreiser, Theodore, American, 1871-1945.
Sister Carrie. Rec: Bloom ML Novels
An American Tragedy. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe Time
Dumas, Alexandre, French, 1802-1870.
The Count of Monte Cristo. Rec: Harvard
Duras, Marguerite, French, 1914-1996.
The Lover. Rec: Bloom NYPL
Four Novels. Rec: Bloom
Durrell, Lawrence The Alexandria Quartet (1957-60)
Grandiose composition, supposedly Einsteinian in its literary "relativity"; gaudy, often splendid style. The outrageous Scobie
wittily homonymous with the dull hero of Graham Greene's (qv) The Heart of the Matter. As often with Durrell, topography
wins. See DIARIES; POETRY; TRAVEL
Durrell, Lawrence, English, 1912-1990.
Alexandria Quartet. Rec: Bloom Burgess ML Novels
Du Maurier, Daphne, English, 1907-1989.
Rebecca. Rec: Radcliffe
Eça de Queiróz, José María, Portuguese, 1843-1900.
The Sin of Father Amaro. Rec: Ward
Dragon's Teeth. Rec: Ward
The Maias. Rec: Bloom Ward
Edgeworth, Maria, Irish, 1768-1849.
Castle Rackrent. Rec: Bloom
…often regarded as the first true historical novel and the first true regional novel in English. It is also widely regarded as the
first family saga, and the first novel to use the device of a narrator who is both unreliable and an observer of, rather than a
player in, the actions he chronicles.
Edwards, G. B., English, 1899-1976.
The Book of Ebenezer Le Page. Rec: Bloom
The book takes the form of an autobiography of an archetypal Guernseyman who lives through the dramatic changes in the
island of Guernsey, Channel Islands from the late 19th century, through to the 1960s.
Egan, Jennifer, American, 1962- .
Look at Me. Rec: Smiley
Eichendorff, Joseph, Freiherr von, German, 1788-1857.
Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing. Rec: Ward (novel)
A typical romantic novella, voyage and love are the main topics. The protagonist leaves his father's mill and becomes gardener
on a Viennese castle and falls in love with the supposed daughter of the duke. Because she is unreacheable for him he travels to
Italy but then returns and gets to know that she is just adopted by the duke and nothing stands in the way of a marriage between
them.
Eliot, George Middlemarch(1871); Daniel Deronda (1874) Outspokenness in sexual and social matters was never better
combined with literary decorum than in Middlemarch. We know everything about Casaubon and Dorothea's terrible marriage
without ever entering their bedroom; we see Lydgate's early flame doused by his own passion and can infer his shortcomings;
morality without Christian affectations. Daniel Deronda is prolix but acute on Victorian attitudes to the Jewish problem. Also:
Silas Mauler, Adam Bede, etc
Eliot, George, English, 1819-1880.
Adam Bede. Rec: Adler Bloom Lubbock
Silas Marner. Rec: Bloom
The Mill on the Floss. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Middlemarch. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Meaningful Smiley Ward
Daniel Deronda. Rec: Bloom
Elkin, Stanley, American, 1930-1995.
The Living End. Rec: Bloom
A very strangely constructed little novel, Stanley Elkin's "The Living End" is both an afterlife fantasy and a secular meditation
on the meaning of God's creation.
Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man (1952)
Negro life in the USA: somewhat overtaken, despite its controlled rage, by black literature of 1960s and 1970s; honoured more
in pantheon than library; but truthful, literate narrative.
Ellison, Ralph, American, 1914-1994.
Invisible Man. Rec: Bloom BOMC Burgess Good Reading Hungry Mind LAT Meaningful ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Time
Utne
Shadow and Act. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Emecheta, Buchi, Nigerian writing in English, 1944- .
The Bride Price. Rec: NYPL
Enchi Fumiko, Japanese, 1905-1986.
The Waiting Years. Rec: MW Asian
Masks. Rec: MW Asian
Enright, D. J. Academic Year(1955)
A dry, witty corrective to the lay-it-on-with-a-trowellishness of Lawrence Durrell (qv) is this study of studies in Alexandria, an
exquisitely deft and astringent early entrant in the long list of campus novels, by a poet and critic who is not in the habit of
letting people off.
Erdrich, Louise, American, 1954- .
Love Medicine. Rec: Hungry Mind (novel)
Exley, Frederick, American, 1929-1992.
A Fan's Notes. Rec: BOMC
A Fan's Notes is a sardonic account of mental illness, alcoholism, and failure to measure up to the American dream -- as well as
the black hole of sports fandom.
Farrell, James T., American, 1904-1979.
Studs Lonigan. Rec: BOMC ML Novels
Faulkner, William Light in August (1932)
Faulkner's style echoed European models—especially Joyce—but remained, not always happily, massively "personal" in its
experimental industry. Light in A ugustcombines swift story-telling with brilliant, multi-faceted presentation of the semiliterate. Also: Sartoris; As I Lay Dying, Sanctuary, etc. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Faulkner, William, American, 1897-1962. Nobel Laureate
The Portable Faulkner. Rec: NYPL
The Sound and the Fury. Rec: Bloom BOMC Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Hungry Mind Meaningful ML Novels
Radcliffe Time Ward
As I Lay Dying. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe Smiley
A Rose for Emily. Rec: GBWW
Sanctuary. Rec: Bloom
Light in August. Rec: Bloom BOMC Good Reading ML Novels Radcliffe Time
Absalom, Absalom!. Rec: Bloom Good Reading Meaningful Radcliffe
The Wild Palms. Rec: Bloom
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom
The Hamlet. Rec: Bloom
The Mansion. Rec: Burgess
Go Down Moses. Rec: Hungry Mind
Fielding, Henry The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749); Jonathan Wild the Great(1743) P
The History of Tom Jones is long for modern taste: lacking in "development", a gallery of rogues and rips, it demands to be
read at a gallop. Jonathan Wild the Great is a knowing, low-life satire with a notorious criminal as "King". "The prose Homer
of human nature," said Byron of Fielding.
Fielding, Henry, English, 1707-1754.
Tom Jones. Rec: Adler Bloom Col37 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Rex SJC Smiley Ward
Joseph Andrews. Rec: Adler Bloom
Firbank, Ronald Caprice (1916)
Firbank flavours a distinct area of modern fantastic fiction—Waugh (qv), Nabokov (qv), Powell (qv) all have debts to pay—a
scandalous pointillist world of gay abandon; his novels are brilliantly coloured scatter cushions dangerous with hidden pins.
Also: Valmouth, etc
Firbank, Ronald, English, 1886-1926.
Five Novels. Rec: Bloom
Fitzgerald, F. Scott The Great Gatsby (1925)
The Great Gatsby is memorial enough to Fitzgerald's self-destructive genius; quibbles concerning the narrator's shadowy
personality cannot bruise the flawless, original image of the jazz age, its charm and its corruption. See BIOGRAPHY
(Milford); DLARIES; FICTION/SHORT STORIES; FILM (Latham)
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, American, 1896-1940.
The Great Gatsby. Rec: Bloom Boston PL GBWW Hungry Mind ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Smiley Time
Babylon Revisited and Other Stories. Rec: Bloom
Tender is the Night. Rec: Bloom BOMC ML Novels Radcliffe
This Side of Paradise. Rec: Radcliffe
The Beautiful and the Damned. Rec: Radcliffe
Flaubert, Gustave Madame Bovary (1857); Salammbo (1862)
0
Madame Bovary is the classic novel, narrative as art. "Madame Bovary, c'est moi" said Flaubert, claiming fiction as his
kingdom. Salammbo, his "failure", is a terrific case of historical verbosity (life in old Carthage): overwritten, magnificent. See
DIARIES (Flaubert, Goncourt); FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Flaubert, Gustave, French, 1821-1880.
Madame Bovary. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Meaningful Smiley Ward
A Sentimental Education. Rec: Bloom Meaningful Rex Ward
Salammbô. Rec: Bloom
Three Stories. Rec: Adler Aquinas
A Simple Soul. Rec: Bloom
Fontane, Theodor, German, 1819-1898.
Effi Briest. Rec: Bloom Ward
Along with the more famous Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary, the novel forms a trilogy on marriage in the 19th century
from the female point of view.
Ford, Ford Madox Parade's End (1957)
Ford is maddening to certain tastes; morosely punctuated with dots and dashes; but the collapse of English society during the
Great War has never been more passionately depicted than in his touching account of marriage and betrayal among the upper
middle classes. Also: The Good Soldier, etc
Ford, Ford Madox, English, 1873-1939.
Parade's End. Rec: Bloom Good Reading ML Novels Rexmo
The Good Soldier. Rec: Bloom ML Novels Smiley
Ford, Richard, American, 1944- .
The Sportswriter. Rec: Time
Forster, E. M. A Passage to India (1924)
Time is not being kind to Forster's essentially genteel muse but A Passage to India is a brave, liberal view of British India at its
confident, uncertain zenith. See also The Hall of Devi (1953) on Forster's own Indian visits.
Forster, E. M., English, 1879-1970.
A Room with a View. Rec: ML Novels Radcliffe
Howards End. Rec: Bloom ML Novels Radcliffe Utne
A Passage to India. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Smiley Time Ward
Where Angels Fear to Tread. Rec: Radcliffe
Fowles, John The Magus (1966, revised 1976)
Long, complex "novel of adolescence written by an adolescent" (Fowles in his introduction). Owes debts to Le Grand
Meardnes, to Bevis, to Great Expectations and to such contemporary novelists as Durrell (qv), Bellow (qv) and Marguerite
Duras (q non v). Convoluted games on a mesmeric Greek island: tries to provide "an experience beyond the literary" and
certainly dishes up a rich and stimulating brew. Also: The French Lieutenant's Woman; Daniel Martin, etc
Fowles, John, English, 1926-2005.
The French Lieutenant's Woman. Rec: Burgess Radcliffe Time
The Magus. Rec: ML Novels
France, Anatole, French, 1844-1924. Nobel Laureate
Penguin Island. Rec: Bloom
Thaïs. Rec: Bloom
Franklin, Miles (Stella), Australian, 1879-1954.
My Brilliant Career. Rec: Bloom
Franzen, Jonathan, American, 1959- .
The Corrections. Rec: Time
Frayn, Michael, English, 1933- .
Sweet Dreams. Rec: Burgess
Frederic, Harold, American, 1856-1898.
The Damnation of Theron Ware. Rec: Bloom
Frisch, Max, Swiss writing in German, 1911-1991.
Man in the Holocene. Rec: Bloom
I'm Not Stiller. Rec: Bloom Ward
Fuentes, Carlos, Mexican, 1928- .
A Change of Skin. Rec: Bloom
Terra Nostra. Rec: Bloom Ward
Gaddis, William, American, 1922-1998.
The Recognitions. Rec: Bloom BOMC Time
Galeano, Eduardo, Uruguayan, 1940- .
Memory of Fire (trilogy). Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Galsworthy, John The Forsyte Saga (1905-22)
Begins as a readable indictment of English Edwardianism; ends as a mausoleum. First volume, The Man of Property, is the best
and most honest, with Soames and Irene superbly contrasted in a light which favours now one now the other and leaves neither
gilded nor damned.
Galsworthy, John, English, 1867-1933. Nobel Laureate
Works.
The Forsyte Saga. Rec: Bloom
Galt, John, Scottish, 1779-1839.
The Entail. Rec: Bloom
Gao Xingjian, Chinese, 1940- . Nobel Laureate
Works.
García Márquez, Gabriel, Colombian, 1928- . Nobel Laureate
Love in the Time of Cholera. Rec: Bloom Meaningful
One Hundred Years of Solitude. Rec: Bloom Boston PL Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Harvard Meaningful NYPL Utne
Ward
Gardner, John, American, 1933-1982.
Nickel Mountain. Rec: BOMC
Grendel. Rec: Smiley
Gaskell, Elizabeth Cranford (1853)
Life in an early-19th-century English country town. Gaskell lacks the grand scale and intellectual fire of George Eliot (qv), but
has an ironic eye for suffering and for conceit. Witty mirror-image of Bronte, Haworth and those uncouth, insufferable moors.
See BIOGRAPHY
Gaskell, Elizabeth, English, 1810-1865.
Cranford. Rec: Bloom
Mary Barton. Rec: Bloom
North and South. Rec: Bloom (novels)
Gass, William H., American, 1924- .
In the Heart of the Heart of the Country. Rec: Bloom
Omensetter's Luck. Rec: Bloom
Gautier, Théophile, French, 1811-1872.
Mademoiselle de Maupin. Rec: Bloom
Gautier instead turned the plot into a simple love triangle between a man, d'Albert, and his mistress, Rosette, who both fall in
love with Madelaine de Maupin, who is disguised as a man named Théodore. The message behind Gautier’s version of the
infamous legend is the fundamental pessimism about the human identity, and perhaps the entire Romantic age.
Genet, Jean, French, 1910-1986.
Our Lady of the Flowers. Rec: Bloom
The Thief's Journal. Rec: Bloom
Gide, Andre The Immoralist(1902)
Proselytizing account of self-discovery by homosexual authoritative figure. Gide's fiction is datedly daring, innovative, old hat.
Also: The Counterfeiters, etc Glanville, Brian Along the Arno (1956); The Bankrupts (1958) Along the Arno sees British
expatriate life, The Bankrupts London Jewish life without illusions; tenderness wars with derision in both.
Gide, Andre, French, 1869-1951. Nobel Laureate
The Counterfeiters. Rec: Harvard
Travels in the Congo. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
The Immoralist. Rec: Bloom
Corydon. Rec: Bloom
Lafcadio's Adventure (The Caves of the Vatican). Rec: Bloom
The Journals. Rec: Bloom
Giono, Jean, French, 1895-1970.
The Horseman on the Roof. Rec: Bloom (novel)
Angelo is an young Italian nobleman and soldier whose hot-headedness has forced him into a desperate exile in France.
Gissing, George, English, 1857-1903.
New Grub Street. Rec: Bloom
A semi-autobiographical novel about a group of novelists and journalists striving to earn a living while dealing with poverty,
stress and marital problems.
Glasgow, Ellen, American, 1874-1945.
Barren Ground. Rec: Bloom
Vein of Iron. Rec: Bloom BOMC
Barren Ground (1925) is a novel by Ellen Glasgow giving an account of thirty years in the life of a rural Virginia woman.
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, German, 1749-1832.
Elective Affinities. Rec: Bloom
Sorrows of Young Werther. Rec: Bloom
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. Rec: Bloom
Wilhelm Meister's Years of Wandering. Rec: Bloom
Gogol, Nicolai Dead Souls (1842) 0
Unfinished, like the maze it depicts, Dead Souls is a satire of desperation in which the lost millions—the serfs of imperial
Russia—are "redeemed" by the scurrilous, picaresque, activities of an archetypal confidence man. Good translation:
Magarshack (1961). See BIOGRAPHY (Nabokov)
Gogol, Nikolai Vasilievich, Russian, 1809-1852.
Taras Bulba. Rec: Smiley
Complete Tales. Rec: Bloom
Dead Souls. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Meaningful
The Government Inspector. Rec: Bloom
Golden Lotus, See Jinpingmei
Golding, William Lord of the Flies (1954); Pincher Martin (1956)
Lord of the Flies is a devilish Coral Island: British prep schoolboys marooned on a desert island, a classic of malign vision by
Catholic apologist. Pincher Martin is a tour de force about a drowning sailor: melodramatic notions redeemed by fastidious
imagination.
Golding, William, English, 1911-1993. Nobel Laureate
Lord of the Flies. Rec: ML Novels Radcliffe Time
Pincher Martin. Rec: Bloom
The Spire. Rec: Burgess
Goldman, Francisco, American, 1954- .
The Ordinary Seaman. Rec: Hungry Mind
Gombrowicz, Witold, Polish, 1904-1969.
Three Novels. Rec: Bloom
Goncharov, Ivan Alexandrovich, Russian, 1812-1891.
The Frigate Pallada. Rec: Bloom
Oblomov. Rec: Bloom Ward
Gordimer, Nadine Guest of Honour (1977); The Late Bourgeois World (1966)
Gordimer's brave attempts to find moral orientations in an apartheid state give her dignity and seriousness, but she lacks
literary grace. Guest of Honouris about a "good" Briton returning to a recently decolonialized land; The Late Bourgeois World
is a love story between black and white in South Africa. Also: Burger's Daughter
Gorky, Maksim, Russian, 1868-1936.
Creatures That Once Were Men. Rec: Boston PL
Gottfried von Strassburg, German, fl. 1210.
Tristan. Rec: Ward
Gotthelf, Jeremias, German, 1797-1854.
The Black Spider. Rec: Bloom
Grade, Chaim, Lithuanian-American writing in Yiddish, 1910-1982.
The Yeshiva. Rec: Bloom
Grass, Gunter The Tin Drum (1959)
Inventive, patchy disquisition (as if by a German Laurence Sterne) on the Hitlerian legacy as seen by an "autobiographical"
dwarf. Grass is strident, coarse, very subtle. Also: The Flounder
Grass, Günter, German, 1927- . Nobel Laureate
Tin Drum. Rec: Bloom Meaningful Ward
The Flounder. Rec: Bloom
Graves, Robert I, Claudius (1934); Claudius the God (1934); Count Belisarius (1938)
Pioneering "autobiographies" of the stammering emperor, at once clean and scabrous. Graves claimed to write fiction to
subsidize his poetry; but Count Belisarius, with its assured use of Byzantine background, deserves more than a pot-boiling
reputation. See AUTOBIOGRAPHY: HISTORY/ANCIENT (Procopius, Suetonius); MYTHOLOGY: POETRY
Graves, Robert, English, 1895-1985.
King Jesus. Rec: Bloom
Reading this book is a rewarding challenge. It's weird, esoteric, and somehow simultaneously iconoclastic and reverent.
Gray, Alasdair, Scottish, 1934- .
Lanark. Rec: Burgess
Green, Henry Living (1929); Loving (1945)
Henry Green worked as a factory manager but was also an upper-class contemporary of the slightly envious Waugh (qv); he
wrote unpatronizingly tender, comic and economical studies of British life.
Green, Henry, English, 1905-1973.
Nothing. Rec: Bloom
Loving. Rec: Bloom ML Novels Time
Party Going. Rec: Bloom Burgess
Greene, Graham The Power and the Glory (1940)
Paradoxes of Catholic faith teasingly, sometimes superbly anatomized. The Power and the Glory is a schematic masterpiece of
a whisky priest in Mexico. The anti-Catholic case is consistently trivialized throughout his work. Later work smacks of selfparody, eager at once to shock and to please. Also: Brighton Rock; The Heart of the Matter, The Confidential Agent, etc. See
TRAVEL
Greene, Graham, English, 1904-1991.
Brighton Rock. Rec: Bloom
The Heart of the Matter. Rec: Bloom Burgess ML Novels Time
The Power and the Glory. Rec: Bloom Burgess Time
Grey, Zane, American, 1875-1939.
Riders of the Purple Sage. Rec: NYPL
Grimmelshausen, Johann Jakob Christoffel von, German, ca. 1625-1676.
Simplicius Simplicissimus. Rec: Ward (novel)
Inspired by the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), it is regarded as the first adventure novel in the German language. It contains
autobiographic elements, inspired by Grimmelshausen's experience in the war.
Grossman, David, Israeli, 1954- .
See Under: Love. Rec: Bloom
Halldór Laxness, Icelandic, 1902-1998. Nobel Laureate
Independent People. Rec: Meaningful
Hammett, Dashiell, American, 1894-1961.
The Maltese Falcon. Rec: BOMC ML Novels Radcliffe
Red Harvest. Rec: Time
Hamsun, Knut, Norwegian, 1859-1952. Nobel Laureate
Pan. Rec: Bloom
Hunger. Rec: Bloom Meaningful Ward
Mysteries. Rec: Ward
Handke, Peter, Austrian, 1942- .
Slow Homecoming. Rec: Bloom
Hardy, Thomas Far from the Madding Crowd (1874); Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891); Jude the Obscure (1895)
Hard to deny Hardy classic status, hard to grant it whole-heartedly on account of his clotted style, glum philosophy. Far from
the Madding Crowd earliest, liveliest masterpiece: Bathsheba Everdene is a new woman in an old Wessex setting; Tess of the D
'Urbervilles is full of memorable images, flawed by Hardy's appetite for rigged doom; Jude the Obscures scandalous reception
turned Hardy from fiction to poetry. Also: The Mayor of Casterbridge; Under the Greenwood Tree, etc. See POETRY
Hardy, Thomas, English, 1840-1928.
The Well-Beloved. Rec: Bloom
The Woodlanders. Rec: Bloom
The Return of the Native. Rec: Bloom Good Reading
The Mayor of Casterbridge. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Far From the Madding Crowd. Rec: Bloom
Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Rec: Bloom Good Reading
Jude the Obscure. Rec: Bloom Ward
Collected Poems. Rec: Bloom
Harris, Wilson, Guayanese, 1921- .
The Guyana Quartet. Rec: Bloom
Heartland. Rec: Burgess
Hartley, L. P. The Shrimp and the Anemone (1944, trilogy with The Sixth Heaven, 1946. and Eustace and Hilda, 1947); The
Go-Between (1953)
The Go-Between charts the emotional deadening of an insecure small boy used as a go-between by lovers of different classes
in Edwardian rural England: powerful portrait of the period and of repression. The trilogy concerns a brother and sister from
cradle to maturity in England between-the-wars.
Hartley, L. P., English, 1895-1972.
Facial Justice. Rec: Burgess
Hawk, Jaroslav The Good Soldier Svejk (1922)
Endearing, caustic satire on war and the lunatic proceduralists who wage it. Svejk himself conceals intelligence under a veneer
of slavish obedience to authority—and pretentious officials are revealed for the sterile fools they are. Epic masterpiece, of the
quality of Gogol (qv) or Rabelais (qv). The definitive, unexpurgated translation by Parrott (1973) recommended.
Hasek, Jaroslav, Czech, 1883-1926.
Good Soldier Schweik. Rec: NYPL Ward
Hawkes, John, American, 1925- .
The Cannibal. Rec: Bloom
Second Skin. Rec: Bloom
Hawthorne, Nathaniel The Scarlet Letter(1850)
*
No need to continue to seek the Great American Novel; this was it. Hester Prynne's search for freedom from the prison of
society is the archetypal American story—and it ends in the same way, with a retreat, or flight, into the wilderness, where all
men are, or seem to be, free. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, American, 1804-1864.
The House of the Seven Gables. Rec: Smiley
The Scarlet Letter. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading
Tales and Sketches. Rec: Bloom
Selected Tales. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
The Marble Faun. Rec: Bloom
Notebooks. Rec: Bloom
Hayes, Alfred In Love (1954)
New York in the 1940s; love affair between a model and an older man; terse, emblematic, ironic. Hayes' post-Hemingway
brevity is also seen in stories of Italy under US occupation: The Girl on the Via Flaminia.
Hazzard, Shirley, Australian, 1931- .
The Transit of Venus. Rec: BOMC
Hedayat, Sadeq, Iranian, 1903-1951.
The Blind Owl. Rec: Harvard Ward
I have NEVER read a description of an insane mind as well written as this. (amazon)
Heidenstam, Verner von, Swedish, 1859-1940. Nobel Laureate
Works. (poetry and novels)
Heller, Joseph Catch 22 (1961)
Title proverbial; book longer than witty, though very witty. Bravura passages of anti-war farce laced with blood; Yossarian a
memorable protagonist, what one can remember of him.
Heller, Joseph, American, 1923-1999.
Catch-22. Rec: BOMC Boston PL Burgess Hungry Mind LAT ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Time
Hemingway, Ernest The Sun also Rises (Fiesta)(1926): A Farewell to Arms (1929); For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
Development of character was alien to Hemingway. A Farewell To Armsis the most integrated of his longer works, stained with
lost love and the blood of Caporetto; a tendency to self-ennobling postures deforms both The Sun also Rises and For Whom the
Bell Tolls but their virtues of narrative tautness and sensational pointillism easily justify his place in the modern pantheon. See
BIOGRAPHY (Baker); FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Hemingway, Ernest, American, 1899-1962. Nobel Laureate
In Our Time. Rec: Radcliffe
Short Stories. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Hungry Mind
The Short Happy Life of Macomber. Rec: GBWW
A Farewell to Arms. Rec: Bloom BOMC ML Novels Radcliffe
The Sun Also Rises. Rec: Bloom BOMC Boston PL Good Reading Harvard Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe Time
The Garden of Eden. Rec: Bloom
For Whom the Bell Tolls. Rec: Burgess Harvard NYPL Radcliffe
The Old Man and the Sea. Rec: Burgess Meaningful Radcliffe
Heraclitus, See Pre-Socratic Philosophers
Hersey, John The Wall (1962)
A vivid, highly effective account of the Warsaw Ghetto, its vicious encirclement and isolation from the rest of the world. A
documentary with a strong sense of indignation checked by a cool head. Hersey (whose Hiroshima was a classic account of the
bombing and its aftermath) proves that fiction remains an honourable tool in the reporting of life, and death.
Hesse, Hermann Steppenwolf (1927)
Shambling, repugnant yet touching figure of the artist as "outsider" in a smug, bourgeois world is a representative symbol of
Hesse's alert, romantic spirit. Also: Rosshalde; Siddhartha; The Glass Bead Game, etc
Hesse, Hermann, German-Swiss, 1877-1962. Nobel Laureate
Steppenwolf. Rec: Boston PL
Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi). Rec: Bloom Ward
Narcissus and Goldmund. Rec: Bloom
Hilton, James, English, 1900-1954.
Lost Horizon. Rec: NYPL
Hoban, Russell, American, 1925- .
Riddley Walker. Rec: Bloom Burgess Good Reading
Hogan, Linda, American, 1947- .
Mean Spirit. Rec: Hungry Mind
Hogg, James, Scottish, 1770-1835.
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Hope, Anthony The Prisoner of Zenda (1894); Rupert of Hentzau (1898)
Supreme romantic nzittel-Europan escapism, not without wit and spirit; sequel as good as famous original.
Howells, William Dean, American, 1837-1920.
The Rise of Silas Lapham. Rec: Bloom
A Modern Instance. Rec: Bloom
Hughes, Richard, English, 1900-1976.
The Fox in the Attic. Rec: Burgess
A High Wind in Jamaica. Rec: ML Novels
Hugo, Victor, French, 1802-1885.
Hunchback of Notre Dame (Notre Dame de Paris). Rec: Bloom Ward
The Distance, the Shadows: Selected Poems. Rec: Bloom
Les Misérables. Rec: Bloom Good Reading
William Shakespeare. Rec: Bloom
The Toilers of the Sea. Rec: Bloom
The End of Satan. Rec: Bloom
God. Rec: Bloom
Hernani. Rec: Ward
Hurston, Zora Neale, American, 1891?-1960.
Their Eyes Were Watching God. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind Radcliffe Smiley Time
Dust Tracks on a Road. Rec: NYPL Utne
Huxley, Aldous Point Counter Point (1928): Brave New World (1932)
Ostentatiously "libellous", Point Counter Point retains interest as a portrait of 1930s galere (D. H. Lawrence et al). Prurience
and wit are lively and sustaining. Brave New World is an early example of modish dystopianism: the future as awful warning.
Also: Chrome Yellow; Antic Hay; Eyeless in Gaza, etc
Huxley, Aldous, English, 1894-1963.
Antic Hay. Rec: Bloom
Point Counter Point. Rec: Bloom ML Novels
Brave New World. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe TLS
Collected Essays. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3
After Many a Summer. Rec: Burgess
Ape and Essence. Rec: Burgess
Island. Rec: Burgess
Irving, John, American, 1942- .
The World According to Garp. Rec: BOMC LAT Radcliffe
Ishiguro, Kazuo, English, 1954- .
Never Let Me Go. Rec: Time
Jacobson, Dan A Dance in the Sun (1956)
A short novel set in the South African veldt which, without rhetoric or accusation, marvellously catches the dogged spirit of the
Afrikaaner. Jacobson's later books, including Tamar and The Life of Joseph Basz, are often ingenious and astringent, but their
literary quality cuts against the dry realism which dignified the early
book.
James, Henry The Portrait of a Lady (1880); The Golden Bowl (1904)
The master of novel-as-art. The Portrait of a I ndy, the most accessible, if long-drawn-out, describes Isabel Archer, an American
heiress, and her fortunes in Europe. The Golden Bowl is a 21 carat, dense, abstruse evocation of sexual guilt and innocence.
Also: The Europeans; The Bostonians; Washington Square, etc. See BIOGRAPHY (Edel, James); DLARIES;
FICTION/SHORT STORIES; LITERARY CRITICISM
James, Henry, American, 1843-1916.
American Novels and Stories. Rec: Ward
Portrait of a Lady. Rec: Bloom Radcliffe Smiley Ward
The Bostonians. Rec: Bloom Radcliffe
Prince Casamassima. Rec: Bloom
The Awkward Age. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Short Novels and Tales. Rec: Bloom Good Reading
The Ambassadors. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading ML Novels
Wings of the Dove. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe
Golden Bowl. Rec: Bloom Good Reading ML Novels
The American. Rec: Adler
The Beast in the Jungle. Rec: GBWW
The Turn of the Screw. Rec: NYPL
Jarrell, Randall Pictures from an Institution (1954)
American academic life satirized by poet. Particularly spicy for those able to unlock d clefelements, but rises above malice to
elegance. See LITERARY CRITICISM; POETRY
Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer, Indian writing in English, 1927- .
Heat and Dust. Rec: Bloom
Anonymous, Chinese, 1618.
Jinpingmei (Chin P'ing Mei (Ch'in Ping Mei; also known as Golden Lotus; Plum in the Golden Vase). Rec: Fadiman 4 Oriental
Ward
Johnson, Denis, American, 1949- .
Angels. Rec: Bloom
Fiskadoro. Rec: Bloom
Jesus' Son. Rec: Bloom
Johnson, Pamela Hansford, English, 1912-1981.
An Error of Judgement. Rec: Burgess (novel)
Jones, James From Here to Eternity (1951)
Another novelist promoted to impotence by early success; Jones's ponderous compendium of service life before and after Pearl
Harbour is memorable for furious honesty, at least. Also: The Thin Red Line; Some Came Running
Jones, James, American, 1921-1977.
From Here to Eternity. Rec: BOMC ML Novels
Jong, Erica, American, 1942- .
How to Save Your Own Life. Rec: Burgess
Joyce, James Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1914); Ulysses (1922)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a "conventional" narrative of Stephen Dedalus's Dublin adolescence at the turn of the
century, branded by Catholic bigotry; increasingly less "difficult" in the light of its derivatives. Ulysses, once scandalous, now
classic account of one day in the life of Leopold Bloom, a Dublin Jew, doubling for wily Odysseus. Joyce was a master of
pastiche and verbal ingenuity, sometimes committed to protracted (and wearisome) experiment; thus Finnegan's Wake is more
interesting as a text for academic exegesis than for its own sake. See BIOGRAPHY (Ellmann); DIARIES; FICTION/SHORT
STORIES
Joyce, James, Irish, 1882-1941.
Dubliners. Rec: Bloom Harvard
The Dead (from Dubliners). Rec: Adler SJC
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Rec: Adler Bloom GBWW ML Novels Radcliffe
Ulysses. Rec: Adler Bloom Boston PL Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Harvard Meaningful ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe
Smiley Ward
Finnegans Wake. Rec: Bloom Burgess ML Novels Radcliffe Ward
Kafka, Franz The Trial (1925); The Castle ( I 926); America (1927) 10 The Trialconcerns Josef K's arrest and degradation,
"although he had done nothing wrong"; it is a supreme creation of prognostic and literary imagination. America is a comedy of
the immigrant Kafka never was (he never saw America). The Castle is a superb comic chiller of the search for a spiritual keep.
See DIARIES; FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Kaniuk, Yoram, Israeli, 1930- .
His Daughter. Rec: Bloom (novel)
Karp, David The Day of the Monkey (1955)
Prescient vision of colonial crack-up, impressively avant la lettre, it foresaw the Mau Mau "emergency" in Kenya and the
emergence of a new, savagely implacable African spirit. Karp writes unhysterically (far better than Ruark in Something of
Value) and looked like becoming a major writer. His One is a better dystopian novel than more recent additions to the genre—
as nasty and as memorable as Nabokov's (qv) Bend Sinister.
Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese, 1899-1972. Nobel Laureate
The Sound of the Mountain. Rec: Meaningful
Beauty and Sadness. Rec: Fadiman 4
Snow Country. Rec: MW Asian Ward
Thousand Cranes. Rec: Ward
Kazantzakis, Nikos, Greek, 1883-1957.
The Greek Passion. Rec: Bloom
The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel. Rec: Bloom
Zorba the Greek. Rec: Meaningful
Keillor, Garrison, American, 1942- .
WLT: A Radio Romance. Rec: Smiley
Keneally, Thomas The Confederates (1970)
An excellent, chop-licking account of Stonewall Jackson and his more or less all honourable men in the service of a
dishonourable cause (but compare Warren, qv). A memorable evocation of the sexual urgency that accompanies war, vivid set
pieces that stir the blood while always reminding one of the virtuosity of a
basilisk-eyed author.
Keneally, Thomas, Australian, 1935- .
The Playmaker. Rec: Bloom
Schindler's List. Rec: Bloom Radcliffe
Kennedy, William, American, 1928- .
Ironweed. Rec: ML Novels Bloom
The Albany Cycle. Rec: Bloom
Kerouac, Jack On the Road (1957)
Maddening "bible" of the Beat generation. Starry-eyed search for the Wide Blue Yonder was (and is) an American dream;
Kerouac's sentimental attitude to sex and to drugs was to see its apogee in a nadir called Manson. See BIOGRAPHY
(Charters); DIARIES (Ginsberg)
Kerouac, Jack, American, 1922-1969.
On the Road. Rec: Boston PL Harvard Hungry Mind LAT ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Time
Kesey, Ken, American, 1935-2001.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Rec: Hungry Mind LAT NYPL Radcliffe Time
Kincaid, Jamaica, American, 1949- .
Annie John. Rec: Hungry Mind Smiley
A Small Place. Rec: Utne
Kis, Danilo, Serbian, 1935-1989.
A Tomb for Boris Davidovich. Rec: Bloom
Klossowski, Pierre, French, 1905-2001.
The Laws of Hospitality. Rec: Bloom
The Baphomet. Rec: Bloom (novel)
Knowles, John, American, 1926-2001.
A Separate Peace. Rec: Radcliffe
Koestler, Arthur Darkness at Noon (1940)
Darkness at Noon is a convincing analysis of the self-inculpation of an old Bolshevik arrested by Stalin: Rubashov, innocent,
finally agrees to plead guilty "for the good of the Party". (But compare with Victor Serge, qv). See MATHEMATICS;
NATURAL HISTORY; OCCULT
Koestler, Arthur, English, 1905-1983.
Darkness at Noon. See also The God That Failed Rec: Boston PL ML Novels NYPL TLS
Kosinski, Jerzy The Painted Bird (1968)
The first and best book of a talent increasingly seduced by his own capacity for sex'n'violence. The painted bird is a young
Jewish child turned loose among the peasants of Poland when the Germans overrun the country. Kosinski keeps his
"surrealistic" impulse superbly in place here and the unwilling pilgrim's progress through a godless world is a text for our time,
alas.
Kosinski, Jerzy, American, 1933-1991.
The Painted Bird (Revised ed.). Rec: Hungry Mind LAT Time
Kundera, Milan, Czech, 1929- .
The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Rec: Bloom Smiley
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Rec: TLS
Kuprin, Alexander Ivanovich, Russian, 1870-1938.
Garnet Bracelet. Rec: Ward
La Fayette, Madame de, French, 1634-1693.
Princess of Clèves. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Published anonymously in March 1678, and set in the royal court of Henry II of France a century earlier, it recreates that era
with remarkable precision. Nearly every character except the heroine is a historic figure. Events and intrigues unfold with great
faithfulness to documentary record.
Lagerkvist, Par The Sibyl (1958)
Memoirs of a poor village girl elected to act as Sibyl at Delphi, to experience the torment and ecstasy of possession by Apollo.
Bare, bony, Bergmanesque; Scandinavian Beckett (qv). Don't be misled by the awful epic film of Lagerkvist's Barabbas: he's a
major writer, a subtle, poetic stylist, as cool as spring water. Also: The Guest of Reality; The Dwarf
Lagerkvist, Pär, Swedish, 1891-1974. Nobel Laureate
Evening Land. Rec: Ward
Barabbas. Rec: Bloom
Lagerlöf, Selma, Swedish, 1858-1940. Nobel Laureate
Works.
Lampedusa, Giuseppe Tomasi, prince of, Italian, 1896-1957.
The Leopard. Rec: Bloom Ward
Lao She, Chinese, 1899-1966.
Camel Xiangzi (Rickshaw Boy). Rec: MW Asian
Lawrence, D. H. Sons and Lovers (1913); The Rainbow (1915); Women in Love (1920)
Lawrence has been less admired since the rise of militant feminism, yet Sons and Lovers, as a particular case (if not
"philosophy"), is unrivalled: Paul Morel's working class youth is thick with sensitive pain and observed life. The Rainbow and
Women in Love form a diptych; two sisters and their married destinies against the background of Nottingham farming and
mining life. See DIARIES; FICTION/SHORT STORIES; HISTORY/EUROPEAN; LITERARY CRITICISM; POETRY;
TRAVEL
Lawrence, D. H., English, 1885-1930.
Etruscan Places. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Complete Poems. Rec: Bloom
Studies in Classic American Literature. Rec: Bloom
Complete Short Stories. Rec: Bloom
Sons and Lovers. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Meaningful ML Novels Radcliffe Ward
The Rainbow. Rec: Bloom ML Novels
Women in Love. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading ML Novels Radcliffe
The Prussian Officer. Rec: GBWW
Lady Chatterley's Lover. Rec: Boston PL Radcliffe Smiley
Anonymous, Spanish, 1554.
Lazarillo de Tormes. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Besides its importance in the Spanish literature of the Golden Centuries, Lazarillo de Tormes is credited with founding a
literary genre, the picaresque novel, so called from Spanish pícaro meaning "rogue" or "rascal".
Lee, Chang-rae, American, 1965- .
A Gesture Life. Rec: Smiley
Lee, Harper, American, 1926- .
To Kill a Mockingbird. Rec: BOMC Hungry Mind NYPL Radcliffe Smiley Time
Lessing, Doris The Golden Notebook (1962)
Lessing was a pioneer of the unsmiling stance of modern feminism; her language is the mundane consequence of the rejection
of wit. The Golden Notebook is solemn with determination to give a full account of Modern Woman at the end of her tether.
Also: Children of Violence (5-novel sequence)
Lessing, Doris, English (childhood in Rhodesia), 1919- .
The Golden Notebook. Rec: Bloom Boston PL Burgess Good Reading Meaningful NYPL Time
Lethem, Jonathan, American, 1964- .
Girl in Landscape. Rec: Harvard (novel)
Levi, Primo, Italian, 1919-1987.
If Not Now, When?. Rec: Bloom
Collected Poems. Rec: Bloom
The Periodic Table. Rec: Bloom Counterpunch Trans
The Drowned and the Saved. Rec: TLS
Lewis, Sinclair Babbitt (1922): Elmer Gantry (1927)
Documentary novelist of the 1920s portrayed non-metropolitan post-Woodrow Wilson USA. Babbitt is a loving, never
sentimental portrait of a small-town businessman; Elmer Gantry debunks religious revivalism through the person of one
phoney preacher. Also: Main Street, etc
Lewis, Sinclair, American, 1885-1951. Nobel Laureate
Babbitt. Rec: Bloom Boston PL Hungry Mind Radcliffe
It Can't Happen Here. Rec: Bloom
Main Street. Rec: ML Novels Radcliffe Smiley
Lewis, Wyndham The Apes of God(1930); The Human Age (1955)
Lewis is regarded as a genius by some; his polemicism sent him to war with all the available targets. The Apes of God is a
rampantly comic satire on his pet 20s hates, especially Bloomsbury. The Human Age (tetralogy) is apocalyptic, vast; an epic
masterpiece or the apotheosis of turgidity, his most important work. Also: Blasting and Bombardiering (memoirs)
Lezama Lima, José, Cuban, 1912-1976.
Paradiso. Rec: Bloom
Lispector, Clarice, Brazilian, 1925-1977.
The Hour of the Star. Rec: Utne
Lodge, David Changing Places (1975)
Home and away version of Bradbury (qv), the American and British campus as seen by a pair of visiting professors who take
over each other's unfinished lives during the course of teaching each other's courses. Some slickness in the carpentered dovetailing, but a sense of pity lends life to schematic example of the don-it-yourself school.
Lodge, David, English, 1935- .
How Far Can You Go?. Rec: Burgess Smiley
London, Jack, American, 1876-1916.
The Call of the Wild. Rec: ML Novels Radcliffe
Lowry, Malcolm Under the Volcano (1947)
Malcolm Lowry as a lost genius is a stock figure in literary circles. Under the Volcano (anatomy of British consul in pre-war
Cuernavaca, Mexico) is a drunken, lachrymose alternative to Joyce's (qv) Bloom: a whole life revealed in a day or two of
alcoholic despair.
Lowry, Malcolm, English, 1909-1957.
Under the Volcano. Rec: Bloom Burgess ML Novels Time
Luo Guanzhong (Luo Kuan-chung), Chinese, ca. 1330-1400.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Rec: Fadiman 4
Lustig, Arnost, Czech, 1926- .
Lovely Green Eyes. Rec: Smiley
Macdonald, George, Scottish, 1824-1905.
Lilith. Rec: Bloom
At the Back of the North Wind. Rec: Bloom
His best-known works are Phantastes, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind, and Lilith, all fantasy
novels, and fairy tales such as — "The Light Princess", "The Golden Key", and "The Wise Woman". "I write, not for children,"
he wrote, "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five." MacDonald also published some volumes of
sermons, the pulpit not having proved an unreservedly successful venue.
MacInnes, Colin, English, 1914-1976.
The London Novels (Trilogy). Rec: Burgess
MacLean, Norman, American, 1902-1990.
A River Runs Through It. Rec: Counterpunch NF (novella)
Mahfuz, Najib (Mahfouz, Naguib), Egyptian (Arabic), 1911?-. Nobel Laureate
Midaq Alley. Rec: Bloom
Fountain and Tomb. Rec: Bloom
Miramar. Rec: Bloom
The Cairo Trilogy. Rec: Utne
Children of Gebelawi. Rec: Meaningful
The Harafish. Rec: Smiley
Maturin, Charles, Irish, 1782-1824.
Melmoth the Wanderer. Rec: Bloom (novel)
The central character, John Melmoth (a Wandering Jew type), is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 150
extra years of life and spends that time searching for someone who will take over the pact for him
Mauriac, François, French, 1885-1970. Nobel Laureate
Therese. Rec: Bloom (novel)
The Desert of Love. Rec: Bloom
The Woman of the Pharisees. Rec: Bloom
McCarthy, Mary The Group (1963)
Bitchiness as method marks Mary McCarthy's work, but malice is a piquant ingredient for a novelist and she rarely spares
herself in a clever pastiche of life-styles among well-heeled female graduates in the thirties and onwards. The clefelements lend
piquancy to the paying off of old scores among New York Trotskyites, intellectuals and climbers.
McCullers, Carson The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940); The Member of the Wedding(1946); The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
(1951)
The "Southern" theme—sexual ingrowth, social decay—repossessed by narrow, self-centred, inventive talent; restraint and
melodrama work together to unnerving effect in studies of loneliness and jealousy.
McCullers, Carson, American, 1917-1967.
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. Rec: Bloom
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Rec: Bloom BOMC Harvard Hungry Mind ML Novels Time
McEwan, Ian, English, 1948- .
Atonement. Rec: Smiley Time (novel)
Mackenzie, Compton Sinister Street (1913)
Mackenzie was a scholar, wit, Scottish nationalist. Sinister Street concerns Stephen Fane's adolescence at St Paul's School,
London, before World War I.
Mackey, Nathaniel, American, 1947- .
Bedouin Hornbook/Djbot Baghostus' Run. Rec: Utne
Mailer, Norman The Naked and the Dead (1948)
Tour de force of an enforced tour of duty by riflemen in the South Pacific in World War II; the sexual obsessiveness of
frightened soldiers counterpoints the power-madness of their commanders. The individual, and the American system,
thrillingly, sensationally slit open like a bag of guts. See BIOGRAPHY
Mailer, Norman, American, 1923- .
Advertisements for Myself. Rec: Bloom Counterpunch NF
The Executioner's Song. Rec: Bloom
Ancient Evenings. Rec: Bloom Burgess
The Armies of the Night. Rec: LAT
The Naked and the Dead. Rec: BOMC Burgess Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe
Malamud, Bernard The Assistant(1957)
The Jewish theme made over for inter-denominational consumption, is Malamud's speciality. The Assistant: Gentile New York
shop assistant converted to Judaism, circumcision and all, by love.
Malamud, Bernard, American, 1914-1986.
The Stories. Rec: Bloom
The Fixer. Rec: Bloom
Dubin's Lives. Rec: Burgess
The Magic Barrel. Rec: Hungry Mind
The Assistant. Rec: BOMC Burgess Time
Malouf, David, Australian, 1934- .
An Imaginary Life. Rec: Bloom
It tells the story of the Roman poet Ovid, during his exile in Tomis.
Malraux, Andre Man's Estate (La Condition Humaine) (1933) Malraux's obsessive wish to live at the centre of history can
seem rhetorical and suspect, but he had a way of being there. Like all writers, he gilded the occasion; but the collapse of the
Chinese Empire, the triumph of Kuomintang and the savage repression of Communist allies in Shanghai in 1927 are all
marvellously realized, sentimental callousness notwithstanding. Also translated as Man's Fate (Macdonald, 1948).
Malraux, André, French, 1901-1975.
The Conquerors. Rec: Bloom
The Royal Way. Rec: Bloom
Man's Fate. Rec: Bloom Boston PL Fadiman 3 TLS
Man's Hope. Rec: Bloom
The Voices of Silence. Rec: Bloom
Mann, Thomas The Magic Mountain (1924): Joseph and His Brethren (1933 –43); The Confessions of Felix Krull (1954)
Mann is sometimes said to have been, a la Victor Hugo, "the greatest living novelist—alas". The theme of the artist as
"neurasthenic" haunts his long oeuvre, but brilliant variations are played on it. His thought evolved from Nietzschean to
orthodox liberal, of which The Magic Mountain is the first, towering inkling—life in a sanatorium symbolically standing for
the European predicament. Joseph and His Brethren is a monumental "recovery" of ancient Palestine and Egypt, badged with
ingenious research and psychological slyness; The Confessions of Felix Krull is a marvellous work of old age, unfinished but
sappy with iconoclastic vigour. Also: Buddenbrooks; Dr Faustus; The Holy Sinner, etc. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Mann, Thomas, German, 1875-1955. Nobel Laureate
The Magic Mountain. Rec: Adler Bloom Boston PL Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Meaningful NYPL
The Buddenbrooks. Rec: Meaningful Ward
Joseph and His Brothers. Rec: Adler Bloom
Death in Venice. Rec: GBWW
Stories of Three Decades. Rec: Bloom
Doctor Faustus. Rec: Bloom
Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man. Rec: Bloom
Manning, Olivia, English, 1915-1980.
The Balkan Trilogy. Rec: Burgess
Olivia Manning is best known for Fortunes of War, a narrative consisting of two trilogies (The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant
Trilogy) chronicling the wartime experiences of a group of English expatriates who find themselves moving between Romania,
Greece, Egypt and Palestine as World War II progresses.
Marquand, John P., American, 1893-1960.
H. M. Pulham, Esquire. Rec: Bloom
The Late George Apley. Rec: BOMC
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) The rich, lusty story of the rise and fall of the Buendia
family in the imaginary town of Macondo, Brazil.
Maugham, W. Somerset Of Human Bondage (1915); Cakes and Ale (1930)
Cakes and Ale is Maugham at his terse, malicious best. Of Human Bondage is a ponderous, readable bildungsroman: clubfooted Philip Carey, glum but convincing alter ego for the young Maugham, progresses through arty Paris and grim Victorian
London. See AUTOBIOGRAPHY; DRAMA; FICTION/CRIME; FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Maugham, W. Somerset, English, 1874-1939.
Of Human Bondage. Rec: Harvard ML Novels
Collected Short Stories. Rec: Bloom
The Moon and Sixpence. Rec: Bloom
The Razor's Edge. Rec: Burgess
Mauriac, Francois Therese Desqueyroux (1927) ; The Nest of Vipers (1932) 5
Melancholy family life among the richer inhabitants of the Bordelais is the main theme of Mauriac's fiction, of which Sartre
said that it denied freedom to its characters. Since Mauriac's Catholicism saw mankind tainted by distance from God and
doomed to suffering, this charge is both true and irrelevant, though Mauriac's Jansenism reduces all except perhaps Therese,
the murderess, to insignificance.
McCarthy, Cormac, American, 1933- .
Blood Meridian. Rec: Bloom Time
Suttree. Rec: Bloom
Child of God. Rec: Bloom
The Crossing. Rec: Hungry Mind
McCarthy, Mary, American, 1912-1989.
The Groves of Academe. Rec: Burgess
Melville, Herman Moby Dick(1851)
Pursuit of the white whale by Captain Ahab has the elemental, symbolic force demanded of the Great American Novel; this
book is often held to be just that. Erudite with whaling lore, grandiosely stocked with archetypes, it commands the memory
more than the attention.
Melville, Herman, American, 1819-1891.
Moby-Dick. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Meaningful Smiley Ward
Piazza Tales. Rec: Bloom
Bartleby the Scrivener. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Billy Budd. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom SJC
Benito Cereno. Rec: SJC
Collected Poems. Rec: Bloom
Clarel. Rec: Bloom
Metalious, Grace, American, 1924-1964.
Peyton Place. Rec: NYPL
Mishima Yukio, Japanese, 1925-1970.
Confessions of a Mask. Rec: Fadiman 4
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Rec: Fadiman 4
Spring Snow. Rec: Ward
Runaway Horses. Rec: Ward
Temple of Dawn. Rec: Ward
Decay of the Angel. Rec: Ward
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. Rec: MW Asian Smiley
Mistry, Rohinton, Indo-Canadian, 1952- .
A Fine Balance. Rec: Smiley
Set in Mumbai, India between 1975 and 1977 during the turmoil of The Emergency, a period of expanded government power
and crackdowns on civil liberties, this book is about four characters from varied backgrounds—Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his
nephew Omprakash and the young lad Maneck—who come together, develop a bond and depart from each other's lives as
dramatically as they came.
Mitchell, Margaret, American, 1900-1949.
Gone with the Wind. Rec: BOMC NYPL Radcliffe Time
Mitford, Nancy, English, 1904-1973.
The Pursuit of Love. Rec: Smiley
Love in a Cold Climate. Rec: Smiley
Don't Tell Alfred. Rec: Smiley
Momaday, N. Scott, American, 1934- .
House Made of Dawn. Rec: Hungry Mind
Moore, Alan, English, 1953- .
The Watchmen (With Dave Gibbons). Rec: Time
Moore, Brian, Canadian, 1921-1999.
The Doctor's Wife. Rec: Burgess
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne. Rec: BOMC
Morante, Elsa, Italian, 1918-1985.
History: A Novel. Rec: Meaningful
Moravia, Alberto The Woman of Rome (1947)
A Moravia's clear style and cocky assurance has made his Rome stand for
the whole Italian imbroglio. The Woman of Rome, full of somewhat literary realism, recounts the degraded but "noble" life of a
prostitute in Fascist times; never as crude as Moravia's later, more hotly sophisticated work. Also: The Conformist
Moravia, Alberto, Italian, 1907-1990.
1934. Rec: Bloom
Morris, Wright, American, 1910-1998.
Ceremony in Lone Tree. Rec: Bloom
Field of Vision. Rec: Hungry Mind
Morrison, Toni, American, 1931- . Nobel Laureate
Song of Solomon. Rec: Bloom BOMC Hungry Mind NYPL Radcliffe
Beloved. Rec: Harvard Hungry Mind Meaningful Radcliffe Smiley Time Utne
Jazz. Rec: Hungry Mind Radcliffe
Sula. Rec: Hungry Mind
Murakami, Haruki, Japanese, 1949- .
The Wind Up Bird Chronicles. Rec: Harvard
Wild Sheep Chase. Rec: Harvard
Murdoch, Iris Under the Net (1954); A Severed Head (1961) Under the Net, first novel, contains a memorable made-over
portrait of Wittgenstein. Murdoch is a professional philosopher; her novels are often fables of existential ethics, florid with
imagery and sensuality. A Severed Head is a sexual quadrille, "wish fulfilment" bristling with wit and unnerving observation.
Also: The Bell; The Black Prince, etc
Murdoch, Iris, English, 1919-1999.
Under the Net. Rec: ML Novels Time
The Sea, the Sea. Rec: Smiley
The Good Apprentice. Rec: Bloom
Bruno's Dream. Rec: Bloom
The Bell. Rec: Burgess
Murphy, Michael, American, 1930- .
Golf in the Kingdom. Rec: Utne (novel)
Musil, Robert The Man without Qualities (3 vols. 1930-43) Overlong, but influential and informative study of a Viennese
intellectual just before the Kaiser's war. The hero's attempt to define himself, against the decline of the Hapsburgs, issues in a
definition coterminous with the novel itself—punishment without crime, as it were.
Musil, Robert, Edler von, Austrian, 1880-1932.
Young Törless. Rec: Bloom
The Man Without Qualities. Rec: Bloom Meaningful Smiley (Selections) Ward
Myers, L. H. The Near and the Far(1929)
One of the purportedly great "lost" novels of the interwar years; one of a tetralogy dealing with the era of Akbar, the great 16thcentury Mogul emperor. Grandiose, sometimes impermeably philosophical; but majestic and painful with erudition.
Nabokov, Vladimir King, Queen, Knave (1928)
Nabokov stands alone in the modern canon, the idiosyncratic instance of an artist jealous of his own uniqueness. Kafka and
Joyce inspire work of sometimes maddening involution and conceit (in every sense); but his variety, wit and teasing literary
iconography make Nabokov both nightmare and addiction. Also: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight-, Laughter in the Dark;
Pale Fire, etc. See AUTOBIOGRAPHY: BIOGRAPHY; CHILDREN'S BOOKS (Carroll); POETRY (Pushkin)
Nabokov, Vladimir, Russian-American writing in English, 1899-1977.
Lolita. Rec: Bloom BOMC Boston PL Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Harvard Hungry Mind LAT Meaningful ML
Novels NYPL Radcliffe Smiley Time
Pale Fire. Rec: Bloom Burgess Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 ML Novels Time
Speak, Memory. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 ML Nonfiction National Review
Ada or Ardor. Rec: Ward
The Defence. Rec: Burgess
Naipaul, V. S., Trinidadian, 1932- . Nobel Laureate
A Bend in the River. Rec: Bloom Burgess ML Novels
A House for Mr. Biswas. Rec: Bloom ML Novels Time
Guerrillas. Rec: NYPL
Narayan, R. K., Indian writing in English, 1906-2001.
The Guide. Rec: Bloom
The English Teacher. Rec: Fadiman 4
The Vendor of Sweets. Rec: Burgess Fadiman 4
The Financial Expert. Rec: MW Asian
Nashe, Thomas, English, 1567-1601.
The Unfortunate Traveller. Rec: Bloom (novel)
The narrator, Jack Wilton, describes his adventures as a page during the wars against the French, and his subsequent travels in
Italy as page to the Earl of Surrey. In his travels, Jack witnesses numerous atrocities, including battlefields, plague, and rape: at
one point he is nearly hanged, and at another, he is on the point of being cut up in a live anatomy demonstration.
Natsume Soseki, Japanese, 1867-1916.
Kokoro. Rec: Fadiman 4 MW Asian Ward
Naylor, Gloria, American, 1950- .
The Women of Brewster Place. Rec: Bloom
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Kenyan writing in English, 1938- .
A Grain of Wheat. Rec: Bloom
A Grain of Wheat is the third and best-known novel by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a novelist from Kenya. The novel weaves several
stories together during the state of emergency in Kenya's struggle for independence (1952-1959), focusing on the quiet Mugo,
whose life is ruled by a dark secret.
Nye, Robert Falstaff (1974)
The memoirs of Sir Jack Falstaff, as dictated in his swaggering Rabelaisian old age. A rich tapestry, the Middle Ages made
sack-soaked, sucks-to-Shakespeare flesh. Also: Merlin; Tales I Told My Mother (short stories)
Nye, Robert, English, 1939- .
Falstaff. Rec: Burgess
Oates, Joyce Carol, American, 1938- .
Them. Rec: Bloom BOMC
O'Brien, Flann, Irish, 1911-1966.
The Dalkey Archive. Rec: Bloom
The Third Policeman. Rec: Bloom
At Swim-Two-Birds. Rec: Burgess Time
O'Connor, Edwin, American, 1918-1968.
The Last Hurrah. Rec: BOMC (novel)
O'Hara, John Appointment in Samarra (1934)
a
O'Hara's Middle-America became an imaginary province stocked with closely observed and remembered figures, a heartland,
lovingly overdrawn. His dialogue, prolix with innuendo, is often superb. Also: Butterfield 8. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Okada, John, American, 1923-1971.
No-No Boy. Rec: Hungry Mind
Okara, Gabriel, Nigerian writing in English, 1931- .
The Fisherman's Invocation. Rec: Bloom (novel)
Olesha, Yury, Russian, 1899-1960.
Envy. Rec: Bloom (novel)
It is remarkable both for its poetic style, undulating modes of transition between the scenes, its innovative structure, its biting
satire, and for its ruthless examination of Socialist ideals.
Orwell, George Animal Farm (1945); 1984 (1949)
Animal Farm, denounced by pro-Soviets in 1944, rejected by publisher Gollancz, is a Swiftian fable of the Russian Revolution
and its perversions; 1984 a glum warning of future militant banality, institutionalized "left" repression, Big Brother, Newspeak
and all. Orwell's passion for decency pumps blood into stony themes. See HISTORY/BRITISH; LITERARY CRITICISM;
POLITICS
Orwell, George, English, 1903-1950.
Animal Farm. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW ML Novels Radcliffe Time TLS
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984). Rec: Bloom Boston PL Burgess Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Harvard Meaningful ML Novels NYPL
Radcliffe Seymour-Smith Time TLS
Burmese Days. Rec: Fadiman 4
Collected Essays. Rec: Bloom National Review
Homage to Catalonia. Rec: ML Nonfiction National Review
Oz, Amos, Israeli, 1939- .
A Perfect Peace. Rec: Bloom
Ozick, Cynthia, American, 1928- .
Envy, or Yiddish in America. Rec: Bloom
The Messiah of Stockholm. Rec: Bloom
Pasternak, Boris, Russian, 1890-1960. Nobel Laureate
Doctor Zhivago. Rec: Bloom TLS Ward
Paton, Alan, South African, 1903-1988.
Cry, the Beloved Country. Rec: Harvard NYPL
Peacock, Thomas Love Nightmare Abbey (1818)
Peacock's satire sheathed its sharpness in amiable brevity. Nightmare Abbeyis a piquant, uncensorious skit on Byron, Coleridge
and the gloomy Romantic movement, from a detached "classical" standpoint Peacock's derision has influenced English satirical
posture—compare Anstey, Wodehouse etc—towards "enthusiasms" of all kind.
Peacock, Thomas Love, English, 1785-1866.
Nightmare Abbey. Rec: Bloom
Gryll Grange. Rec: Bloom
Peake, Mervyn, English, 1911-1968.
The Gormenghast Trilogy. Rec: Bloom
Titus Groan. Rec: Burgess
Percy, Walker, American, 1916-1990.
The Moviegoer. Rec: Bloom BOMC Hungry Mind ML Novels Time
The Last Gentleman. Rec: Burgess
Pérez Galdós, Benito, Spanish, 1843-1920.
Nazarín. Rec: Ward
Halma. Rec: Ward
Misericordia. Rec: Ward
Fortunata y Jacinta. Rec: Bloom Ward
Pinget, Robert, French, 1920- .
Fable. Rec: Bloom
The Libera Me Domine. Rec: Bloom
That Voice. Rec: Bloom (novel)
Pires, José Cardoso, Portuguese, 1925- .
Ballad of Dogs' Beach. Rec: Bloom
A Balada da Praia dos Cães (Ballad of Dog's Beach) is a fiction novel relating the investigation into the murder of a political
dissident, taking place around 1961. The novel is largely based on contemporary reports of a real murder that took place.
Pirsig, Robert, American, 1928- .
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Rec: LAT
Platonov, Andrei, Russian, 1899-1951.
The Foundation Pit. Rec: Bloom
Plunkett, James, Irish, 1920- .
Farewell Companions. Rec: Burgess
Potok, Chaim The Chosen (1967)
Intense, powerful story of an orthodox Jewish youth in Brooklyn, the son of a noted rabbi, who offends his father and is
punished by silence for years. The boy survives, prospers, becomes a great scholar: his extraordinary education in Talmudic
studies is described in fascinating detail in the book.
Powell, Anthony Venusberg (1932); From a View to a Death (1933); The Music of Time (1951-1977)
The last is a sequence of twelve novels. Englishmen, often of extremely etiolated temperament, are shown in revealing postures
of upperclass-1920s onwards—embarrassment. The Music of Time is greatly admired for its evocation of wartime England—
and for those in the know, especially spicy. The early novels are sharp with wit, a good aperitif to the main 12-course meal.
Also: What's Become of Waring?
Powell, Anthony, English, 1905-2000.
Dance to the Music of Time (Series of 12 novels in four "movements"). Rec: Burgess ML Novels Time
Powys, John Cowper A Glastonbury Romance (1933)
Neglected genius, some say. Mythopoeic grandiloquence—the Holy Grail is the theme of A Glastonbury Romance—renders
him suspect in circles happier with understatement; but his force and vision are undeniable. Also: Wolf Solent, Maiden Castle;
The Brazen Head, etc
Powys, John Cowper, English, 1872-1963.
Wolf Solent. Rec: Bloom
A Glastonbury Romance. Rec: Bloom
Proust, Marcel Remembrance of Things Past (12 vols, 1912-27)
111
Not so much a novel as a library; the experience of a lifetime examined, expanded, imaginatively revived and finally restored
to life in art. Great characters—and minor—swim in translucent jelly, the narrator's consciousness and conscience rendered
prose, and the emulous nature of both social ambition and sexual desire become, in these slow and tremendous pages, the
psychoanalysis of France itself. Definitive English translation by Moncrieff and Hudson (1922-1931). See BIOGRAPHY
(Painter, Pickering); DRAMA (Johnson); LITERARY CRITICISM (Beckett)
Proust, Marcel, French, 1871-1922.
Remembrance of Things Past (À la Recherche du Temps Perdu). Rec: Adler Bloom Boston PL Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good
Reading Meaningful NYPL Smiley Utne Ward
Swann in Love. Rec: GBWW
Purdy, James, American, 1923- .
Malcolm. Rec: LAT
Purdy's novel "Malcolm" is a humorous journey about a young boy found by an astrologer on a park bench. The story is
writtem mainly through Malcolm's interaction with the characters he meets through the astrologer (Mr. Cox).
Pynchon, Thomas, American, 1937- .
V.. Rec: Bloom
The Crying of Lot 49. Rec: Bloom Harvard Time
Gravity's Rainbow. Rec: Bloom Burgess Hungry Mind LAT Time
Quevedo y Villegas, Francisco Gómez, Spanish, 1580-1645.
Sueños (Dreams). Rec: Bloom Ward
Historia de la Vida del Buscón (Life and Adventures of Don Pablos the Sharper). Rec: Ward
Satirical Letter of Censure. Rec: Bloom
Rabelais, Francois Pantagruel(1532); Gargantua (1533)
tij
Relish for excess, the French appetite, is here displayed at its most gluttonous, not only for food and sex but for ideas and
display of rhetorical virtuosity; the 16th century is anatomized literally and metaphorically—though at a length which inclines
one (to one's loss) to make a chapter or two stand for the whole. Urquhart's English translation (1653,1693) is that very rare
thing: a translation as great as, or greater than, the original.
Rabelais, François, French, 1483-1553.
Gargantua and Pantagruel. Rec: Adler Bloom Col37 Col61 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Meaningful Rex
Seymour-Smith SJC (Selections) Utne Ward
Radiguet, Raymond, French, 1903-1923.
Count d'Orgel's Ball. Rec: Bloom
Rand, Ayn, American, 1905-1982.
The Fountainhead. Rec: Radcliffe
Atlas Shrugged. Rec: Boston PL Harvard NYPL Radcliffe
Raphael, Frederic Lindmann (1962); California Time (1976)
Lindmann is a passionate, compassionate examination of one man's guilt, and racked conscience, for the sinking of a refugeeship in World War II; California Time is a witty experiment, the movie novel (the novel as movie) to end them all. Also: April,
June and November, The Glittering Prizes; Sleeps Six (short stories), etc. See DRAMA (Aeschylus); POETRY (CataUS)
Raven, Simon Bring Forth the Body (1974)
The best sample for those unfamiliar with the scapegrace sequence entitled Alms for Oblivion in which old scores are paid off,
old sores re-opened by a writer who combines hedonism with a certain callous sense of justice and honour. Charterhouse, the
Army, Cambridge and high-class low life are cynically concocted into dishy, anti-feminine fare.
Rechy, John, American, 1934- .
City of Night. Rec: LAT
Set in the 1960s, the book follows the travels of a young man (Rechy uses the trem "youngman" when referring to hustlers)
across the country while working as a hustler.
Redol, Alves, Portuguese, 1911-1969.
The Man with Seven Names. Rec: Ward
Reed, Ishmael, American, 1938- .
Mumbo Jumbo. Rec: Bloom
The novel takes its plot from the struggles of "The Wallflower Order," an international conspiracy dedicated to monotheism
and control, to contain the "Jes Grew" virus, a personification of jazz, polytheism, and freedom. Meanwhile, the novel's hero,
the houngan PaPa LaBas, searches for a mysterious book that disappeared with black militant Abdul Sufi Hamid.
Remarque, Erich Maria, German, 1898-1970.
All Quiet on the Western Front. Rec: Boston PL NYPL
Rexroth, Kenneth, American, 1905-1982.
An Autobiographical Novel. Rec: Utne
Rhys, Jean Voyage in the Dark (1934)
The "Jean Rhys Woman", loyal, betrayed, loving and unloved, inhabits, with sly variations, all the stories; unselfpityingly
distanced, the writing is exemplary, though an example too few have followed. Also: After Leaving Mr Mackenzie; Good
Morning Midnight; Quartet. See Brontë, C.
Richardson, Samuel Clarissa (1748)
Can we refuse recognition to a founding work? No; but can we still read it? Clarissa's solemn moralizing marked the English
novel, led to a thousand works in which men confidently depicted female characters—and so helped, consciously or not, to
alienate women from their own feelings and "truth".
Richardson, Samuel, English, 1689-1761.
Clarissa. Rec: Bloom
Pamela. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Sir Charles Grandison. Rec: Bloom
Richler, Mordecai, Canadian, 1931-2001.
Cocksure. Rec: Burgess (novel)
Richter, Conrad, American, 1890-1968.
The Trees/The Fields/The Town (Trilogy). Rec: BOMC (novel)
Rhys, Jean, English, 1894-1979.
Wide Sargasso Sea. Rec: ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Smiley Time
Robbe-Grillet, Alain Jealousy (1957)
Quintessential example of the nouveau roman, of which Robbe-Grillet was both pioneer and publicist. The attempt to remove
the psychologizing fetish from fiction is superbly realized—though the "objectivity" with which a husband sees his wife's
suspected infidelity is only an iota away from being "symbolic". But forget theory: the book, especially for those who enjoyed
the film Last Year in Marienbad, scripted by Robbe-Grillet, is a pleasure to read.
Robbe-Grillet, Alain, French, 1922- .
The Voyeur. Rec: Bloom
Jealousy. Rec: Bloom
In the Labyrinth. Rec: Bloom
The Erasers. Rec: Bloom
Project for a Revolution in New York. Rec: Bloom
For a New Novel. Rec: Bloom Counterpunch Trans
Roberts, Keith, English, 1935-2000.
Pavane. Rec: Burgess (novel)
Robinson, Marilynne, American, 1944- .
Housekeeping. Rec: Time
Rodoreda, Merce, Catalan, 1908-1983.
The Time of the Doves. Rec: Bloom
Rojas, Fernando de, Spanish, ca. 1465-1541.
Celestina. Rec: Bloom Ward
Rosa, João Guimarães, Brazilian, 1908-1967.
Sagarana. Rec: Ward
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands. Rec: Meaningful Ward
Roth, Henry Call It Sleep (1934)
Roth's only published novel: "Oedipal" childhood in immigrant New York's Lower East Side. It has been likened to a Jewish
Sons and Lovers, as seminal to Jewish writing in the USA as Ellison's (qv) Invisible Man to black.
Roth, Henry, American, 1906-1995.
Call It Sleep. Rec: Bloom Time
Roth, Joseph, Austrian, 1894-1939.
The Radetzky March. Rec: Bloom (novel)
The story of four generations of the Trottas, a family of soldiers and bureaucrats, is set against the backdrop of the AustroHungarian monarchy
Roth, Philip Goodbye, Columbus (1959); Letting Go (1963); Portnoy's Complaint (1969)
Written by a Gentile, Roth's work would be anti-Semitic; by a Jew, it holds a note of furious affection. Goodbye, Columbus is a
fine novella (published with stories); Letting Go, a long, serious study of graduate life, is possibly Roth's finest book; Portnoy's
Cornplaintis a "confessional"—set-pieces of irresistibly comic anguish by the conscientious masturbator, Portnoy. Also: The
Professor of Desire
Roth, Philip, American, 1933- .
Portnoy's Complaint. Rec: Bloom Burgess Hungry Mind LAT ML Novels NYPL Time
My Life as a Man. Rec: Bloom
Zuckerman Bound: A Trilogy and Epilogue. Rec: Bloom
The Counterlife. Rec: Bloom
Patrimony. Rec: Bloom
Operation Shylock. Rec: Bloom
American Pastoral. Rec: Time
Roussel, Raymond, French, 1877-1933.
Locus Solus. Rec: Bloom (novel)
A prominent scientist and inventor, Martial Canterel, has invited a group of colleagues to visit the park of his country estate,
Locus Solus. As the group tours the estate, Canterel shows them inventions of ever-increasing complexity and strangeness.
Again, exposition is invariably followed by explanation, the cold hysteria of the former giving way to the innumerable
ramifications of the latter
Rulfo, Juan, Mexican, 1918-1986.
Pedro Paramo. Rec: Meaningful
Rushdie, Salman, Indian writing in English, 1947- .
Midnight's Children. Rec: Bloom Meaningful ML Novels MW Asian Radcliffe Time
The Satanic Verses. Rec: Harvard Radcliffe
Russo, Richard, American, 1949- .
Empire Falls. Rec: Harvard
Saikaku Ihara, Japanese, 1642-1693.
Novels (Selection, such as Life of an Amorous Woman and Other Writings). Rec: Oriental Ward
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
New, liberating tone made The Catcher in the Rye's Holden Caulfield an American archetype—puzzled yet outspoken with a
jargon ("big deal") still comic and current. Later work, about the Glass family— Franny and Zooey, etc—highly rated but
incestuously self-involved.
Salinger, J. D., American, 1919- .
The Catcher in the Rye. Rec: Bloom BOMC Boston PL Burgess Harvard Hungry Mind LAT ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Time
Nine Stories. Rec: Bloom
Franny and Zooey. Rec: Harvard Radcliffe
Salter, James, American, 1925- .
Solo Faces. Rec: Bloom
Light Years. Rec: Bloom (novel)
Saltykov-Shchedrin, Mikhail Yevgrafovich, Russian, 1826-1889.
The Golovlyov Familly. Rec: Ward
Sand, George, French, 1804-1876.
The Haunted Pool. Rec: Bloom
San Pedro, Diego de, Spanish, fl. 1500.
Prison of Love. Rec: Bloom
Cárcel de amor (Prison of Love, 1492) is the other sentimental novel that Diego de San Pedro is famous for and perhaps his
most well-known work. This work was dedicated to Fernández de Córdoba, alcaide de los donzeles.
Sansom, William, English, 1912-1976.
The Body. Rec: Burgess
Saramago, José, Portuguese, 1922- . Nobel Laureate
Baltasar and Blimunda. Rec: Bloom
Blindness. Rec: Meaningful
Sarraute, Nathalie, French, 1900-1999.
The Use of Speech. Rec: Bloom
The Planetarium. Rec: Bloom
Sartre, Jean-Paul The Roads to Freedom (1945 - 49)
Impressive, unremittingly glum "philosophical" study of left-bank Parisians under pressure, 1938-40. A clef elements lend
spice, but this novel of manners is self-justifyingly taken to melodramatic, hard-headed extremes. See
BIOGRAPHY; DRAMA; PHILOSOPHY
Sartre, Jean Paul, French, 1905-1980. Nobel Laureate
Nausea. Rec: Adler Bloom Ward
Schmidt, Arno, German, 1914-1979.
The Egghead Republic: a Short Novel from the Horse Latitudes. Rec: Good Reading
Schulberg, Budd What Makes Sammy Run? (1961)
Sammy Glick knows many imitators but stands supreme, a Rastignac who confronts Hollywood with an "A nous deux" and
fights it to a standstill. The legendary plagiarizer and hustler was based, it is said, on Jerry Wald, but many real Hollywood
arrivistes have surely based themselves on Sammy. It is not only art that life imitates.
Schulberg, Budd, American, 1914- .
The Disenchanted. Rec: Burgess
What Makes Sammy Run?. Rec: BOMC
Schulz, Bruno, Polish, 1892-1942.
The Street of Crocodiles. Rec: Bloom
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass. Rec: Bloom
Scott, Paul Staying On (1977)
A pendant to his impressive, lengthy trilogy about the British in India, Staying On is about the pensioners of the Raj, a delicate
study in sunset colours, though stronger on detail than on literary grace.
Scott, Paul, English, 1920-1978.
Staying On. Rec: Burgess
Scott, Sir Walter, Scottish, 1771-1832.
Novels. Rec: Lubbock
Waverley. Rec: Bloom Ward
Heart of Midlothian. Rec: Bloom
Redgauntlet. Rec: Bloom
Old Mortality. Rec: Bloom Smiley
The Bride of Lammermoor. Rec: Smiley
Serge, Victor Men in Prison (1931); The Case of Comrade Tulayev (1948)
Serge lived revolution and imprisonment; his novels are etched with authenticity; but despite suffering and disillusionment he
was capable of lyrical and intense flights of generous imagination. The Case of Comrade Tulayev is arguably a truer picture of
Stalinism than either Koestler's (qv) Darkness at Noon or Trotsky's "historical" accounts. Men in Prison arises from Serge's
own experiences in France where he served five years for "terrorism".
Shelley, Mary Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818) Unlikely winner of a competition for gothic tales in which
Byron and Shelley dead-heated for the wooden spoon, Mary Shelley's shocker is thrillingly written, full of plausible
itnplausibilities. Pregnant with Freudian clues, the monster's story is a true original among imitations.
Shabtai, Yaakov, Israeli, 1934-1981.
Past Continuous. Rec: Bloom
Shimazaki Toson, Japanese, 1872-1943.
The Broken Commandment. Rec: Ward
Shi Naian, Chinese, 1296-1370.
Water Margin (Shui Hu Chuan; also known as All Men Are Brothers). Rec: Oriental Ward
Sholokhov, Mikhail, Russian, 1905-1984. Nobel Laureate
And Quiet Flows the Don. Rec: Smiley
Shute, Nevil, Australian, 1899-1960.
No Highway. Rec: Burgess
Sillitoe, Alan Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1958)
Marvellously fresh, loving and yet clear-eyed vision of working class life in early post-war England. A classic and honest claim
for the vitality of the provincial hero, yet well aware of the transitory nature of sappy happiness.
Sillitoe, Alan, English, 1928- .
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Rec: Burgess
Influenced in part by the stripped down prose of Hemingway, the book attempts to convey the attitudes and situation of a
young factory worker (Arthur Seaton) faced with the inevitable end of his youthful philandering.
Simon, Claude, French, 1913-2005. Nobel Laureate
The Grass. Rec: Bloom
The Wind. Rec: Bloom
The Flanders Road. Rec: Bloom
Sinclair, Upton The Jungle (1906)
Classic realistic—compare Frank Norris' The Pit—exposé of Chicago stockyards during the heyday of union-bashing beef
barons. "Documentary" as socialist polemic. Also: World's End
Sinclair, Upton, American, 1878-1968.
The Jungle. Rec: Boston PL NYPL Radcliffe
Singer, Isaac Bashevis The Family Moskat(1950); The Magician of Lublin (1960); The Slave (1962)
10 Yiddish novelist
of cosmic scope and vision, Singer exhibits "traditional" motifs and psychological acuity, Dickensian detail; The Family
Moskat deals, with Tolstoyan range and certainty, with a ghetto family and its slow disintegration and advance into (1939)
modernity; The Magician of Lublin and The Slave are less "modern" in tone, but are both specific in their Eastern European
setting and "mythic" in timeless morality. The "foreignness" of Singer's world seems opaque at first but soon yields images and
scenes of dramatic clarity and force. See
FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Singer, Israel Joshua, Polish-American writing in Yiddish, 1893-1944.
The Brothers Ashkenazi. Rec: Bloom
Yoshe Kalb. Rec: Bloom
Skvorecky, Josef, Czech, 1924- .
Cowards. Rec: Ward
Bass Saxophone. Rec: Ward
Smith, Betty, American, 1896-1972.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Rec: NYPL
A Classic Coming-of-Age Book That Touches Your Heart
Smith, Lillian, American, 1897-1966.
Strange Fruit. Rec: NYPL
It captured with devastating accuracy the deep-seated racial conflicts of a tightly knit southern town. The book is as engrossing
and incendiary now as the day it was written.
Smith, Zadie, English, 1975- .
White Teeth. Rec: Smiley Time
Smollett, Tobias The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker(1771)
Smollett's medical training is visible in the scatological frankness of this amiably robust epistolary novel. Humphrey is an
ostler—prefiguring Dickens' Sam Weller—attendant on a family journeying through England and Scotland.
Smollett, Tobias, Scottish, 1721-1771.
Humphry Clinker. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Roderick Random. Rec: Bloom
Snow, C. P. The Masters (1951)
Jewel in a sometimes wooden crown, The Masters is part of Snow's sequence, Strangers and Brothers, but stands happily
independent as a solemn but convincing account of the struggle to succeed the Master of a Cambridge college.
Snow, C. P., English, 1905-1980.
Strangers and Brothers (Cycle of 11 novels). Rec: Burgess
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isayevich, Russian, 1918- . Nobel Laureate
The First Circle. Rec: Adler Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Cancer Ward. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Rec: Bloom Ward
The Gulag Archipelago. Rec: Bloom Boston PL National Review NYPL TLS
August 1914. Rec: Bloom
Southern, Terry, American, 1924-1995.
The Magic Christian. Rec: BOMC
What would you do if you had the resources to buy anyone or anything you wished? Guy Grand acts immediately and directly
on this premise, and the results are, on the surface hilarious. But it is Southern's quiet, subtle, and expertly woven satirical
narrative and incisive comment on 1950s America amid the vignettes of money-fueled chaos that are the true gems, and the
heart of this wonderful novel.
Spark, Muriel Memento Mori (1959); The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961)
Febrile with tart phrases, Spark's work glitters with unnerving, sometimes chilling ironies. Catholic ideology informs satirical
fables. Memento Mori concerns old people seeking to forget—and being reminded of—the inevitable; The Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie famously, if thinly celebrates a sacred monster of a school teacher and her girls in 1930s Edinburgh.
Spark, Muriel, Scottish, 1918-2006.
The Girls of Slender Means. Rec: Burgess
The Mandelbaum Gate. Rec: Burgess
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Rec: ML Novels Time
Loitering with Intent. Rec: Smiley
Starhawk (Miriam Simos), American, 1951- .
The Fifth Sacred Thing. Rec: Utne (novel)
Stead, Christina House of All Nations (1938)
Mammoth compendium of characters and cases, of swindlers and swingers in the world of a private bank in Paris between the
two wars, with hints of Stavisky and other scandals. A curious and often facile, even Fascistic attitude towards the financial
establishment sours but cannot spoil a talent furious at human duplicity and shallowness. The novel as mural.
Steinbeck, John The Grapes of Wrath (1939) * This masterpiece easily transcends its melodramatic crudities. The Joad family's
desperate emigration from the dust-bowl to California opened eyes to the plight of the "Okies", poor farmers; retains vividness
and heartfelt warmth. See DIARIES; TRAVEL
Stead, Christina, Australian, 1902-1983.
The Man Who Loved Children. Rec: Bloom Smiley Time
Stegner, Wallace, American, 1909-1993.
Angle of Repose. Rec: BOMC ML Novels
Stein, Gertrude, American, 1874-1946.
The Making of Americans. Rec: Bloom
Steinbeck, John, American, 1902-1968. Nobel Laureate
The Grapes of Wrath. Rec: Bloom BOMC Boston PL Hungry Mind ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Time
Of Mice and Men. Rec: Radcliffe
Stendhal The Red and the Black (1830); The Charterhouse of Parma (1839)
Rise and fall of Julien Sorel makes a great novel of ambition in a France open to all talents, including shameless romantic
premeditation. The Charterhouse of Parma has a more splendid hero in Fabrizio del Dongo and though less readable is
luminous with political fireworks and contains a puncturingly "modern" passage describing the Battle of Waterloo. Good
translations: The Red and the Black by Shaw (1953); The Charterhouse of Parma by Blair (1960). See LITERARY
CRITICISM
Stendhal, French, 1783-1842.
The Red and the Black. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Meaningful Rex Smiley Ward
The Charterhouse of Parma. Rec: Adler Bloom Good Reading Ward
On Love. Rec: Adler Bloom
Sterne, Laurence The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy (1760-67) Sterne, a bucolic vicar, scandalized Dr Johnson.
Goldsmith and others, with Tristram Shandy; modern readers may wonder why. Picaresque; long; idiosyncratic; a maverick to
be enjoyed piecemeal, save by addicts of Irishness or the picaresque. See TRAVEL
Sterne, Laurence, English, 1713-1768.
Tristram Shandy. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Harvard Meaningful Rex Smiley Ward
Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. Rec: Adler Bloom
Stone, Robert, American, 1937- .
Dog Soldiers. Rec: Bloom Time
A Flag for Sunrise. Rec: Bloom BOMC
Storey, David This Sporting Life (1960)
A seminal work in the emancipation of the English post-war novel from a largely metropolitan and intellectual ambience. The
use of rugby league football as a metaphor for the life-struggle presages the sports-mad sixties and seventies. A tendency to live
in the shadow of D. H. Lawrence renders this and Storey's later work somewhat sunless.
Stowe, Hariet Beecher, American, 1811-1896.
Uncle Tom's Cabin. Rec: Rexmo Smiley
Styron, William The Long March (1962); The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967); Sophie's Choice (1968)
The Long March is the shortest and best of Styron's occasional, ponderous work. It describes the conflict between the liberal
and the authoritarian through the image of a training march in which the liberal seeks to prove himself through self-destructive
endurance. The other two novels deal with Big Issues—race and Auschwitz—with a discursive thoroughness that attempts to
rehabilitate the Novel With A Purpose. Blacks resented the one, Jews described the other as "Auschwitz meets Playboy
magazine". Styron is earnest and sexy, and earnestly sexy.
Styron, William, American, 1925- .
The Long March. Rec: Bloom
Sophie's Choice. Rec: Burgess Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe
Lie Down in Darkness. Rec: BOMC
Darkness Visible. Rec: ML Nonfiction
The Confessions of Nat Turner. Rec: Time
Svevo, Italo As a Man Grows Older (Sertilita)(1898); The Confessions of Zeno (1923)
Wry, self-deprecating satires of provincial life: Zeno's confessions are prompted by a desire to give up smoking. Svevo died in
a road accident in 1928, asking in vain for a smoke. "That really would have been a last cigarette," he said, and died, a
character of his own creation.
Svevo, Italo, Italian, 1861-1928.
Confessions of Zeno. Rec: Bloom Meaningful Smiley Ward
As a Man Grows Older. Rec: Bloom
Swift, Jonathan Gulliver's Travels (1726)
Is Gulliver's Travels a novel? Can you play chess without the queen? Cardinal example of satire fully realized as fantasy, or
scorn gilding witty imagination; self-justifying world of big and small unfolded and decorated to the point where a political
tract of trenchant ferocity can serve as a children's classic. For grownups, its bite may be more obvious.
Tarkington, Booth, American, 1869-1946.
The Magnificent Ambersons. Rec: ML Novels
Thackeray, William Makepeace Vanity Fair (1847); The Newcomes (1853)
Vanity Fair is Thackeray's masterpiece, with Becky Sharp a superbly seductive villainess, the whole glamorous tale as sharp as
she with satirical energy. The Newcomes is more tender, but lacks Dickens' exuberant sentimentality.
Thackeray, William Makepeace, English, 1811-1863.
Pendennis. Rec: Lubbock
Vanity Fair. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Lubbock Smiley Ward
Henry Esmond. Rec: Bloom
Thelwell, Michael, Jamaican, 1939- .
The Harder They Come. Rec: Bloom
With passion and precision, Michael Thelwell recounts Rhygin's journey from a morally coherent rural universe to the teeming,
predatory slums of Kingston, his rebellion against the poverty and corruption of postcolonial Jamaica, his blazing,
simultaneous rise to the top of the charts and the Most Wanted list.
Theroux, Paul, American, 1941- .
The Mosquito Coast. Rec: Bloom Burgess
Theroux, Alexander, American, 1939- .
Darconville's Cat. Rec: Burgess
Tolstoy, Leo War and Peace (1866); Anna Karenina (1875 -77)
0
Two great novels, one flawed by its scope, the other by its schematic morality, both instinct with genius. Much is said to be lost
in translation; a world remains. Warand Peace is a masterpiece of realism, sparkling with characters and only occasionally
rendered tedious by the philosophical special pleading of which Tolstoy became a compulsive victim. Though Anna Karenina
is unbalanced by the sentimental falseness of the relationship between the Levins (to which Tolstoy's flight from marriage in
old age is a sort of bitter pendant), Anna's beauty and fineness of character, Vronsky's heartless tenderness and the odious,
touching Karenin constitute a triangle for eternity. See BIOGRAPHY (Troyat); LITERARY CRITICISM
Tolstoy, Leo Nikolayevich, Russian, 1828-1910.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories. Rec: Meaningful
The Cossacks. Rec: Bloom
War and Peace. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Harvard Meaningful Rex SeymourSmith SJC Ward
Anna Karenina. Rec: Adler Bloom Harvard Meaningful Smiley Utne Ward
A Confession. Rec: Bloom
The Power of Darkness. Rec: Bloom
Short Novels. Rec: Bloom
The Kingdom of God is Within You. Rec: Rexmo
What is Art?. Rec: Adler
Twenty-Three Tales. Rec: Adler
Toer, Pramoedya Ananta, Indonesian, 1925- .
The Buru Quartet. Rec: Utne
Toole, John Kennedy, American, 1937-1969.
Confederacy of Dunces. Rec: Burgess
Tournier, Michel, French, 1924- .
The Ogre. Rec: Bloom
Friday. Rec: Bloom
Treece, Henry Electra (1963)
Superb evocation of the dust and cruelty of ancient Greece, a vision unadorned with marbled afterthoughts; inspired empathy
with a wild girl who imagines herself Electra. See CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Tremain, Rose The Way I Found Her
Recommended by Carolyn See
Trilling, Lionel The Middle of the Journey (1947)
Sole novel by pundit of American liberalism. Famous fictionalization of Whittaker Chambers (accuser of Alger Hiss); lucid
analysis of intellectual and political postures in the thirties. See LITERARY CRITICISM
Trollope, Anthony, English, 1815-1882.
Barchester Towers. Rec: Good Reading
Barsetshire Novels. Rec: Bloom
The Warden. Rec: Fadiman 4 Good Reading
The Last Chronicle of Barset. Rec: Fadiman 4 Smiley
Palliser Novels. Rec: Bloom
The Eustace Diamonds. Rec: Fadiman 4 Smiley
Orley Farm. Rec: Bloom
The Way We Live Now. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 4
Autobiography. Rec: Fadiman 4
Twain, Mark Huckleberry Finn (1885)
Huckleberry Finn is no more a children's book than is Gulliver's Travels, although children read and love both. The freedom
Huck seeks—like the hero of every Great American novel—is found not in the wilderness, the West, but on the smooth freeflowing river, the Mississippi, down which he journeys on a raft with the escaped slave, Jim. By adults, Twain is as underrated
as Swift. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES; HISTORY/AMERICAN; HUMOUR; TRAVEL
Twain, Mark, American, 1835-1910.
Letters from the Earth. Rec: Hungry Mind
Huckleberry Finn. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Meaningful Rex SJC Ward
Tom Sawyer. Rec: Ward
Pudd'nhead Wilson. Rec: Bloom
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Rec: Bloom
The Devil's Racetrack. Rec: Bloom
The Mysterious Stranger. Rec: Adler Bloom
Complete Short Stories. Rec: Bloom
The Autobiography. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Tyler, Anne, American, 1941- .
The Accidental Tourist. Rec: BOMC
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. Rec: Smiley
Undset, Sigrid, Norwegian, 1882-1949. Nobel Laureate
Kristin Lavransdatter. Rec: Bloom Smiley (Selections)
Updike, John Couples (1968); Rabbit, Run (1961)
The sexual malaises and melees of middle-class New England have provided Updike with his narrow world, which he details
with merciless, narcissistic pointillism. He is a literary dandy, in the Nabokov tradition, whose Couples is a display of
shameless virtuosity. The Rabbit books show that he can play equally well away from home, in the lower middle class world of
Rabbit, a randy failure.
Updike, John, American, 1932- .
The Witches of Eastwick. Rec: Bloom
The Coup. Rec: Burgess
Couples. Rec: LAT
The Complete Henry Bech. Rec: Smiley
Rabbit, Run. Rec: BOMC Hungry Mind Radcliffe Time
Vargas Llosa, Mario, Peruvian, 1936- .
The War of the End of the World. Rec: Bloom
Vélez de Guevara, Luis, Spanish, 1579-1644.
El Diablo Cojuelo. Rec: Ward
El Diablo cojuelo (1641), a fantastic novel which suggested to Le Sage the idea of his Diable boiteux.
Vesaas, Tarjei, Norwegian, 1897-1970.
Ice Palace. Rec: Ward
Vidal, Gore, American, 1925- .
Myra Breckenridge. Rec: Bloom
Lincoln. Rec: Bloom
Creation. Rec: Burgess
United States: Essays 1952-1992. Rec: Hungry Mind Utne
Burr. Rec: BOMC LAT
Vittorini, Elio, Italian, 1908-1966.
Women of Messina. Rec: Bloom
Voltaire Candide (1759)
Not a novel? Then so much the worse for the novel. Dr Pangloss is the great, absurd antidote to chiliastic and Leibnitzian
optimism. The gardener's supreme licence ("Cultivate!") begins here. See BIOGRAPHY (Mitford)
Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr., American, 1922- .
Cat's Cradle. Rec: Bloom LAT Radcliffe
Slaughterhouse-Five. Rec: BOMC Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe Time
Breakfast of Champions. Rec: Harvard
Wald, Lillian, American, 1867-1940.
The House on Henry Street. Rec: NYPL
Walker, Alice, American, 1944- .
The Color Purple. Rec: Hungry Mind NYPL Radcliffe
Wallace, David Foster, American, 1962- .
Infinite Jest. Rec: Harvard Time
Warner, Rex, English, 1905-1986.
The Aerodrome. Rec: Burgess
"Eight years older than 1984 , its claim to be regarded as a modern classic is as sound as that of Orwell's novel," writes
Anthony Burgess in his introduction to this edition of The Aerodrome . Written as an allegory on fascism, the 1941 novel tells
of the ruination of a rural village by the building of an aerodrome in its vicinity. Large fiction collections should consider it.”
(amazon)
Warren, Robert Penn Night Rider (1938)
Poet and Southern agrarian, Warren deals with scandals—of violence and corruption, with neat sexual twists—but in a formal,
didactic style where literary skill contrives an inadvertent apology for depicted guilt. Also: All the King's Men
Warren, Robert Penn, American, 1905-1989.
All the King's Men. Rec: Bloom BOMC Hungry Mind ML Novels Radcliffe Time
World Enough and Time. Rec: Bloom
Selected Poems. Rec: Bloom
Waugh, Evelyn Decline and Fall (1928); A Handful of Dust (1934); Brideshead Revisited (1945); Sword of Honour (3 vols,
1952-55)
*
Waugh's pre-war novels are ruthless romps; Sword of Honourattempts more serious socio-political appraisal, but is more
memorable for Ritchie-Hook and the thunderbox than for "mature" passages, though it contains a notable account of cowardice
and collapse in Crete. Brideshead Revisited is a lushly-written encomium on old Catholic British families and Waugh's Oxford
generation, teddy-bears and all.
Waugh, Evelyn, English, 1903-1966.
A Handful of Dust. Rec: Bloom ML Novels Time
Scoop. Rec: Bloom ML Novels
Brideshead Revisited. Rec: Burgess ML Novels Radcliffe Time
Sword of Honour (Trilogy). Rec: Burgess
Weidman, Jerome Fourth Street East (1971)
Weidman's characters began life as poor immigrant Jews in 1920s New York; now, as affluent, compromised and
compromising adults, they look back at their past with rose-tinted spectacles and notably beady eyes. A prolific, consistent
novelist of wit and charm. Also: I Can Get It for You Wholesale; The Enemy Camp; Other People's Money, etc
Wells, H. G. Kipps (1905); The History of Mr Polly (1910)
Wells, in his own estimation, was always journalist, never Jamesian artist. He wrote quickly, but his accounts of lower middleclass British life at the turn of the century are cheeky and truthful. See FICTION/SF; HISTORY/WORLD
Welty, Eudora Delta Wedding(1946)
Decorous, scintillating portrayal of Mississippi aristocratic family in the 1920s. Nobody is better at capturing Southern
dialogue and mannerisms. The Jane Austen of the South?
Werfel, Franz, Czech writing in German, 1890-1945.
The Forty Days of Musa Dagh. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
“based around an event that took place on Musa Dagh in 1915 during the Armenian Genocide in Turkey”
West, Nathanael Miss Lonelyhearts (1933); The Day of the Locust (1939)
Terse, mordant satires on American life. Miss Lonelyhearts lampoons the bogus sympathy of newspapers for readers' agonies;
The Day of the Locust depicts Hollywood as a sumptuous hell. West matches Fitzgerald for sharpness, beats him for
sophistication.
West, Nathanael, American, 1904-1940.
Miss Lonelyhearts. Rec: Bloom
A Cool Million. Rec: Bloom
The Day of the Locust. Rec: Bloom BOMC Hungry Mind ML Novels NYPL Time
West, Rebecca, English, 1892-1983.
The Fountain Overflows. Rec: Smiley
Wharton, Edith The Custom of the Country (1913); The Age of Innocence (1920)
Put down as a clumsy Henry James (qv), Wharton's uncertain origins stoked her prodigious snobbery, but made her an acute
observer of "old New York" families. The Custom of the Country is a readable, cunningly plotted portrait of a less than ladylike
adventuress, sharply funny; The Age of Innocence looks engagingly back on childhood among grand families in "Edwardian"
New York. Also: The House of Mirth
Wharton, Edith, American, 1862-1937.
The Decoration of Houses (With Ogden Codman). Rec: Counterpunch NF
The Custom of the Country. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 4
The Age of Innocence. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 4 Harvard ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe
The House of Mirth. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 4 ML Novels Smiley
Collected Short Stories. Rec: Bloom
Ethan Frome. Rec: Bloom Radcliffe
White, Edmund, American, 1940- .
Nocturnes for the King of Naples. Rec: Bloom “A poetic novel about losing your one true love” (Amazon)
Forgetting Elena. Rec: Bloom
White, Patrick Voss (1957); Riders in the Chariot (1961)
The Australian novelist, with Voss—an account of a doomed explorer crossing the continent in the 1880s—his masterwork;
Rider in the Chariot attempts grandiloquently and majestically to grapple with anti-Semitism.
White, Patrick, Australian, 1912-1990. Nobel Laureate
Riders in the Chariot. Rec: Bloom Burgess
A Fringe of Leaves. Rec: Bloom
Voss. Rec: Bloom
Wideman, John Edgar, American, 1941- .
Philadelphia Fire. Rec: Hungry Mind
Wilcox, James, American, 1949- .
Modern Baptists. Rec: Bloom
Wilde, Oscar The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)
Wilde said he put genius into life, talent into work. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a talented shocker, ridiculously brilliant with
epigrams but haunted by a sense of doom which, with cruel punctuality, was later to ruin Wilde's own life. See BIOGRAPHY
(Hyde): DIARIES; DRAMA
Wilde, Oscar, Irish, 1854-1900.
Works. Rec: Ward
Picture of Dorian Gray. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Williamson, Henry, English, 1895-1977.
Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight (Series of 15 novels). Rec: Burgess
Wilson, Angus, English, 1913-1991.
The Old Men at the Zoo. Rec: Burgess
Late Call. Rec: Burgess
The Strange Ride of Rudyard Kipling. Rec: National Review
Winterson, Jeanette, English, 1959- .
The Passion. Rec: Bloom
Wolfe, Thomas Look Homeward, Angel (1929)
Logorrhoeic Great American Novel. Standard themes of boyhood—in North Carolina—and escape into more worldly circles,
decorated with interminably brilliant dialogue and nostalgia for exuberance of a once suffocating family and provincial life.
Wolfe's autobiographical novels repeat these themes with surfeiting effect. Also: You Can't Go Home Again, etc
Wolfe, Thomas, American, 1900-1938.
Look Homeward, Angel. Rec: BOMC Radcliffe
You Can't Go Home Again. Rec: Hungry Mind
Woolf, Virginia Mrs Dalloway (1925); The Waves (1931)
9*
Boom in crying Woolf makes her essential if less mysterious reading now than when her "envelopes of consciousness" seemed
filled with some rarer sense of life than any common reader could contrive. Mrs Dalloway echoes Joycean innovation and, like
Ulysses, covers one day in its heroine's life. The Waves is marvellous: a richly brocaded poetic tapestry, close-patterned with
Bloomsbury figures. Also: To the Lighthouse; The Voyage Out; Night and Day, etc. See BIOGRAPHY (Bell, Woolf);
DIARIES;FEMINISM
Woolf, Virginia, English, 1882-1941.
Mrs. Dalloway. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Meaningful Radcliffe Time
To the Lighthouse. Rec: Bloom Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Meaningful ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe
SJC Time
Orlando. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Radcliffe Smiley
A Room of One's Own. Rec: Boston PL Collh91 ML Nonfiction
The Waves. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Between the Acts. Rec: Bloom
Wouk, Herman, American, 1915- .
The Caine Mutiny. Rec: Burgess
Wright, Richard Native Son (1940)
Classic of Negro life in Chicago slums seen, through the life of Bigger Thomas, without sentiment or apology; implied
indictment of white world. Wright's later work is explicitly polemical; Native Son, with Invisible Man (Ellison, qv), is a crucial
novel in the statement of the black claim.
Wright, Richard, American, 1908-1960.
Native Son. Rec: Bloom Boston PL Hungry Mind ML Novels NYPL Radcliffe Time
Black Boy. Rec: Bloom ML Nonfiction
Wu Cheng'en (Wu Chengen), Chinese, 1500-1582.
Journey to the West (also known as Monkey). Rec: Fadiman 4 MW Asian Oriental StJE Utne Ward
Wu Jingzi (Wu Ch'ing-tzu), Chinese, 1701-1754.
The Scholars. Rec: Ward
Yates, Richard, American, 1926-1992.
Revolutionary Road. Rec: Harvard Time
Yehoshua, A. B., Israeli, 1936- .
A Late Divorce. Rec: Bloom
Yoshimoto, Banana, Japanese, 1964- .
Kitchen. Rec: Harvard
Yourcenar, Marguerite Memoirs of Hadrian (1959)
The Emperor Hadrian had Greek sensitivity in a Roman mind, Christian aspirations in a pagan soul. He is the bridge between
the ancient world and ours. Yourcenar's novel "ghosts" his memoirs in fine French style.
Yourcenar, Marguerite, French, 1903-1987.
Coup de Grace. Rec: Bloom
Memoirs of Hadrian. Rec: Bloom Meaningful
Zamyatin, Yevgeny Ivanovich, Russian, 1884-1937.
We. Rec: Ward
Zola, Emile Nana (1880); Germinal (1885)
Nana is a sensational, purportedly "naturalistic" account of the belle epoque in Paris as revealed by the lurid career of a
striptease artist who strips more than she teases. Its sexual frankness shocked and delighted readers less enchanted with
Germinal, a much better book, which portrayed with terrible, wilful and "scientific" honesty the life of a mining village in the
great age of unrestricted capitalism. See DIARIES (Goncourt)
Zola, Émile, French, 1840-1902.
Thérèse Raquin. Rec: Smiley Ward
L'Assommoir. Rec: Bloom Ward
Germinal. Rec: Bloom Good Reading Ward
Nana. Rec: Bloom
ENGLISH LITERATURE: INTRODUCTION
Brenda Richardson
What are the defining boundaries of English literature? Can we use Milton's assertion to distinguish `literature' from `writing',
suggesting that `literature' contains some essence of the writer, `treasured up on purpose' for the use of posterity? Even if we do
there remains the problem of defining `English'. Is it a matter of location or language? Simply to define English literature as
British literature in English is too arbitrary. Should Northern Irish or all Anglo-Irish writing be included? Is literature writ-ten
in English in Wales or Scotland part of a Wales-wide or Scotland-wide Welsh or Scottish literature regardless of medium? If we
include the work of resident black or Asian writers in English are we denying their distinctiveness or recognizing their
Britishness? What is English? Are dialect or patois poems in English? I would like to include all interesting writing in English
in Britain or Ireland under this heading, but readers will find that many of the books suggested are more conservative.
A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit: embalmed
and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.
JOHN MILTON
The Oxford Companion to English Literature (1985) edited by Margaret Drabble. A comprehensive guide to facts and dates,
with good cross- referencing.
The Oxford Literary Guide to the British Isles (1977) edited by Dorothy Eagle and Hilary Carnell. English literature from
the other end: look up Dorchester and find out about its literary connections beyond Thomas Hardy.
The Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes (1975) edited by James Sutherland. A rich mine of bits and pieces of literary
information and sidelights on literary figures, giving a flavour of literary life in different ages, in different regions, for both
sexes and all classes.
Literary Theory: An Introduction (1983) by Terry Eagleton. Lucid, entertaining, comprehensive, a good way in to the
sophisticated way of talking about literature in the 1990s.
A History of English Literature: Forms and Kinds from the Middle Ages to the Present Day (1987) by Alistair Fowler. The
most accessible of the current one-volume histories: clear and concise but rather conservative in its scope.
The Short Oxford History of English Literature (1994) by Andrew Sanders. This may seem a bit stodgy but it is the history
most aware of the problems of creating a canon of English literature in 1994. The result is a survey generously revisionist
where women's writing is concerned, and offering pointers to the possibilities for multiculturalism in the English literature of
recent decades.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1953) edited by Angela Partington. With generous samplings of major authors and
titillating glimpses of lesser-known ones, this offers a conspectus of a wide range of writing in English, literary, philosophical,
and historical.
The New Pelican Guide to English Literature: A Guide for Readers (1991) edited by Boris Ford. A compendious and
regularly updated guide that will enable the reader to find more information about almost any aspect of the field desired.
THE BRITISH NOVEL
Brenda Richardson
This entry involves problems of both definition and ideology. Down to about 1970 there is no perceived problem. Studies of
the English novel' abound, and a selection is offered in the reading list below. But after this the scope for alternative definitions
widens as Anglo-Irish novels become arguably a separate genre and practitioners of Indian or Caribbean origin reside wholly or
partly in England and produce novels from their own distinctive cultural matrices. At the same time concepts of gender or
racial identity become prominent, and it becomes tendentious to appropriate either feminist or Afro-Caribbean writing to a
genre that is seen in some quarters as a part of Victorian and post-Victorian cultural imperialism, reinforcing gender stereotypes
and imposing white, middle-class, male-centred narrative patterns. So the list also includes a couple of collections of essays
which explore these problems of racial, national, and gender identity, and their relation to narrative fiction, whether or not we
call the result a novel.
`Oh! it is only a novel!' replies the young lady:... `It is only Cecilia, or Camilla or
Belinda' or in short, only some work in which the most thorough knowledge of
human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit
and humour are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language.
JANE AUSTEN
The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding (1957) by Ian Watt. The classic study of the origins of the
novel conceived as a product of middle-class economic individualism.
The English Novel: Form and Function (1953) by Dorothy Van Ghent. Contains a mixture of studies in the interpretation of a
wide range of individual works and studies of problems of form.
The Rhetoric of Fiction (1983) by Wayne C Booth. A classic American study dealing with British and other fiction. Here we
see the rise of literary theory: concepts of the meaning of form, the importance of point of view, of reader-theory.
Mothers of the Novel: 100 Good Women Writers before Jane Austen (1986) by Dale Spender. A corrective to Ian Watt and
other less carefully nuanced versions of the great male line of English novelists from Defoe to Dickens and Conrad. Dare a
feminist say that the definition of `good' may seem to need a bit of stretching?
The Modern British Novel (1993) by Malcolm Bradbury. All studies date quickly at the recent end of their period. This very
new and comprehensive book covers the wide range of subgenres and cultural subsets into which the novel tradition may be
seen to have fragmented as well as doing a good job on the `mainstreams'.
The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature: The Novel: A Guide to the Novel from its Origins to the Present Day (1993)
edited by Andrew Michael Roberts. A work of reference in which authors, genres, and technical terms can alike be checked.
Reading Women: Essays in Feminist Criticism (1986) by Mary Jacobus. This collection has a European and international
focus, indicating this aspect as well as the gender aspect of the shifting focus of literary and especially novelistic criticism in
Britain.
Nation and Narration (1990) edited by H K Bhabha. Essays on various aspects of cultural identity and cultural imperialism,
some more and some less relevant to the particular matter of the British novel, but indicating by its very existence the way in
which the study of the novel has been problematized and politicized in the present decade.
ENGLISH PROSE
Brenda Richardson
The selection, it will be seen, contains no identified writer more recent than Lytton Strachey, though the letters and diaries
come down well into the present century. Where more formal writing is concerned the defining examples do belong in earlier
periods. Nonfictional prose is not one genre but many. There are essays, biographies, history, criticism, topography, humour,
satire, pastoral, some separable, some not or barely so. The examples are chosen partly for style, partly for content, partly to
give a taste of different periods and different contexts. The pleasures_are many and diverse, and virtually impossible to
summarize.
Prose can never be too truthful or too wise.
WILI.IA vi WATSON
Essays (1597-1625; several recent editions) by Francis Bacon. Like Hamlet they turn out to be full of quotations! They also
provide a good sense of what life was like under Elizabeth I and James I and an illustration of the terse and plain style of
writing.
The Compleat Angler (1653; several recent editions) by Izaak Walton. A favourite of mine, and a lovely example of a very
minor genre, the pastoral idyll in English. Should you wish to cook pike, it can also serve as a recipe book!
Selections from the Tatler and Spectator (1988) edited by Angus Ross. 18th-century fashionable journalism, well selected,
and offering a range of interests to do with both the style and diction and the content.
Addison, Joseph and Richard Steele, English and Irish-English, 1672-1719 and 1672-1729.
Spectator. Rec: Bloom Lubbock
The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789; several recent editions) by Gilbert White. An evocation of rural life
and an example of scientific and descriptive and yet eminently readable prose.
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790; several recent editions) by Edmund Burke. An elegiac celebration of
traditional aristocratic society incorporated in vigorous counter-revolutionary propaganda.
The Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857; several recent editions) by Elizabeth Gaskell. The life of a woman by a woman from a
very paternalistic age. It offers social history and detail of the distinctive character of the West Riding of Yorkshire, as well as
chronicling Bronte's struggle to achieve self-expression and self-fulfilment.
Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873) by Walter Pater. Romantically impressionistic essays in art history which
encouraged subjective responses to beauty.
Eminent Victorians (1918) by Lytton Strachey. Funny, irreverent, often desperately unfair, these studies offer a debunking,
ironic corrective to uncritical treatments of Victorian piety and heroism.
The Englishwoman's Diary: An Anthology (1992) edited by Harriet Blodgett. A wide-ranging sampling of the regional,
domestic, and personal writing which is characteristic of the female writer and fills in the blanks around the public life featured
in the formal essays of London male culture.
The Oxford Book of Letters (1995) edited by Frank and Alice Kermode. An anthology stretching from the 16th to the 20th
century, offering an insight into the life of different periods and the function of the letter in each.
THE 18TH-CENTURY BRITISH NOVEL
Chris Murray
It was during the 18th century that the prose tale underwent the subtle and profound transformation into the novel, for many the
supreme literary form of the modern world. Its origins were modest. Though novels were soon to acquire the social graces of
the drawing room, the earliest were redolent of the tavern, the brothel, and the debtors' prison, their language spiced with the
racy vernacular of pimps, harlots, drunks, thugs, cardsharps, cutthroats, penniless fops, corrupt politicians, and scheming
lawyers. In other words, early novels (strongly influenced by such writers as Cervantes) were essentially picaresques, a form
for which the burgeoning ranks of the urban middle classes had a huge appetite. Young heroes and heroines, beset by seemingly
endless series of farcical trials and tribulations, finally, often by a totally unexpected twist of fate, achieve wealth and
happiness. The following includes a few precursors of the true novel.
The novel is practically a Protestant form of art; it is a product
of the free mind, of the autonomous individual
GEORGE ORWELL
Oroonoko (about 1688) by Aphra Behn. A remarkable woman whose eventful life included working as a spy for Charles II, a
spell in a debtors' prison, and a busy career as a translator, dramatist, and novelist - she was probably the first Englishwoman to
earn her living by writing. A long prose romance influenced by continental writers, Oroonoko, with its attack on the slave trade,
anticipates the much later concept of the 'noble savage'.
Behn, Aphra, English, 1640-1689.
Oroonoko. Rec: Smiley
"The Fair Jilt". Rec: Smiley
Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe. Tradesman turned literary jack of all trades and polemicist who was thrown into
prison several times, Defoe, freely combining fiction and fact, brought a new imaginative scope and vigour to storytelling.
Robinson is his masterpiece, though his vividness of characterization, sure sense of everyday reality, and his narrative drive
make Moll Flanders (1722) and The journal of the Plague Year (1722) highly readable.
Gulliver's Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift. Not a novel, quite, but a bitter, and at times obscene, satire in prose (the satires of
John Dryden and Alexander Pope had set a very high standard in verse). By curious irony that might well have given its author
a good deal of sardonic pleasure, Gulliver's Travels became a children's classic (parts of it, at least).
Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded (1740-42) by Samuel Richardson. Generally considered to be the first English novel. Told in a
long, long series of letters, it recounts the seduction of a young woman who, virtuous and true, brings about the moral
transformation of her vile seducer, though both of them die in the process. A successful printer by trade, Richardson had a
shrewd sense of what people wanted: a good story that ended with `an useful moral'. His sensitivity to the psychology of his
characters had a huge impact on the development of the novel, and in his lifetime he was feted throughout Europe: Dr Johnson
as well as the French philosopher Rousseau wept for Pamela.
Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding. A long picaresque romp through 18th-century England, probably the greatest novel of its
age. Fielding detested what he regarded as the prissy and hypocritical morality of Richardson (he wrote a parody called
Shame), and his own novels combine a shrewd intelligence and an earthy frankness about human nature (the character Tom
Jones is far from being a model of snowy- white virtue). His work as a dramatist gave his novels a sureness of structure absent
in many works of the period. Essential reading.
The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker (1771) by Tobias Smollett. An account of a family on their travels through England
and Scotland, told in a series of letters by each member of the family, this is probably Smollett's finest work. Smollett hasn't
Fielding's sense of form, but the countless comic escapades of his vividly drawn characters show him to be ceaselessly
inventive, his satire on human folly relentless, though just a little mellower here than in earlier works.
The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith. A vicar and his family fall on hard times: he loses his position and is
finally thrown into debtors' prison, his daughter elopes with a scoundrel. But it all turns out happily in the end. A neglected
work (a little tame perhaps after Fielding and Smollett) which deserves more attention. The German poet Goethe, who dubbed
it a `prose idyll', was deeply moved.
The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy (1760) by Laurence Sterne. A unique work, this is one of the strangest books of
the century. To use modern jargon, it 'deconstructs' the novel form, and far more amusingly than many 20th-century attempts. It
has long mock-philosophical authorial asides, blank pages, a few squiggles to illustrate the rambling and inconsequential
narrative, a mixture of styles high and (very) low, including stream-of-consciousness, and a gallery of colourful eccentrics like one of its more recent relatives, James Joyce's Ulysses, it is either a sheer delight or an insufferable irritation. Despite its
oddity it was extremely popular in his own day.
The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole. This is another queer fish. Disdaining the `vulgar' realistic novels of his
day, Walpole turned to medieval stories of chivalry and high romance. The result was a surrealistic novel of the supernatural statues that bleed, ghosts, a giant helmet that falls from the sky killing a man, murder, rattling chains, and ruined castles. A
rejection of the down-to-earth good sense of much 18th-century fiction, The Castle of Otranto, the first `Gothic novel', is one of
the earliest expressions of Romanticism and the ancestor of the modern horror novel.
THE 19TH-CENTURY BRITISH NOVEL
Roz Kaveney
There is a tendency on the part of critics of the novel to talk as if Romanticism was something that only happened in poetry, or
abroad. In fact, the 19th-century British novel crucially concerns itself with key issues of Romanticism - the conflict between
the individual striving to be entirely themselves and the community that has rights and in which the individual has to some
extent to live. Often this conflict is posed in terms of a struggle between shadow selves or with a landscape; often also multiple
narrative strands make possible the exploration of more than one point of view, more than one possible way of existing.
Dead, your Majesty. Dead, my lords and gentlemen. Dead, Right Reverends and
Wrong Reverends of every order. Dead, men and women, born with Heavenly
Compassion in your hearts. And dying thus around us every day.
CHARLES DICKENS
Emma (1816) by Jane Austen. Has the poise and elegant malice that we expect of Austen, but is surprisingly perceptive about
the dangers of intelligence and talent. Emma makes mischief and manipulates almost everybody around her; she has a
novelist's instincts and puts them to work in real life.
The Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) by James Hogg. Brilliantly originates a whole school of psychological horror
stories. Its hero, persuaded of his elect status as one of the saved, comes to believe he can dispose of everyone in his way and
serve God thereby; is his companion and adviser a delusion, the incognito Russian tsar, or the Prince of Lies?
A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens. A moral lecture on charity that escapes mere preachiness because of the
fertility of Dickens' fantastic imagination. It denounces not only miserliness and politics which stifles humanity in the affluent
by denying it to an underclass; in the process, it crystallizes the manners of a particular time as the authentic way of celebrating
Christmas. Mythopoeia is an underrated function of the novel and the tale.
Vanity Fair (1847) by William Makepeace Thackeray. Has a heart of unforgiving flint beneath the flip cynicism and
sentimentality of its surface. Thackeray does not let even his virtuous characters get away with anything - by the time worthy
Dobbin wins the widowed, dim Amelia, he has seen how little she is worth. Becky Sharp starts with our sympathy - she has,
after all, her way to make in a cruel world - but forfeits it by gratuitous acts of petty cruelty.
Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte. The most Romantic of great British novels, with its blasted landscapes and
hopeless love. Based as it is on some crudely conceived dualisms like the opposition of calm and storm in the make-up of its
characters, there is considerable subtlety in its execution; the distanced narrative turns up the heat on the emotional material by
pretending to recollect it in tranquillity.
Bleak House (1852-53) by Charles Dickens. Perhaps his most comprehensive denunciation of a society in which the letter of
the law is allowed to kill the spirit. The Chancery case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce becomes indistinguishable from the London
fog; spontaneous combustion, smallpox, madness, and murder strike indiscriminately and the orphan Esther, the illiterate
crossing sweeper Jo, and the snobbish Lady Deadlock have more to do with each other than we can imagine.
The Ring and the Book (1869) by Robert Browning. A great poem now most usefully read as if a novel; verse is its means of
expression, rather than its soul. A classic Roman murder case is retold time after time from different viewpoints, becoming a
meditation on truth and how truth is used within a society, and a touchstone for our perception of the characters who discuss it.
Daniel Deronda (1876) by George Eliot. Demonstrates that the 19th-century novel could be about ideas as well as plots and
emotional extremes; the critic F R Leavis disapproved of the subplots about Zionism and music and wanted to edit it down to
the story of Gwendolen Harlech, which demonstrates how little F R Leavis understood about story.
The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) by Thomas Hardy. Reminds us usefully that the England of the 19th century started off as
a rural economy, but that things changed ... Turned sober after selling his wife at a fair, Henchard becomes a model of Victorian
energy, but secrets will out, and the assistant he fostered becomes his rival. Hardy at his best combined a sense of society as a
whole with the most complete tragic sense of the century.
The Master of Ballantrae (1889) by Robert Louis Stevenson. Uses the last British civil war, the Jacobite rebellion of 1745,
and its conflicts of loyalty to dramatize the clash of the two sorts of man. Observed by a narrator alienated from both, two
brothers struggle for estate, wife, and ascendancy; often underrated as a children's adventure story, Stevenson's best book is
endlessly inventive and emotionally subtle.
20TH-CENTURY BRITISH FICTION - Roz Kaveney
The 20th-century British novel hardly exists as a single concept - nor is this just a result of nearness in time and failures of
perspective. For one thing, there was no longer any one idea of Great Britain to which to assent or dissent; a sense of
marginalization was common not only to those who had been marginalized, but also to many writers whom most would see as
at the centre of things as they were. Society is an antagonist in most of the good novels of the century, not a medium through
which protagonists move. Exploration of technique was another crucial factor, of course, but looks less of one at century's end
than it seemed in the middle; technical innovation was consistently recruited back into the mainstream so that James Joyce's
Ulysses, for example, looks greater than ever, but far less radical a departure.
Yes - oh dear, yes - the novel tells a story.
E M FoRSTER
The Secret Agent (1907) by Joseph Conrad. Conrad brought a European sophisticadon about motive and the political cast of
mind to the British novel. This tale about the domesticity of the suburbs, the idiot games of high politics, and the tragedy of the
mundane was a farsighted view of how the century was going to work. at also characterizes, perhaps, the 20th-century British
novel is a sense of the weirdness of life which derives from Dickens and makes for real quirkiness; if the British novel of the
second half of the century is for the most part distinctly minor, it is because there are in it so many goodish writers who wrote
strange books.
The Good Soldier (1915) by Ford Madox Ford. This is, as the book's opening tells us, the saddest story ever told, largely
because its quite trivial story of adultery, deceit, suicide, and madness is made to stand for a whole dying world of middle-class
security. What seemed sensible arrangements had bad faith at the roots and destroyed everyone - the narrator gradually !cams
all that had been kept from him: Ford finished the book, and then went off to the war that the book never mentions, directly.
Mrs Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf. Woolf despised Joyce's work for its grubby realism, but successfully appropriated the
stream of consciousness in several of her books. Clarissa Dalloway is a social parasite, but she has a set of tasks to get through
in a day and becomes admirable for doing them in spite of the endless distractions of her thoughts and senses. This is a slight
book in many ways, but achieves grandeur through its sense of human solidarity.
Brighton Rock (1938) by Graham Greene. Greene's decision to divide his work into serious novels and `entertainments' cost
us, for the most part, a sense of him as a whole writer. This novel of gangsterism and damnation combines a nasty wit with a
real sense of the complexity of quite ordinary lives; it is one of the best of thrillers because it is perhaps the best novel about
criminals and their power struggles. Nemesis comes in the shape of a barmaid with a grievance and the worst horror of all is a
short-play record.
Brideshead Revisited (1945) by Evelyn Waugh. This great, rich, purple convolvulus of a book was Waugh's reactionary
farewell to the sweetness of life as he believed it to have been lived by a Catholic aristocracy he turned into myth as he worked.
It is one of the great novels of regret partly because it is so clearly set in the imagination; it is also full of great comic moments
and brilliant observation of a social climbing that was part of the artificial paradise that Waugh thought was dying.
Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1956) by Angus Wilson. If tragedy is the nonfulfilment of promise, then this is one of the best and
most pregnant tragic works of the century; Wilson's sense of Englishness is quietly unhappy, and full of chickens coming home
to roost. A complicated affair of intellectual fraud and misunderstanding comes back to haunt Gerald and triggers every booby
trap his bad faith has created.
The Fountain Overflows (1956) by Rebecca West. It is perhaps the sheer difficulty of her personality, and her longevity, that
has led to the underrating of West as anovelist. This novel of an Edwardian childhood, the only completed volume of a trilogy,
is one of the best descriptions of a child's fierce loyalties and incomplete under-standing of the world; the heroine's personally
unreliable gallant crusader of a father is a subtly conceived feminist comment on politics as Boys' Game still worth playing.
The Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) by Jean Rhys. Jean Rhys's early novels dealt with her rackety life and affairs with Ford Madox
Ford and others with a slightly masochistic wit and sense of the randomness of life that makes them starkly depressing. Even
more bracingly bleak, paradoxically, because of the richness of its prose is this late book, the story of a mad wife in Charlotte
Bronte's lane Eyre; Rhys made Woman as Victim the subject of great prose poetry.
When My Girl Comes Home (1961) and The Camberwell Beauty (1974) by V S Pritchett; both in Collected Stories (198283). The novella is a form often left out of the accounting and Pritchett, probably the greatest short story writer in the language
his century, wrote two great novellas and no novels of real importance. These two tales show us private worlds and the way
that privacy skews a sense of the real world or of ordinary morality; they are at the same time quietly nightmarish and
hysterically funny.
The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman (1972) by Angela Carter. There had to be a great British surreal novel and
the only odd thing about it is that it took until the 1970s. Carter's journey from rationality to a dream landscape and betrayals
that leave ambiguities in the mouth is perhaps the most satisfactory fore-shadowing of our ambivalence to their legacy.
Ulysses (1922) by James Joyce. Much prosecuted, much damned, much discussed, this is a novel about a day in the life of
three Dubliners in 1905. The battery of technical devices - stream of consciousness, parody, abstracted musicalized dialogue are not there to replace realism, but to enhance it; even the underlying and determining structure, the analogies between each
episode and a book of the Odyssey, is a creation of limits in which the representation of the real can be pressurized. It is the
most universal and the most particular of novels; it lets you know a time and a place and some people better than almost any
other. And it includes within it a great meditation on mortality - proscribed and atheist, nonetheless Joyce is a Catholic writer.
At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) by Flann O'Brien. One of the other great 20th-century novels by an Irishman, this combines a
sense of shabby-genteel debauchery with end-less recursions into a world of cowboy novellas, heroic myths, and doggerel
about stout_ There are few books as funny - but the underlying sense of sadness comes out time and time again in the bleak
side stories. A joke is a tragedy that happened to someone else.
Daniel Aaron
Daniel Aaron is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of English and American Literature and Language Emeritus at Harvard
University and has recently edited The Inman Diary. He is also president of the Library of America, dedicated to preserving the
works of American writers. Professor Aaron has had a lifelong interest in encouraging reading.
Most of us read promiscuously. Our response to a particular book depends a good deal on when we intersect with it and under
what circumstances. In my own case, the books I was required to read usually meant less to me than those whose titles I came
across in the pages of other writers or accidentally discovered on my own. Some of the books that deeply engaged me during
my adolescence were "trash" to my mentors. It seems too pompous to say that any of the following books played "an important
role" in my life. They were important to me for personal reasons.
Edmund Wilson. Axel's Castle: A Study in the Imaginative Literature of 1870-1930 (1931). New York: W. W. Norton, 1984.
(Pb) This book was very liberating. It was my first extended exposure to the symbolist movement and drew me to Yeats's later
poetry, to Joyce's Ulysses. to Gertrude Stein's Three Lives, and of course to Wilson's collected reviews and essays. Eventually I
read everything he wrote, and I still regard him as America's foremost modern man of letters.
James Gibbons Huneker. Egoists, a Book of Supermen (1909). New York: AMS Press, 1975.
. Iconoclasts. a Book of Dramatists (1905). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1969.
. Ivory, Apes and Peacocks (1915). Philadelphia: Richard West, 1973.
. Unicorns (1917). New York: AMS Press, 1976.
I came across Huneker's essays in 1929. By that time he was considered a relic of the fin de siècle and was hardly referred to,
but to me he was a revelation. He introduced me at a susceptible age to the "poisoned honey" of the continent, to his "soulwreckers." Thanks to him, I found Nietzsche, Huysmans, Strindberg, Baudelaire, Flaubert. He was more enthusiastic than
critical, but I read him at the right time.
George Henry Borrow. Lavengro. 3 vols. London: J. Murray, 1851.
I read this novel, a fictionalized autobiography, in my late teens. It tells of a young wanderer-scholar who has mastered the
Romany tongue and is befriended by a company of English gypsies. Borrow's racy earthy style and amusing irreverence
appealed to me very much. His fascination with languages ("Lavengro" is the gypsy word for "philology") matched my own.
Kenneth Burke. Permanence and Change (1935). Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. 1965.
Almost more than any work I can think of, this one helped me to clarify the relation between literature and society, criticism
and life. Through Burke I discovered Thorstein Veblen. His discussions of "perspectives by incongruity" and "symbolic action"
made me see the uses of history, psychology, sociology, and philosophy in the interpretation of literature. Thereafter Burke
became for me our American Coleridge.
Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle]. The Red and the Black (1830). Lloyd C. Parks, trans. New York: New American Library, 1970.
(Pb)
I suppose this is my favorite novel along with Anna Karenina. I've read it more times than any other novel for reasons never
exactly clear to me except that I take undiminished delight in its wit, audacity and stylistic brilliance and its psychological
insights. To me, at least, the novel has the perfect plot.
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith is the Paul M. Walburg Professor of Economics Emeritus. Galbraith has enjoyed a celebrated life of
teaching, public service, writing and thinking. President Truman awarded him the Medal of Freedom. He served as President
Kennedy's ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963. A former editor of Fortune magazine. he has written many books including
The Affluent Society, The New Industrial State and The Age of Uncertainty. His friends say he can frequently be found striding
the streets of Cambridge, on his way to the pool.
I do not urge economics: others will do that. Instead I urge the enjoyments and enlightenment to which the well-seasoned
economist and citizen of the future are entitled and which have brought both pleasure and reward to me in the past.
Anthony Trollope.
Barchester Towers (1857). New York: Penguin, 1983. (Pb)
The Last Chronicles of Barset (1867). New York: Penguin, 1981. (Pb)
The Warden (1855). New York: Penguin, 1984. (Pb)
Evelyn Waugh.
Decline and Fall (1928). Boston: Little, Brown, 1977. (Pb)
Scoop (1938). Boston: Little, Brown, 1977. (Pb)
W. Somerset Maugham.
Of Human Bondage (1915). New York: Penguin, 1978. (Pb)
Christmas Holiday (1939). New York: Penguin, 1977. (Pb)
Ring Lardner. Gullible's Travels (1917). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.
Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms (1929). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1982. (Pb)
Norman Mailer. The Naked and the Dead (1948). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1980. (Pb)
Paul Scott. The Raj Quartet.
The Jewel in the Crown (1966). New York: Avon, 1979. (Pb)
The Day of the Scorpion (1968). New York: Avon, 1979. (Pb)
The Towers of Silence (1971). New York: Avon, 1979. (Pb) The Division of the Spoils (1975). New York: Avon, 1979. (Pb)
Robertson Davies. The Deptford Trilogy. (Pb)
Fifth Business (1970). New York: Penguin, 1977. (Pb)
The Manticore (1972). New York: Penguin, 1977. (Pb)
World of Wonders (1975). New York: Viking, 1977. (Pb)
Richard J. Herrenstein
R. J. Herrenstein is the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, where he has primarily done research on
human and animal motivational and learning processes. His books include Psychology, I.Q. in the Meritocracy and Crime and
Human Nature.
These books were important to me—at a particular time and a particular point in my life. They may not be suitable for other
times or other people.
Leo Tolstoy. War and Peace (1865-69). Louise Maude and Aylmer Maude, trans. George Gibian, ed. New York: W. W. Norton,
1966.
First read when I was about seventeen. Probably the first "great book" I truly enjoyed. It shaped certain views about history.
Charles Darwin. The Origin of Species (1859). New York: Penguin, 1982. (Pb)
Important for the obvious reason, plus my own fascination with the way it dealt with the subject of instinct.
John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath (1939). New York: Penguin, 1976. (Pb)
I doubt that this would have the impact now that it did when I read it in the 1940s sometime, but it filled me then with a sense
of outrage over social and economic injustice.
Franz Kafka. The Castle (1926). Willa Muir and Edwin Muir, trans. New York: Random House, 1974. (Pb)
. The Trial (1937). Willa Muir and Edwin Muir, trans. New York: Penguin, 1953. (Pb)
. Amerika (1938). Edwin Muir, trans. New York: New Directions, 1946. (Pb)
These, too, have lost their punch for me, but at the time I read them, they captured the lunacy and futility of individuals
struggling with bureaucracies.
Winston S. Churchill. The Second World War (1948-53). 6 vols. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983,
This account—especially the early volumes—counteracted to some extent Tolstoy's view of history.
John B. Bury. The Idea of Progress: An Inquiry into Its Origin and Growth (1920). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1982.
Edmund Wilson. To the Finland Station (1940). New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1972. (Pb)
Wonderful books that tell a good story, and that set a standard for writing on intellectual history.
Matina Homer
Matina Horner has been president of Radcliffe College since 1972. Prior to assuming that position, she taught in Harvard's
Department of Psychology and Social Relations. In addition to her leadership responsibilities as a college president, she
teaches as an associate professor. One of her continuing research interests is the psychology of women.
This is a very tough question—to consider books that have shaped my thinking. I guess the first would have to be the collected
works of Emily Dickinson, which I began to read in junior high school.
Emily Dickinson. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (mid-nineteenth century). Thomas H. Johnson, ed. Boston: Little,
Brown, 1960.
It was the complete poems of Emily Dickinson that made a difference, rather than any one poem, except perhaps for the one
that begins "I dwell in possibility." The idea of focusing on possibilities is important to me and I often return to the poem to
make this and other points.
Pearl S. Buck. The Good Earth (1931). New York: Washington Square Press, 1983. (Pb)
During a recent trip to China, I was reminded of another book from my younger days that also made a lasting impression on
me, Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, It had a very strong impact on me then which has persisted. Its powerful presentation of
some basic cultural differences was a valuable way to be introduced to the importance of seeing and respecting different
cultures and values, of accepting cultural differences and of acknowledging the value of other perspectives. Now, back from
China, I am tempted to reread it.
Sojourner [Olive Gilbert] Truth. Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1878). Salem, N.1-I.: Ayer, 1968.
Later on, Sojourner Truth's autobiography also made a lasting impression on me. I first read it during the 1960s—as we were
beginning to think about women's roles in new ways and feminist views and ideas were being publicly debated. My thinking on
these issues began within the supportive environment of a college where expectations for and about women were very high.
Sojourner Truth's compelling phrase, "and ain't I a woman," which she used after each description of an activity she did that
challenged basic assumptions about women's strength and skills, powerfully captured for me the kind of change being sought
in expectations about women, then and now.
Sigmund Freud. The Interpretation of Dreams (1900). New York: Avon, 1980. (Pb)
Edward C. Tolman. Purposive Behavior in Animals and Man (1967). New York: Irvington, 1967.
Professionally, Freud's collected works, especially his Interpretation of Dreams, the first of his works that I read, and Tolman's
Purposive Behavior in Animals and Man, were very important to the development of my thinking. Both challenged previous
assumptions about human and animal motivation and behavior. Freud's depiction of the role of unconscious instincts and
impulses in human behavior and Tolman's convincing examples of the ability of animals to learn "what leads to what" and thus
to "think" were critical not only to my thinking but to the history of psychology.
Dr. Seuss [Theodor Seuss Geisel]. The Sneetches, and Other Stories. New York: Random House, 1961.
I can't resist including Dr. Seuss's Sneetches, that wonderful children's book that powerfully shows the foolishness of our basic
need or tendency to divide ourselves into "we" and "they" and our inability to grasp our fundamental interdependence. Not
only have I enjoyed reading it to my children but I have used it in college classes to make some key points.
Elizabeth McKinsey
Elizabeth McKinsey is both an associate professor of English and American literature at Harvard and the director of the Mary
Ingraham Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College. She is the author of The Western Experiment: New England
Transcendentalists in the Ohio Valley and Niagara Falls: Icon of the American Sublime.
Central to American literature, all these books enrich our understanding of our cultural and psychic heritage—our myths,
assumptions, preoccupations and conflicts. By broadening our historic imagination and sympathy, they can help us face
squarely the issues of human and political relations—between the sexes, among racial and ethnic groups, and among nations —
that will continue to be critical as we move into the twenty-first century.
Perry Miller, ed. Margaret Fuller: American Romantic. A Selection from Her Writing and Correspondence (1963). Gloucester,
Mass.: Peter Smith, Pubs., 1969.
When I first read Margaret Fuller (transcendentalist; friend of Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne: one of this country's first and
most accomplished literary critics) in college, I kept coming back to her. It took several years to realize why: a brilliant,
powerful, passionate, sensitive person, she embodied the split between intellect and femininity that I had been socialized to
feel. As a powerful expressive spirit, her works provide both a window on nineteenth-century American culture and a mirror of
our own attitudes toward gender, society and achievement.
Herman Melville. Moby Dick (1851). Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. (Pb)
Unquestionably the "biggest" book in American literature, Moby Dick wrestles with all the huge metaphysical questions—
religious, epistemological, ontological, aesthetic—at the same time that it depicts in minute detail the U.S. whaling industry
and through it examines questions of democracy and leadership. All its layers of meaning cohere in Melville's powerfully
written masterpiece.
Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). New York: Harper & Row, 1984. (Pb)
When Hemingway contended that all modern literature began with Huck Finn, he was thinking of its vernacular language, its
antiromantic realism and episodic structure. The language is wonderful—and funny—and very evocative historically. Perhaps I
especially like this one because I'm from Missouri.
William Faulkner. Absalom! Absalom! (1936). New York: Random House, 1972. (Pb)
Faulkner is arguably our greatest American writer, and this is his magnum opus. The saga of Sutpen and his family, and
Quentin Compson's attempt to come to terms with it, embody all the tensions in Southern and indeed American history—race,
sex, regionalism, the individual and community, etc.—as well as basic epistemological questions. A powerful, epic work.
Eudora Welty. Thirteen Stories. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1965. (Pb)
These perfect gems evoke a particular Southern rural culture—the "sense of place" that Welty has said is so important to her
work—at the same time that they reveal mythic, universal human themes and longings. Welty's mastery of language,
storytelling, power and form is infused with an extraordinary warmth and humor. Here is a shrewd and realistic but affirmative
vision.
Zora Neale Hurston. Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978.
Janice's self-knowledge, tenacity and humor, as well as her story, make her one of the more memorable characters in American
fiction. A window on a very particular time and place and social segment of American culture—the rural black South in the
1920s and 1930s—Their Eyes is also beautifully written. In its zest for life and love and its iconoclasm it is an earlier version
of (and direct source for) Alice Walker's The Color Purple.
AMERICAN LITERATURE: INTRODUCTION
Malcolm Bradbury
American literature really emerged from the sheer novelty of the New World. The wonders of landscape, the vast tracts of the
continent, the ancient settlements, civilizations, and myths that were mistakenly thought of as `Indian', the mythological
expectations that were then brought over the Atlantic by settlers from Europe, and the new lives and experiences they
encountered - all these combined to make the narratives told on the continent very different from those elsewhere. Then, in the
20th century, America became a world emblem of the spirit of modernity itself, and this too became part of the great American
myth. American writing became dominant, American writers became world-famous, and American stories and narratives
became pan of the experience of people right across the globe. Though the phrase 'American literature' generally applies to the
writings of the USA, it could and should, in these multicultural times, fairly include the `other' American literatures. That
means Canadian and Latin American literature, Native American literature, and African-American literature. Here is a list of
some of the most useful, informative, and classic general studies.
Two bodies of modern literature seem to me to come to the real verge: the Russian
and the American ... The furtherest frenzies of French modernism or futurism have
not yet reached the pitch of extreme consciousness that Poe, Melville, Hawthorne,
Whitman reached. The Europeans were all trying to be extreme. The great
Americans I mentioned just were it.
D H LAWRENCE
The Literature of the United States (1954) by Marcus Cunliffe. A straightforward and excellently told narrative history for
the general reader, with a strong sense of the historical importance of American experience and culture, written for Penguin
books by a leading British historian and critic.
The Continuity of American Poetry (1961) by Roy Harvey. Pearce Outstanding analysis of the development of American
verse from the Puritan poets through to the era of Wallace Stevens, Ezra Pound, and the `Beat' movement.
Frontier: American Literature and the American West (1965) by Edwin Fussell. A powerful study reminding us how
central the American West was to the formation of the classic American literary imagination.
Modern Latin American Literature (1973) by D P Gallagher. A fine general survey of literature in Latin America, with
special emphasis on the writers of the 20th century, when Latin American writing was seen to be of world importance.
A Homemade World: The American Modernist Writers (1975) by Hugh Kenner. A lively and idiosyncratic portrait of the
power of the Modern movement in American literature, including the work of Gertrude Stein, Pound, Stevens, Faulkner, and
Hemingway, by an enthusiastic and deeply informed American critic.
Harvard Guide to Contemporary American Writing (1979) edited by Daniel Hoffman. Essays by leading critics on
American literature from the end of World War II to the end of the 1970s, showing the wide variety of trends and movements in
fiction, poetry, and drama.
The Cambridge Handbook of American Literature (1986) by Jack Salzman. An invaluable reference work on American
literature, with detailed and informative entries.
Columbia Literary History of the United States (1988) edited by Emory Elliott. A collection of modem and up-to-date
essays by many expert contributors, following the history of American literature from the prehistoric cave narratives to the
literary trends and movements of the present.
Literature in America: An Illustrated History (1989) by Peter Conn. A lively and learned history of American literature from
early days to the present, told in narrative form, with good social background and plentiful illustrations.
From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature (1991) by Richard Ruland and Malcolm Bradbury.
An up-to-date narrative history, in Penguin paperback, of American literature from the 17th century to the immediate present,
co-written by an American and a British critic. Including detailed study of many major texts, it shows the ways American
literature has always been seen as distinctively `modem', and also sees it in the context of world literature.
THE AMERICAN NOVEL
Malcolm Bradbury
Though the novel started off late in America (the Puritans disapproved of it), it began to flourish after the American
Revolution, and became one of the most powerful forms of American narrative. To this day its nature seems shaped by its early
subject matter: the encounter with nature, the wilderness, and the vast scale of the American continent; the meeting of cultures
and races; the ever-shifting nature of society and civilization; the Gothic strangeness of American experience. In the 19th
century, writers like James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne established the
distinctive flavour of American fiction. Henry James, Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, and Edith Wharton
followed. By the 20th century, the American novel was to enter a major period, and play a dominant part in the future of
fiction, under the influence of Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, John Dos Passos, and many more. Today, among the
novelists who have won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the dominant number are Americans, and include Saul Bellow and Toni
Morrison. These are some of the basic studies dealing with the history and development of American fiction.
Between the novel and America there are peculiar and intimate connections.
A new literary form and a new society, their beginnings coincide with the
beginnings of the modern era and, indeed, help to define it. We are living not
only in the Age of America but also in the Age of the Novel, at a moment
when the literature of a country without a first-rate epic or a memorable verse
tragedy has become the model of half the world.
LESLIE FIEDLER
The American Novel and Its Tradition (1957) by Richard Chase. This is a classic study, establishing the difference between
the traditions of the European 'novel' and the American `romance', and giving some excellent readings of major authors from
Cooper through to Faulkner.
Love and Death in the American Novel (1960) by Leslie Fiedler. Brilliant, very thorough study of the rise and development of
the novel in North America, from its beginnings after the Revolution through to the period after World War H. It distils the
distinctive themes and `Gothic' qualities that made it so different from European writing.
On Native Grounds: A Study of American Prose Literature from 1890 to the Present (1942) by Alfred Kazin. This is
another classic (and very influential) study, a little dated now, looking at the development of the realistic and social aspects of
American fiction and its treatment of American life `on native grounds'.
Radical Innocence: Studies in the Contemporary American Novel (1971) by Ihab Hassan. An important, analytical
interpretation of the development of American fiction after World War II, emphasizing its concern with innocence and
extremity, and its sense of experiment. By a noted critic.
City of Words: American Fiction 1935-1970 (1971) by Tony Tanner. A wonderful study of the experiments, in form and
language, of American fiction in one of its most exciting and innovative periods, by a British critic who has been a major
interpreter of American literature.
In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens (1983) by Alice Walker. This strongly personal book - by the author of The Color Purple
- emphasizes and explores her double inheritance, black and female, as a novelist, and shows the importance of both traditions
to the contemporary American novel.
American Fiction, 1865-1940 (1987) by Brian Lee. A fine general survey of the overall development of American fiction by a
British critic, writing with a strong sense of the social developments taking place at the time.
Columbia History of the American Novel (1991) edited by Emory Elliott. A thorough, large-scale historical study of
American fiction from the beginnings to the present by various experts with a contemporary standpoint.
Oddfobs: Essays and Criticism (1992) by John Updike. Not all these highly read-able essays - 160 of them, by a major writer
who is also a warm and wonderful critic - are about American fiction. But the many that are illuminate it with a vivid humanity
and understanding.
The Modern American Novel (1995) by Malcolm Bradbury. An extended survey of the American novel from the time of
Henry James, Mark Twain, and William Dean Howells through to the immediate present, covering the many movements and
trends - including modernism, postmodernism, `dirty realism', and black and feminist fiction. Extensive bibliography.
THE 19TH-CENTURY AMERICAN NOVEL
Malcolm Bradbury
Nineteenth-century American fiction followed a very different course from that of the novel in Europe at the same time. The
wonder of American nature, the drama of exploring and settling the great continent, and the fascination of recent American
history took its writers into new and original materials. And then, between 1861 and 1865, came the Civil War, which
threatened to break up the Union. American fought American in a period of national agony, changing the nature of American
culture. After 1865, the USA set out on a period of massive modernization - partly helped by the industrialization the war had
required. Its railroads spanned the continent, its cities rose high, and immigration multiplied. By the end of the century America
was no longer a `virgin land' but a great modem industrial power. American fiction changed to respond to these new conditions:
romance and stories of history and nature gave way to a new spirit of reportage and literary naturalism. This is the story that
lies behind some of the great American novels of the 19th century; here are my ten favourites - five from each half of America's
divided century.
Our civilization is still in a middle stage, scarcely beast, in that it is no
longer wholly guided by instinct, scarcely human, in that it is not yet
wholly guided by reason.
THEODORE DREISER
The Prairie (1827) by James Fenimore Cooper. Cooper was the first real novelist of the American wilderness, and in The
Prairie he takes his famous hero of the five novels of the Leatherstocking saga, Natty Bumppo, to the flat prairies west of the
Mississippi River. He's now an old man, and America is quickly expanding west, away from the New York frontier where
Leatherstocking started his adventures. Again he meets Indians, and makes his final peace with nature. A classic work of the
American imagination.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1837) by Edgar Allan Poe. This is Poe's one novel (most of his work
was in short story and poetry), and shows his famous, Gothic extremity of imagination. It's about a shipboard mutiny which
ends in a formidable journey to the Antarctic, and the blank whiteness of experience, and is written with all Poe's sense of
poetry - and horror.
The Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Set in Puritan Boston in the 1650s, this is the story of a woman, Hester
Prynne, who affronts the `iron law' of church and state by committing adultery with a minister. She is forced to wear a badge of
shame, the scarlet letter A, but insists on the `natural' law of her actions. Hawthorne called the novel a `romance', meaning not
just that it is a story of adulterous love but of the conflict between the claims of fact and imagination.
Moby Dick, or The Whale (1851) by Herman Melville. Melville said he wrote this book `in the name of the devil', and it is a
classic tragedy, the story of the obsessed Captain Ahab, who, sailing on the whaler Pequod, determines to avenge himself
against the 'diabolic' white whale that has injured him. The book, filled with learning and parody, is a vivid. moving seaborne
adventure, but also a profound work of modern experiment.
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe. For the 19th century, this was America's most famous novel, a world
best seller. Abraham Lincoln once suggested it started the Civil War. Sentimentally written, it still remains nonetheless a
remarkable portrait of slave experience, portraying the cruelties and sufferings inflicted on the black slaves on the Southern
plantations, and their basic humanity.
The Portrait of a Lady (1881) by Henry James. It's hard to have a preference among the novels of James; not only do his
novels mark the refinement of the modem art of fiction, but they change and develop decade by decade, through to the great
last works of the early 20th century. But this is his fast great novel, displaying his mature art. And the story of Isabel Archer,
the strong, free, young American girl come to her 'wondrous' Europe to encounter experience, and finding it grimly in her
unhappy marriage to Gilbert Osmond, is one of the most remarkable character portrayals James ever achieved.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain. This was the book with which, Ernest Hemingway said, all
American literature began. And if James is the novelist of modern fictional artistry, Twain was the novelist of the modem
vernacular voice. Huck Finn, the poor boy from Hannibal, Mississippi, who sets out on a raft down a great river with his black
friend, Nigger Jim, each of them looking for freedom, tells his own story, with childish truth, innocence, and clarity. Like the
river, the book seemed to take charge of Twain as he wrote it, producing his most profound as well as vivid novel.
The Red Badge of Courage (1895) by Stephen Crane. This shoe novel about a young man, Henry Fleming, as he goes into
battle during the American Civil War, was a tour de force. Crane was too young to have known the Civil War; he said he
imagined it from the football field. at makes the book so remarkable is that it is a portrait of instantaneous consciousness. We
are not concerned with why the war is fought, or how Henry got there, just with every moment of experience in the line or in
flight from it. Henry wants to win his red badge of courage, and in the end he does so, in one of the great stories of initiation.
McTeague, A Story of San Francisco (1899) by Frank Norris. Later filmed as Greed, Norris's remarkable story of an
untrained, brutish San Francisco dentist who lives for his beer and his concertina until he falls in love with Trina, the greedy
Swiss girl whom he finally murders, is a classic work of naturalism and the bete humaine, the human animal. Norris brilliantly,
and fatalistically, captures the urban atmosphere of San Francisco and its ordinary lives, and contrasts it with the life in nature
and the desert beyond.
Norris, Frank, American, 1870-1902.
The Octopus. Rec: Bloom
Sister Carrie (1900) by Theodore Dreiser. By the end of the 19th century, America was becoming an urban society, and the
typical `shock-city' was Chicago, which had turned from village to second city in 50 years, its skyscrapers, stockyards and
department stores typifying modem America. Carrie Meeber, the poor girl who goes to Chicago and becomes rich by any
means to hand, shocked the first readers, just as Dreiser's method - naturalism again - dismayed them by its apparent lack of
morality. But Dreiser, a writer from German immigrant stock, brought raw new America to the page, and told its story
unsparingly.
THE 20TH-CENTURY AMERICAN NOVEL
Malcolm Bradbury
At the start of the 20th century, American fiction was still thought of as a provincial relation of European, especially British
fiction. By the 1930s the balance was changing, thanks to the emergence of novelists like Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald,
William Faulkner, and Sinclair Lewis. And by the 1950s it had become clear that the American writers of the next generation Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, John Updike, and many more - were among the leading novelists of the world. The change came
from many things: the vast development of the nation, in its industrial capacity, economic strength, and influence; the powerful
energies of modernity, which changed American lives and made them seem among the most advanced in the world; the
American fascination with style and personal consciousness; and eventually the emergence of America, after World War II, as a
global superpower, affecting the lives and shaping the cultural experience of people right across the world. But it also came
from the cultural complexity of American experience. American writers came from many places - from recent European
immigrant stock, and from the established American tradition; from great sky-scraper cities and distant regions; from varied
ethnic mixtures and origins. Jewish-American fiction, African- American fiction, Native American fiction, and feminist fiction
all added to the cultural variety and the scale of the drama that unfolded in the American novel. With such riches, choice is
almost impossible, and major omissions inevitable. But here are my ten favourite works of modem American fiction.
How does one in the novel (the novel which is a work of an and not a disguised
piece of sociology) persuade the American reader to identify that which is basic in
man beyond all differences of class, race, wealth, or formal education?
RALPH ELLISON
The Custom of the Country (1913) by Edith Wharton. Wharton was very much a social novelist, who lived much of her life
in Paris. Her novels possess a vigorous irony about the collapse of social relations, and none is more ironic than this. The
`custom' in question is the American habit of social self-advancement through divorce. The book's heroine, Undine Spragg, is
essentially an opportunist who uses sexuality for advantage, and both succeeds and morally fails in the end.
The Great Gatsby (1925) by F Scott Fitzgerald. Not all Fitzgerald's books are care-fully written, but The Great Gatsby is the
masterpiece, a classic modern American novel. Jay Gatz, the poor boy who becomes rich and is known as the `great Gatsby',
still retains an American innocence amid the glitter, corruption and waste of the 1920s. His love for Daisy Buchanan leads to
disaster, but it remains a version of the American dream - carefully observed by the narrator Nick Carraway.
The Sound and the Fury (1929) by William Faulkner. Faulkner is the great novelist of the American South, and with this
book he broke loose from the form of historical fiction to try a complex experiment with history, time, and language. The book
contains four stories and several time-schemes; part of the story is indeed a tale of sound and fury, told by an `idiot'. The book's
theme is the stained, incestuous, corrupted world of the American South, and the agony of its modem survivors. Hard to read,
it's worth it, as a work of cunning modernism.
A Farewell to Arms (1929) by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway had been wounded on the Italian front in World War I, and this
story of Lt Frederic Henry, who is similarly wounded while serving with the Italian forces, and falls in love with the English
nurse, Catherine Barkley, who looks after him, has a strong autobiographical quality. But this is a classic tragedy of wartime
experience. Henry leaves the war to make a 'separate peace', and tries to create a life of his own with Catherine. But she dies in
childbirth, and the sense of a universal modern tragedy pervades the book, told in Hemingway's tight, tough, economical style.
Invisible Man (1952) by Ralph Ellison. One of the founding novels of African-American fiction, this work about a black man
rendered invisible by his colour in the chaos and white exclusiveness of American life is a story of mental and then actual
revolt. It's a serious exploration of the moral price that is paid when identity is revoked, and hence a work of great existential
power.
Lolita (1955) by Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov was an emigre for most of his life, displaced from Russia by the Bolshevik
Revolution. This is his one true American novel, the story of another emigre, Humbert Humbert, whose sexual taste is for
'nymphets', young girls on the cusp of puberty. The erotic aspects of the book made it sensational at the time; but it is
fundamentally a myth about the supposedly `experienced' European observing the supposedly 'innocent' America, and finding
the tables constantly turned: an ironic love affair with America and with the English language, which in Nabokov's hands turns
into a formidable instrument.
Catch-22 (1961) by Joseph Heller. If A Farewell to Arms was the decisive war novel to emerge from World War I, Catch-22
was the book that captured for its generation the ironic and bitter implications of World War II. Set among flyers on the Italian
front, it's an epic of extreme absurdity. The military machine is a system of illogical orders; so is the disaster that is being
created for humanity. A work of black humour, a g eat modern comic classic, the novel also evidently applied to Heller's
contemporary America, as it developed ever more absurd systems of human management and new forms of Cold War fever.
V (1963) by Thomas Pynchon. Perhaps the ultimate work of what became known at the time as `postmodern fiction' or
`metafiction', V is the wonderfully elaborate story of a quest into history conducted in a time of late modem chaos, where no
order falls into place and information is in excess of human comprehension. Herbert Stencil is engaged in a quest for a
mysterious figure, V, who seems to have some significant role in the making of modem history, though her story dissolves each
time it's approached. Meantime a contemporary figure, Benny Profane, is seen attempting to surf the mod-em chaos. A work of
dense historical research as well as technical cunning, it's no easy read, but is of undoubted importance.
Herzog (1964) by Saul Bellow. Bellow, a Jewish-American writer, has been the con-science and consciousness of much in
American fiction after World War II, as was acknowledged when he won the Nobel prize in 1976. Moses Herzog, a `suffering
joker', is an intellectual who attempts to come to terms with the heritage of romantic expectation in modem life, addressing
letters to the illustrious dead of modem thought; at the same time he has great trouble in living one. As in other Bellow novels,
it's the mixture of high intellectual energy with superb social observation of life in modem Chicago and New York that makes
this a work of formidable wit and power.
Beloved (1987) by Toni Morrison. By another Nobel prizewinner, the African-American author of Song of Solomon 1977 and
Tar Baby 1981. Beloved is about an escaped former slave who has killed her baby girl in the age of slavery, to protect it from
being returned to the plantation, and then is haunted by its ghost in the time of freedom after the Civil War. A powerful and
poetic myth, written in a lyrical prose, it is a work both of haunting realism and strange fantasy, revealing the current strength
of African-American fiction.
AMERICAN PROSE (NONFICTION)
Ian F A Bell
While American poetry and prose have been acknowledged and celebrated as arguably the most innovative and experimental of
all Western cultures (the mod-ern novel begins with Henry James, while modern poetry derives its impetus from Ezra Pound),
American nonfiction has tended to remain in the shadow of these more glamorous colleagues. To leave it thus is to lose out on
a remarkable body of donatively energetic writing. Founded by a declaration of opposition to British colonial rule, the
American nation has found in the voices of its essayists a persistent polemical strain which maintains the world as open to
debate: founded on invention, the nation has held true to a discourse of change where constructivity and alterability are the key
notes. Openness, a resistance to closure, a constant interrogation of the seeming given of things - these are the hallmarks of a
tradition of writing from the 18th century onwards which refuses settlement and finish of all kinds and which testifies to
existence itself, both national and personal, as a process of becoming, never merely the stasis of being.
Existing likes and powers are to be treated as possibilities, as starting points, that
are absolutely necessary for any healthy development. But development involves a
point towards which as well as one from which; it involves constant movement in
a given direction. Then when the point that is for the time being the goal and end
is reached, it is in its turn but the starting-point for further reconstruction.
JOHN DEWEY
The Adams-Jefferson Letters (1959) edited by Lester J Cappon. A marvellously wide-ranging discussion of politics, culture,
and science between two of the leading formers of the early republic. As Ezra Pound acknowledged in the 20th century,
`nothing surpasses the evidence that CIVILISATION WAS in America, than the series of letters exchanged between Thomas
Jefferson and John Adams'.
Selected Writings of Emerson (1981) edited by Donald McQuade. Ralph Waldo Emerson was the major American thinker of
the 19th century whose essays on just about everything not only had a profound influence upon contemporaries such as Henry
David Thoreau and Walt Whitman, but also remained a vital imaginative resource for the cultural activities of the 20th century,
ranging from the architect Frank Lloyd Wright to the poetry of the Beat Generation.
Abraham Lincoln, Speeches and Letters (1993) edited by Peter Parish. Unlike the prose of Jefferson or Adams, coloured and
structured by great learning, that of Lincoln is relatively untutored and stands as a wonderful example of the kind of voice
always applauded in America - straight, simple, uncluttered, and direct.
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (1890) by James McNeill Whistler. Witty, iconoclastic, and abrasive, Whistler here
inaugurates Modernism in painting and diagnoses the responsibilities and fate of an in a commercial and philistine age.
The Education of Henry Adams (1973) by Henry Adams. First published privately in 1906, and subtitled A Study of
Twentieth-Century Multiplicity, this remarkable cojoining of genres (part history, part autobiography, and taking as its models
the Confessions of St Augustine and Jean-Jacques Rousseau) attempts to work through the crisis of preparing for life in the
new century•.
The Theory of the Leisure Class (1970) by Thorstein Veblen. Written at the turn of the century, Veblen's brilliant analysis of
America's new bourgeoisie presents an encyclopedia of the signs whereby status Was to be measured, most notably through the
tokens of what he called `conspicuous consumption'.
Look at Me Now and Here I Am - Writings and Lectures 1911-45 (1967) by Gertrude Stein. `Why don't you read the way I
write?' was a question posed by this most radical of modern linguistic experimenters, and her efforts to teach new freshness and
new ways of reading are more appropriately found in this diverse collection on diverse subjects than in the more familiar
single-lensed projects such as The Making of Americans (1906-08) and The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas (1932).
Guide to Kulchur (1938) by Ezra Pound. Analogous to the project of his epic poem The Cantos, Pound's `Guide' offers an
inflammatory curriculum for civilization at midcentury: eccentric, wise, foolish, and eclectic, his Baedeker to cultural mores
achieves the true pedagogical aim of annoyance into action.
Advertisements for Myself (1961) by Norman Mailer. How to be hip while not writing the Great American Novel.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) by Tom Wolfe. How to be cool while attempting to go further.
THIRD WORLD LITERATURE: FICTION
Kadiatu Kanneh
The rubric `Third World literature' immediately ushers in a range of difficulties. To designate the field already involves a range
of political questions around the term `Third World'. Other alternatives are `postcolonial' or `black'. To write an introduction to
this vast field is necessarily limiting and will involve a biased and individual choice. I include here texts that allow for insights
into major preoccupations of the `field' (such as colonialism, nationalism, racial identities, feminist issues, and independence).
The texts chosen have great literary and imaginative value, and can be seen as classics.
He had done nothing shameful, it was the way they had forced him to live, forced all of them to live, which was shameful.
Their intrigues and hatreds and vengeful acquisitiveness had forced even simple virtues into tokens of exchange and barter.
ABDULRAZAK GURNAH
Things Fall Apart (1958) by Chinua Achebe. A classic of African literatures, depicting the advent of colonialism on a Nigerian
Ibo community. Its analysis of the transforming and traumatizing effects of colonialism, as well as its moving portrayal of
family relationships, honour, love, and death, make it an enduring and often witty novel.
Petals of Blood (1977) by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. A novel from independent Kenya, again depicting the transformation of a
community. Its weaving together of lives, narratives, and histories into a geography of modem African sensibility make it an
illuminating and unforgettable novel.
Our Sister Killjoy (1977) by Ama Ata Aidoo. A novel which beautifully satirizes Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Set in
Ghana and Europe, the novel blends narrative with poetry, confronting the choices available to African women, and dealing
with histories of racism and oppression.
Idu (1970) by Flora Nwapa. A novel set in Ghana and centred on the life of one woman. The narrative is about love, fertility,
communal life, and joy.
A Bend in the River (1979) by V S Naipaul. This novel is set in postcolonial central Africa (Zaire), written by an IndoCaribbean author, and narrated by an East Indian African. A fascinating evocation of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, revealing the
complexities of racial and national identity, the constant insurgence of history, and the problems of cultural dialogue.
Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A novel set in Latin America using magic realist techniques.
It engages with the powers of time, memory, love, and pain and uses language as a poetic tool. Translated from Spanish.
The Arrivants (1973) by Edward Kamau Brathwaite. Set in Afitica, the Caribbean, Europe, and the USA, this trilogy of poetic
volumes traces a modem understanding of black migrant identities. Written by a Barbadian poet, this collection of powerfully
connected poems covers an imagining of black consciousness and histories to create a poem of the diaspora.
Song of Lawino (1966) and Song of Ocol (1967) by Okot p'Bitek. Written by a Ugandan poet, these two long poems represent
a dialogue between a traditional African woman and a man with modern, western tastes. Brilliantly witty and metaphoric
poetry, pitting the values of traditional and modern Africa against each other, with female anger winning the day.
Season of Migration to the North (1969) by Tayeb Salih. Translated from the Arabic, this novel, set in Sudan, Cairo, and
England, presents a humorous, traumatic, and complex illustration of inter-racial sexual desire, exploring the psychopathology
of colonialism and migration.
Nervous Conditions (1988) by Tsitsi Dangarembga. This novel, set in Zimbabwe, discusses the effects of language loss, exile,
and cultural dislocation on the body and psyche of a young African woman.
Science Fiction
Adams, Douglas, English, 1952-2001.
A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Rec: Harvard Radcliffe
Aldiss, Brian Hothouse (1962)
Interesting dramatization of major science fiction theme; what happens when elements that man takes for granted are turned
topsy-turvy. In this case the earth's atmosphere becomes overheated and mankind has to sweat it out. Also: Billion Year Spree
(history of the genre); Frankenstein Unbound; The Malacia Tapestry, etc
Asimov, Isaac The Foundation Trilogy (1951)
Asimov is one of the great names in modern science fiction; his enormous output tends to slapdash chatter in later books, but
here he was at full stretch. Also: Nightfall and Other Stories; The Gods Themselves; The Caves of Steel, etc. See
MATHEMATICS
Ballard, J. G. The Terminal Beach (1964)
These stories, by Britain's master of SF alienation and disaster, have the clarity of obsession which is more diluted in his other
work. Also: The Atrocity Exhibition; The Drowned World; Vermilion Sands, etc
Ballard, J. G., English, 1930- .
The Unlimited Dream Company. Rec: Burgess
Bester, Alfred Tiger! Tiger! (1957)
Also known as The Stars My Destination. One of the cult books of the field. Lurid adventures and vengeance of Gully Foyle,
bane of the 24th century. Ingenious, surrealist fun. Also: The Demolished Man
Blish, James A Case of Conscience (1958)
Sense of morality perfectly matches SF ideas: Blish invents an alien race with no sense of good or evil and therefore
considered "in a state of sin" by religious zealot, very disturbing. Also: And All the Stars a Stage; The Day after Judgement;
Cities in Flight, etc
Bradbury, Ray The Martian Chronicles (1950)
Although Bradbury's prose sometimes seems empurpled, his consistent sense of the poetry of man's search for new frontiers,
both inside and outside himself, has attracted many who might not consider themselves SF readers. Also: Fahrenheit 451; The
Golden Apples of the Sun; The Illustrated Man, etc
Bradbury, Ray, American, 1920- .
Fahrenheit 451. Rec: NYPL
Clarke, Arthur C. Childhood's End (1953)
Clarke's vision of humanity eventually becoming godlike reached its ultimate in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. But
Childhood's End expresses this view with even more coherence; it is remarkable for its compassion. Also: Imperial Earth;
Rendezvous with Rama; Fountains of Paradise, etc. See MATHEMATICS Dick, Philip K. The Man in the High Castle ( 1962)
Beautifully organized novel postulating an alternative world in which the Axis powers won World War II. One of modern SF's
great books. Also: The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch; Martian Time-slip; A Scanner Darkly, etc
Clarke, Arthur C., English, 1917- .
2001: A Space Odyssey. Rec: Boston PL
Crowley, John, American, 1942- .
Little, Big. Rec: Bloom
Aegypt. Rec: Bloom
Love and Sleep. Rec: Bloom
Delany, Samuel R., American, 1942- .
Babel 17. Rec: Harvard (sci fi)
Dick, Philip K., American, 1928-1982.
Ubik. Rec: Time
Gibson, William, Canadian, 1948- .
Neuromancer. Rec: Time
Harrison, Harry Make Room! Make Room! (1966)
Prolific (and variable) author's best if not funniest novel, later filmed as Soylent Green. Set in a teeming New York, where
people, regardless of the pressure of space, will not stop reproducing. Also: Bill: The Galactic Hero: The Technicolor Time
Machine; The Stainless Steel Rat. etc
Heinlein, Robert A. Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)
Heinlein is the guru of SF conservatism, yet this book (preaching what appeared to be free-choice and free-love) was adopted
by the hippies of the 1960s, even becoming a "bible" for killer Charles Manson and his family. The message, though, was much
more rigorous than they thought. Also: Starship Troopers, etc
Herbert, Frank Dune (1965)
Dune is a planet in a far off time and a far off system on the extreme edge of aridity—water is more precious than diamonds; an
entire culture is based on water scarcity rather than on water plenty. Technically superb in its details, the book is also a
masterful thriller.
Heinlein, Robert, American, 1907-1988.
Stranger in a Strange Land. Rec: LAT NYPL
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)
a
Le Guin has a poetic sensibility; this study of a world called "Winter" and the sexual life of its inhabitants is a stunning
creation. Also: The Lathe of Heaven; Planet of Exile; The Dispossessed. See CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Lem, Stanislaw Solaris (1971)
a
Story of a planet which is a sentient creature, capable of creating duplicates from the memories of the earth people who visit it;
made into a haunting film. Also: The Cyberiad; The Invincible
Lem, Stanislaw, Polish, 1921- .
The Investigation. Rec: Bloom
Solaris. Rec: Bloom Good Reading
Lewis, C. S. Out of the Silent Planet(1938)
One of Lewis's attempts to charge SF ideas with Christian principles. Not always liked by SF buffs, its popularity has
nevertheless brought many readers into the fold (of the genre). Also: Perelandra; ThatHideous Strength. See CHILDREN'S
BOOKS; RELIGION
Lindsay, David, English, 1876-1945.
A Voyage to Arcturus. Rec: Bloom
Miller, Walter M., Jr. A Canticle for Leibowitz (1960)
Awesome account of post-apocalypse world and the Second Coming, immaculately conceived in SF terms; postulates the
Church as a repository of technological secrets from a past civilization now regarded as sacred writings. Also: Conditionally
Human
Moorcock, Michael The Final Programme (1968)
The "wild man" of British science fiction, claims that the apocalypse is now. One of many novels starring Moorcock's anti-hero
Jerry Cornelius. Also: The English Assassin; A Cure for Cancer; Gloriana, etc
Pohl, F. and Kornbluth, C. M. The Space Merchants (1953) The authors were exercised about how consumers are
manipulated by conglomerates. In this novel, Venus is being carved up by advertising agents. Madison Avenue lives—out
there! Also: Slave Ship; Drunkard's Walk; Gateway (all by Pohl)
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, English, 1797-1851.
Frankenstein. Rec: Bloom Smiley
Stapledon, Olaf Last and First Men (1930) * Stapledon had vast ideas; this account of the human species swings through
millennia as though they were skittles. Also: Sirius: Odd John; Star Maker. etc
Stephenson, Neal, American, 1959- .
Snow Crash. Rec: Time
Stoker, Bram, Irish, 1847-1912.
Dracula. Rec: Bloom Harvard NYPL Smiley
Tolkien, J. R. R., English, 1892-1973.
The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy). Rec: Harvard Radcliffe Time
The Hobbit. Rec: NYPL
Van Vogt, A. E. The Voyage of the Space Beagle (1950)
Van Vogt's apocalyptic prose is easily parodied; but his ideas, as in this episodic story of a space ship threading through space,
are fascinating. Also: The Weapon Shops of Isher, The World of Null-A
Verne, Jules Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864)
One of the great precursors of modern SF takes one of the great precursory themes, despatching his explorers on a trip which
includes Atlantis, Iceland, prehistory and a packet of lecturing. Also: From the Earth to the Moon; 20,000 Leagues under the
Sea; Around the World in Eighty Days
Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. The Sirens of Titan (1959)
Cascade of elegantly loony invention, set on more than one heavenly body. Cynical explanations for just about everything
(including Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China) well-wrapped in a neat plot. Hellishly funny—Vonnegut before he was
taken up by everyone and went soft. Also: Player Piano; Cat's Cradle; Slaughterhouse 5, etc
Wells, H. G. The Time Machine (1895)
This marvellous story contains much of Wells' genius; science made plausible and shaped to the needs of mankind. Also: The
Invisible Man; The Shape of Things to Come; The First Men in the Moon. See FICTION/NOVELS; HISTORY/WORLD
Wells, H. G., English, 1866-1946.
The Time Machine. Rec: NYPL
Works. Rec: Rexmo
Science Fiction Novels. Rec: Bloom
The War of the Worlds. Rec: Radcliffe
Wrede, Patricia C., American, 1953- .
Dealing with Dragons. Rec: Harvard
Wyndham, John The Day of the Triffids (1951)
Through mankind's negligence—not to mention sudden world-wide blindness—large perambulating hunks of vegetation take
over the British Isles. Fine example of the English Cosy Catastrophe School. Also: The Kraken Wakes; The Midwich Cuckoos;
The Crysalids
Fred R. Whipple
Fred R. Whipple arrived at Harvard in 1931 "with his bright and shining Ph.D. and a position of observer at the observatory."
In the ensuing fifty-five years, he has brought more than distinction to Harvard's astronomy reputation. He was responsible for
the Smithsonian astrophysical observatory's coming to Harvard. The Collected Contribution of Fred R. Whipple (2 vols.)
describes much of his work. The Phillips Professor of Astronomy Emeritus, he retired from teaching in the late 1970s and
continues research and prolific writing. He will spend much of 1986 observing Halley's Comet from Paris, Moscow and West
Germany.
When I think of books that have influenced me, I can only think of those books I selected so eagerly from the library in Red
Oak, Iowa as a very young man. I was a very independent only child. I read much more than other children—I read much more
than my parents, who spent most of their lives working very hard, too tired to read.
Alexandre Dumas. The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-45). New York: Bantam. 1981. (Pb)
. The Three Musketeers (1844). New York: Penguin, 1982. (Pb)
Sir H. Rider Haggard. She (1887). New York: Airmont, n.d. (Pb)
The first books I picked out of the library were fairy tales in all the different colors. I remember the Thousand and One Nights
—the expurgated version for a nice Presbyterian boy. After reading everything that amused me. I moved on to Greek legends. I
considered them mediocre, second-rate fairy tales. It wasn't until college that I realized that Greek legends had a value far
beyond fairy tales.
My next pursuit was science fiction—which continued for years. I read by author, not title. All of H. G. Wells, Edgar Allan
Poe, Sir H. Rider Haggard. Everyone should remember She. Science-fiction magazines allowed me to live in another world
with visual circumstances so different from mine. Hugh Germsbach's Electrical Experimenter and, later, Amazing Stories
were particular favorite magazines. So was my friend Isaac Asimov's science fiction.
I perfected my French with amusing French novels. The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers stick in my mind.
My parents' only suggestion to this reading were Zane Grey and Edgar A. Guest. I think I must have read them all. I found
Mark Twain on my own and know I read all of his wonderful work.
SCIENCE FICTION
Brian Aldiss
Since the days of Jules Verne and H G Wells, whose books have been translated into most of the languages on Earth, science
fiction has been perennially popular. Its zenith of popularity may have been reached in the 1960s and early 1970s, when
investigation of alternative lifestyles was at its height. As the blithe 19th-century belief in Progress with a capital P has
dwindled, so sections of science fiction have appeared to merge at least temporarily with fantasy, essentially a more
conservative mode of fiction. This shift can be seen in movies, computer games, and similar, as well as in the written word. An
invaluable reference work to the entire field is The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1979, revised 1993) edited by John Clute
and Peter Nicholls.
Almost any novel set in the future is classifiable as science fiction. Tomorrow is the
plimsoll line between science fiction and the ordinary novel.
MARTIN SEYMOUR-SMITH
The Foundation Trilogy (1951-53) by Isaac Asimov. Despite wafer-thin characterization, this trilogy remains the most
enduring of the popular SF works. Its theory of `psychohistory', worked out against a panorama of a long galactic future,
remains compelling. Later `Foundation' novels have less to recommend them.
The Drowned World (1962) by J G Ballard. This was the first of Ballard's apocalyptic novels, depicting London under flood,
and a hero who finds disaster not unwelcome, in an elegant holistic prose. Published in the early 1960s, when London was
under the flood of New Wave SF, The Drowned World established Ballard as a major stylist, and contained many themes to
which he was later to revert.
Blood Music (1985) by Greg Bear. A startling example of hard SF by a writer who rose to eminence in the mid-1980s. His
central character creates microchip computers from biological material and, in smuggling them from the laboratory in his body,
creates conditions in which the new intelligences overwhelm the world. A strongly poetic legend.
Mission of Gravity (1954) by Hal Clement. This wonderful story, dating from the 1950s, is archetypal SF, set on a radically
strange world. Human explorers, landing on the planet Mesklin, must cooperate with the local centipede-like inhabitants to
effect a rescue. Mesklin is a heavy-gravity world with a rapid rotation. Physical details well worked out, characters engaging,
scenery compulsive.
Martian Time-Slip (1964) by Philip K Dick. Dick is a kind of model Californian SF writer, into the 1960s drug culture,
mentally strange, dying fairly young. Martian Time-Slip, set on a desolate world occupied by the United Nations, contains
anguishing flaws of consciousness involving several characters, including an autistic boy. As in many of Dick's excellently
eccentric novels, the real and unreal are confused.
Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson. When this book appeared Gibson was hailed as the apostle of cyberpunk. Fast action
accounts in part for its wide popularity, and for the young computer generation it was irresistible; all longed to negotiate
Gibson's grey, nonphysical cyberspace, despite its perils. Grim but amusing.
Mythago Wood (1981) by Robert Holdstock. This remarkable novel, together with its sequel, Lavondyss, forms a unique saga
of great beauty and darkness, poised between fantasy and SF. A rich prose style informs a tale of an ancient English wood
wherein archetypes or 'mythagoes' exist, acting out primordial roles upon those who venture into their thickets. That rare thing:
new subject matter, highly metaphorical and - as the well-wrought prose reveals - deeply felt.
Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818) by Mary Shelley. This pro-found novel has been badly treated as mere
horror by the movie industry. It is a penetrating study of pained human relationships, transfused by wonder and melancholy.
Written by a young woman still in her teens, it is the first novel to employ the theme of man usurping nature by scientific
means, and thus may be regarded as the first - and in many ways most famous - SF novel.
Star Maker (1937) by Olaf Stapledon. Of all SF novels, this is the grandest and most austere. A human soul ventures out into
the galaxy and eventually meets the Supreme Being, conjuror of universes. Philosophical in intent - Stapledon was a
philosopher - Star Maker is full of poetry and wonder. Its sheer scale outclasses even Stapledon's earlier and better known Last
and First Men
The Time Machine (1895) by H G Wells. `The Great General of Dreamland', as Wells styled himself, wrote many famous
scientific romances, but none more grand and enduring than this, his first. The time traveller ventures into a near future, the
world of Eloi and Morlocks, and then into the distant future, where the Sun has cooled and Earth is empty of all life.
Evolutionary; and astronomical theories fuel a mood which is mainly of tender regret.
HORROR
Roz Kaveney
The great precursors of the modern horror genre are mythopoeic novels of the 19th century, whose principal direct influence on
culture was to be through Hollywood. There is a sense in which Boris Karloff's Monster or Bela Lugosi's Dracula are far more
the thing conceived than any passage in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Bram Stoker's Dracula ever manages quite to be. The
genre horror fiction that came to fruition in the last two decades deals in the first place with sheer sensation and surprise; the
best honor also deals, usually, in human emotion, not least, but not only, because we have been made to care who gets eaten.
Horror fiction speaks to our condition, which is a worrying statement about the state we are in; there has been a tendency to
underrate good writing in the genre as a way of avoiding noticing that that writing tells us some uncomfortable truths about
ourselves.
Every body is a book of blood. Wherever you open us, we're red. CLNE BARKER
The Collected Ghost Stories of M R James (1931) by Montague Rhodes James. A Warning to the Curious, the tide of one of
the earlier collections of these tales, might serve as a useful summary for all of them; James specialized in the antiquarian back
story that lends authority to his horrors. Later genre horror learned from him the art of explanation, which is not the same thing
as explaining away.
The Outsiders and Others (1939) by H P Lovecraft. Lovecraft is a special case, a recluse obsessed with maggoty theories of
racial degeneration and class hatred, who created, most =seriously, an elaborate mythos of sinister gods and other beings to
whom humanity were no more than prey. The intermittent awfulness of his overwriting should not blind us to the sheer passion
of his best work and its sense of the abysses of deep time that surround our fragile lives; Jorge Luis Borges admired him.
The Shining (1977) by Stephen King. King's sense of the small-town life and perpetual empathy with children are the light
side of what has made him the richest horror writer in history; his empathy with men on the brink of madness, led by their own
faults and a little supernatural prompting, into acts unforgivable even by themselves is what makes him, at his best, remarkable.
The Shining has perhaps the best of these damned-viewpoint characters and, in the Overlook Hotel, one of the most concretely
imagined Bad Places in fiction.
The Land of Laughs (1980) by Jonathan Carroll. Carroil's gloomy tales of prayers answered in ways not dreamed of find their
most typical example in his first ingenious book. at could be more innocent than the desire to write a biography of one's
favourite children's author? The odd metamorphosis of the dead writer's fellow towns-people into the phantasmagoric creatures
he based on them is surely just an illusion, not a cause for concern? And so it goes, on to hell through good intentions, to
perhaps the best last-line logical plot twist in modern fiction.
The Arabian Nightmare (1983) by Robert Irwin. There are few good, and many bad, books about dreams and dreamers, and
Irwin's endless chamber of mirrored horrors is one of the very best. An expert on The Thousand and One Nights and author of
the best study of it in English, he takes medieval Cairo and turns it into a hell of repetition from which his protagonist is trying
to awake; he also, in passing, makes some elegant comments on the myth of Orientalism and the bad faith in which the West
has dreamed it.
The Books of Blood (1984-85) by Clive Barker. These six slim volumes of short stories kick started a whole approach to the
job of tenor and disgust; they finished for ever the convention that you don't show the monster or the blood, but rely on delicate
suggestions. Barker's strong visual sense dictated that fiction was a stepping stone from his paintings to his films and his novels
have been disappointing; the imagery of the body and its vulnerability to distortion and destruction which pervades these books
haunts the mind like a stain.
Hawksmoor (1985) by Peter Ackroyd. Biographer and novelist Ackroyd wrote by far his best novel under the joint influence
of James and Lovecraft, as well as of the poems of Ian Sinclair and various strange theories about the occult geography of
London. An architect and occultist of the early 18th century creates towers and crypts which write the script for murders in the
late 20th century; the investigating detective comes to feel merely a puppet. This is one of the most atmospheric of books about
London's near East End, a gloomily splendid recreation of a real place as a malign geography.
Koko (1988) by Peter Straub. A cultural obsession with serial killers and child abuse and Vietnam found one of its headier
results in this dreamlike thriller from Straub, author of several of the most poetic of horror and ghost novels, but here perhaps
at his best. The honor here is partly the horror of atrocity, but partly too an almost Calvinist sense of consequences - those to
whom evil is done, do things in return that it is almost impossible to imagine.
The Stress of Her Regard (1989) by Tim Powers. Powers is obsessed with fantasies of history, with explanations; here we
learn why the Romantic poets were obsessed with mountains and vampires and why Keats and Shelley died young. His doctor
hero, on the run after his wife dies horribly on their wedding night, finds out more than he wishes to know and suffers for his
knowledge; his sister-in-law nemesis is dragged into madness and self mutilation and out the other side. This is an inventive
book full of the shabbiness in which the horrid manifests itself.
Use of Weapons (1990) by Ian M Banks. Banks, in his pseudonymous space-operatic mode, managed to combine a technical
tour de force of narrative structure, a galaxy-spanning tale of intrigue and mayhem, and perhaps one of the grimmest studies of
brutality and guilt in recent fiction. Some books are genre honor by endless playing with its tropes; this belongs to a list
because it works so insidiously to the awful revelation at the heart of darkness.
Lost Souls (1992) by Poppy Z Brite. The absence of women from this list partly reflects the boys in the dark obsessions of the
genre, partly the extent to which women writers tended to be off at a tangent to genre horror, writing Gothic romances in which
vampires were the ultimately good, or the ultimately dangerous, version of male sexuality. For Brite, whose interest in male
subjects is so all consuming as to leave women out of her books almost altogether, vampires are cool and hip and deadly, and a
threat to her nice young male lovers in peril; this is tosh, in a sense, but tosh with a generational sensibility that makes it a key
text of 1990s subcultures.
Süskind, Patrick, German, 1949- .
Perfume. Rec: Harvard (horror)
FANTASY
Roz Kaveney
Strictly speaking, of course, fantasy is a term that includes both horror and science fiction in that both are ultimately nonrealistic genres whose refusal of more than surface mimesis is a conscious choice. There is a large body of work, most of it
overtly generic, which falls into neither category; much of it is set in a medieval-cum-archaiccum-Oriental Fantasyland with
diction to match; some of it is set in our own time and place into which incursions are made from Outside. Some of it deals
with cures for the world's pain, or the reconciliation of the mundane and faerie, or with ultimate apocalypses of good versus
evil - but some of it is just about people making their way in trying circumstances. As with other genre literature, any list has to
include forgotten works from the mainstream that only the genre has kept alive and works which only devotees have read, to
the loss of the average reader.
Fairy stories may invent monsters that fly the air or dwell in the deep, but at least
they do not try to escape from heaven or the sea.
J R R TOLx1EN
Jurgen (1919) by James Branch Cabell. This almost forgotten satire on human aspiration was, in its time, both frighteningly
hip and the subject of a major obscenity trial. Its mild bawdy has not dated well, but its sense of the absurd and its touches of
the wildly romantic have lasted better. Jurgen, poet turns pawnbroker, searches for his lost youth, and the women of his ideals
and finds neither Elysium, Hell, nor the Heaven of his grandmother remotely to his satisfaction.
Lud-in-the-Mist (1926) by Hope Mirrlees. A small bourgeois town which has sat comprehensively on its dark history of mad
dukes and wild rebellion find that what goes out one door will come in at another; the world of faerie finds that intervention in
human affairs has its consequences in the bringing of human law. This neglected, warm, humane book is perhaps still the best
fantasy of fmding balance.
The Lord of the Rings (1954-55) by J R R Tolkien. The one genre fantasy that most people have actually read, this created
most of the preconceptions that dominate readers and writers of fantasy. To read it again, forget all that has followed on from it,
and think of it as a book about Tolkien's experiences in World War I or about the needs for limits as a creator of ethical context;
it is a book of real invention, high romance, grimness, wit, and charm, and what more needs be said for anything?
The Swords of Lankhmar (1968) by Fritz Leiber. There was always a pulp genre of capers and mayhem in Fantasyland, much
of which can be forgotten. Leiber's template series about the sensitive barbarian hunk Fafhrd and the streetwise vain urchin
Gray Mouser ran for decades, and brought wit and sophistication and irony to the whole enterprise. One of its culminations was
this novel of conspiracy, urban depravity, and sword-wielding rats, which demonstrated that Leiber could not only write action
adventure, he could also write sexually charged farce.
A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) by Ursula K LeGuin. This first of the trilogy, later expanded into a quartet, which made LeGuin
a children's cult as well as the writer of SF and fantasy for people who don't usually like that sort of thing, is still one of the
most intellectually satisfying of explorations of magic. Ged, apprenticed as a wizard, tests limits and nearly destroys himself
and those around him; this is a book about the getting of wisdom, and, appropriately, is itself wise.
Peace (1975) by Gene Wolfe. An early novel by the trickster writer of The Book of the New Sun, this is complicatedly not
what it seems. An old man muses on mortality and his family history and on stories, none of which ever quite manages to reach
completion ... This is a novel, but it is also a riddle to which there are no wholly satisfactory answers; it is a book which
stretches form and comprehension to breaking point without ever raising its voice or doing anything radical with prose.
Little, Big (1981) by John Crowley. This and two other novels by Crowley are the only genre fantasies to make it into Harold
Bloom's Canon. Little, Big, a novel where even the comma in the title is important, takes the sleeper under the hill, the
conditions imposed on a lover, the animal adviser, the quest for a lost love, and the place that is bigger than it seems, and mixes
them into a story of change and transfiguration, where what seemed twee becomes almost unbearably moving with a change of
perspective.
The Anubis Gates (1983) by Tim Powers .Brendan Doyle, a widower and Coleridge expert, this he knows about the Regency
London in which he is marooned. He knows only rumours, though, about the body- jumping werewolf, the Egyptian
magicians, and the malignant clown, and vivisectionist Horrabin ... Powers is remorselessly inventive here, but Doyle's
predicament, and those of the lives he touches, is emotionally real even when the events surrounding it are at their most bizarre.
Rats and Gargoyles (1990) by Mary Gentle. A city where anything is possible, particularly the nastier things; a city sustained
by the imagination of its gods, yet constantly undermined by memories of its past incarnations - Mary Gentle took ideas from
Gnosticism and elsewhere in the mystical tradition and made of them an adventure playground. Swashbuckling and
metaphysics go oddly well together here - and a problem is solved according to the rules in whose language it has been set.
Waking the Moon (1994) by Elizabeth Hand. We almost think we know where we are here, as crabbed old patriarchal
conspirators use magic to blast out of life a feminist archaeologist and a young disciple takes up her work ... Restoring the rule
of the Goddess is not a task without its own moral implications, though, and this vividly peopled book turns a lot of cliches on
their head as its central characters find themselves rejecting the human consequences of things to which in abstract they might
assent. Fantasy is never allegory, at its best, but it is often a device for representing, in heightened phantasmagorical form,
genuine moral choices.
ROMANTIC FICTION
Marina Oliver
Almost any novel that contains a strong love story and has a happy or optimistic ending can be described as a romantic novel.
That encompasses a lot, from Jane Austen to the Brontes, the present-day short genre romance, through historical settings
including fictionalized biographies and rip-roaring adventure, the popular family sagas, Aga sagas, glitz, modem problem
novels, and literary prizewinners. Serious critical analysis is meagre, and what there is tends to be American. The
TwentietCentury Romance and Historical Writers (third edition 1994) is the most comprehensive reference book for details of
writers, lists of their books, and a critical view of each author's work.
As the world becomes increasingly ugly, callous and materialistic, it needs to be
reminded that the old fairy stories are rooted in truth, that imagination is of value,
that happy endings do, in fact, occur, and that the blue spring mist that can make
an ugly street look beautiful is just as real a thing as the street itself.
ELIZABETH GOUDGE
Advances (1992) by Anita Burgh. This is a wickedly funny look at the world of publishing, by a writer with the ability to carry
along her readers by the sheer power of her storytelling, whether set in the present day or past times.
The Lymond Series (1961-75) by Dorothy Dunnett. Six huge books with an attractive hero and an unlikely heroine, set against
a masterly, vast panorama of 16th-century Europe. These books are full of detailed knowledge, totally absorbing, intense, and
brilliant.
The Unknown Ajax (1959) by Georgette Heyer. The Regency novel was `invented' by Georgette Heyer, and the deliciously
frothy, eminently easy-to-read style conceals formidable research and superb technical skill. This title has a serious theme of
smuggling, combined with wit, humour, and deep emotion.
A Better World than This (1986) by Marie Joseph. The heroine is searching for a dream, away from the tedium of a
Lancashire mill to. This heartwarming novel won the Major Award of the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1987.
The Suffolk Trilogy (1959-62) by Norah Lofts. Set, like many of her novels, in East Anglia, these books feature one house
through several centuries. She can convey time and place impeccably, and her characters are intensely real.
The Chatelaine (1981) by Claire Lorrimer. A family novel, set in the 1900s, it is a powerful story of a girl's early love,
disillusionment, and final triumph over adversity. It is superbly plotted and compelling.
Mango Walk (1981) by Rhona Martin. She won the first Georgette Heyer Prize with Gallows Wedding, a historical novel, but
this is set in the 20th century, equally uncompromising and powerful, the story of an unlikely love that endures despite almost
unbearable pressures.
Csardas (1975) by Diane Pearson. Both editor and author, Pearson is president of the Romantic Novelists' Association. She
achieved immense acclaim with this epic story of Hungary during half a century of travail.
Nine Coaches Waiting (1958) by Mary Stewart. This book can be called a Gothic novel or a suspense novel, but is above all a
compelling story involving hard decisions and firm values.
The Native Air (1990) by Sarah Woodhouse. The author can take unlikely characters and charm her readers into utter
fascination. This is the last in a trilogy set around 1800, where love eventually triumphs. The writing is delightful, almost fey,
but conveys with a sure touch the sometimes bleak realities of Norfolk life.
Hong Sheng (Hung Sheng), Chinese, 1646-1704.
Palace of Eternal Youth. Rec: Ward (romance)
Short Stories
See HUMOUR (Daudet, Lardner, O'Brien, Runyon): MUSIC (Wagner); MYTHOLOGY (Feldman. Gantz, Hatto, Malory,
Sandars, Thomas); SEX (Boccaccio, Nefzawi)
Aesop Fables (6th century Esc)
Aesop was a slave on the Greek island of Samos; either as moral metaphors or as "absurdities" his fables are unsurpassed.
Aesop, Greek, 620-560 BCE.
Fables. Rec: Bloom Good Reading
Agnon, S. Y. The Bridal Canopy (1922)
Bleak, dark visions: purgation of emotions by pity and despair. Nonetheless, fine, springing prose. Also: Two Tales; And the
Crooked Shall Be Made Straight, In the Heart of the Seas, etc
Agnon, S. Y., Israeli, 1888-1970. Nobel Laureate
In the Heart of the Seas. Rec: Bloom
Twenty-One Stories. Rec: Bloom
Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Japanese, 1892-1927.
Rashomon, and Other Stories. Rec: Ward
Anderson, Sherwood Winesburg. Ohio (1919)
Anderson, one-time manager of an Ohio paint factory, knew his material inside out. These 23 stories present, in
straightforward, intense style, moments in the lives of inhabitants of the kind of small town in which he grew up. Also: Poor
White; Death in the Woods; The Memoirs of Sherwood Anderson
Anderson, Sherwood, American, 1876-1941.
Winesburg, Ohio. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind ML Novels
Death in the Woods and Other Stories. Rec: Bloom
Andreyev, Leonid, Russian, 1871-1919.
Selected Tales. Rec: Bloom
Ansky, S., Russian writing in Yiddish, 1863-1920.
The Dybbuk. Rec: Bloom
The title work, for example, evokes the mystical underpinnings of shtetl life, with its rituals of possession and exorcism.
Arreola, Juan Jose, Mexican, 1918- .
Confabulario and Other Inventions. Rec: Ward
Babel, Isaak Collected Stories (1957)
Babel, born in the Odessa ghetto, died in one of Stalin's concentration camps. His stories are brief and vivid, his viewpoint that
of a Jew "with spectacles on his nose and autumn in his heart".
Babel, Isaac Emmanuelovich, Russian, 1894-ca. 1940 .
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom Ward
Barthelme, Donald, American, 1931-1989.
Forty Stories. Rec: Bloom
Beckett, Samuel More Pricks than Kicks (1934)
Beckett's first work of fiction consists of ten stories. Most are laboriously overwritten, as early work by important writers often
is, but Dante and the Lobsteris brilliant, and there is grim humour in several of the others. See DRAMA; FICTION/NOVELS;
LITERARY CRITICISM
Beerbohm, Max, English, 1872-1956.
Seven Men and Two Others. Rec: Bloom
Bierce, Ambrose Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891)
Bierce disappeared into Mexico in 1913—in search, he said, of "the good, kind darkness". Reasons for such a wish can be
found here: sardonic wit barely conceals despair. Also: Can Such Things Be?
Bierce, Ambrose, American, 1842-1914? .
Collected Writings. Rec: Bloom
Borges, Jorge Luis Fictions (1944) 9 *
Terse, teasing, sometimes intriguing jeux d'esprit by a writer whose favourite joke is the reader. Also: Labyrinths; Dreamtigers;
Selected Poems, 1923-1967
Borges, Jorge Luis, Argentinian, 1899-1986.
A Personal Anthology. Rec: Bloom
Collected Fictions. Rec: Meaningful
Other Inquisitions. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Ficciones (Fictions). Rec: Bloom Harvard NYPL Ward
Labyrinths. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Good Reading Ward
The Aleph and Other Stories. Rec: Bloom Ward
Dreamtigers. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Bowles, John Collected Short Stories (1980)
Unnerving, mannered but savagely effective tales of violence at the boundary between civilization and its discontented
neighbours. The interface of love and lust, impotence and insolence, exhaustion and delirium is charted with a terrible relish
and conviction.
Brodkey, Harold, American, 1930-1996.
Stories in an Almost Classical Mode. Rec: Bloom
Bunin, Ivan, Russian, 1870-1953. Nobel Laureate
Selected Stories. Rec: Bloom
Carver, Raymond, American, 1938-1988.
Cathedral. Rec: Hungry Mind
Where I'm Calling From. Rec: Bloom
Cheever, John The Stories of John Cheever (1978)
Evocative stories about quietly desperate New York commuters: wives meeting the train with a double Martini in the hand;
children, all-knowing, concocting fiendish plots. Somehow the stories have coloured everyone's concept of the suburban life of
all America, even though most Americans don't live that way.
Cheever, John, American, 1912-1982.
The Stories. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind
Bullet Park. Rec: Bloom
The Wapshot Chronicles. Rec: BOMC ML Novels
Falconer. Rec: Time
Chekhov, Anton The Schoolmistress and Other Stories (1894)0
Chekhov wrote over 1,000 stories. Mood, atmosphere, "the unforgettable flash of life in its perpetual flow"—no short story
writer ever caught these things better. See DRAMA
Chekhov, Anton, Russian, 1860-1904.
Plays. Rec: Good Reading Rex Ward
Major Plays. Rec: Bloom
Uncle Vanya. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW
Three Sisters. Rec: Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 NYPL
The Cherry Orchard. Rec: Boston PL Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4
Selected Short Stories, Tales. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 4 Good Reading Meaningful
Chesnutt, Charles W., American, 1858-1932.
Short Fiction. Rec: Bloom
Chesterton, G. K. The Father Brown Stories (1947)
Chesterton's Father Brown stories are outstanding in an uneven oeuvre—his one escape from being what Wyndham Lewis
(justly) called him, "the dogmatic Toby-jug". Also: The Man Who Was Thursday
Chesterton, G. K., English, 1874-1936.
The Innocence of Father Brown. Rec: NYPL
The Everlasting Man. Rec: National Review
Orthodoxy. Rec: National Review
Collected Poems. Rec: Bloom
Father Brown Stories. Rec: Ward
The Man Who Was Thursday. Rec: Bloom
Conrad, Joseph The Heart of Darkness (1902)
Conrad's most compelling short story, flawed by melodramatic adjectives but still alive and horrifying. See
FICTION/NOVELS
Crane, Stephen, American, 1871-1900.
The Red Badge of Courage. Rec: Bloom
Stories. Rec: Bloom
Poems. Rec: Bloom
Davenport, Guy, American, 1927- .
Tatlin!. Rec: Bloom
Dinesen, Isak Seven Gothic Tales (1934)
Sophisticated entertainments, with appealing irony implicit in deliberately old-fashioned narrative method. Also: Out of Africa;
Winter's Tales; The Angelic Avengers, etc
Faulkner, William Collected Stories (1950) *
There is a story that Sherwood Anderson, having read some would-be sophisticated dialogue in one of Faulkner's earliest
novels, told him to forget all that smart stuff and concentrate on cultivating his own garden, the little patch of Mississippi he
knew to the bone. The result was the major novels, and the best stories in this book, The Bearand The Barn Burning. See
FICTION/NOVELS
Fitzgerald, F. Scott The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1951)
Fitzgerald himself once commented (looking sideways at his friend and rival, Hemingway): "I talk with the authority of
failure." He wrote good stories all his life—along with many bad ones for magazines, to pay debts. Among lesser-known
stories, Outside the Cabinet-Maker's is well worth seeking out. See BIOGRAPHY (Milford); DIARIES; FICTION/NOVELS;
FILM (Latham)
Flaubert, Gustave Three Tales (1877)
a
Twenty years after Madame Bovary, Flaubert published these stories. The Legend of St Julian Hospitator is the most
remarkable—an exploration of the medieval mind, inspired by a stained-glass window in Rouen Cathedral. See DIARIES
(Flaubert, Goncourt); FICTION/NOVELS
Gordimer, Nadine, South African, 1923- . Nobel Laureate
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom
The Late Bourgeois World. Rec: Burgess
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Household Tales (1812-15)
*
The brothers Grimm were a well-matched pair; from their two heads came the right balance to make sense of something in the
German character that takes in The Bremen Town Musicians, The Twelve Dancing Princesses and the glorious ghastly death of
Rumpelstiltskin. Best collection for adults: Penguin Classics. Best for children: The Juniper Tree and Other Tales (Segal and
Sendak, 1973).
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, German, 1785-1863 and 1786-1859.
Fairy Tales. Rec: Bloom
Hawthorne, Nathaniel Twice-told Tales (1837)
a
Thirty-nine early stories, some mannered and boring, but the best— The Ambitious Guest and Howe's Masquerade—
foreshadowing The Scarlet Letter in their preoccupation with guilt and secrecy and in their obsession with the effects of New
England Puritanism. Also: House of the Seven Gables; Tanglewood Tales, etc. See FICTION/NOVELS
Hemingway, Ernest In Our Time (1925)
Hemingway's first book—fifteen stories with linking vignettes. The stories describe life in the American Middle West;
vignettes describe war in Europe and bullfights. Hemingway before the rot set in. Also: Men without Women; Winner Takes
Nothing, etc. See BIOGRAPHY (Baker); FICTION/NOVELS
Henry, O. Cabbages and Kings (1904)
O. Henry started writing the "trick" stories for which he is famous while in prison on a charge of embezzlement.His characters
are simple; his plots always depend on surprise endings; but within his range he is skilled at ringing the changes. Also: O.
Henry Encore; The Four Million, etc
Hoffmann, Ernst Theodor Wilhelm The Serapion Brethren (1819-21)
The best of his supernatural stories. Urbane, Gallic Poetry. Also: The Devil's Elixir
Various Authors, Hungarian, 19th-20th C.
Hungarian Short Stories. Rec: Ward
Irving, Washington, American, 1783-1859.
The Sketch Book. Rec: Bloom
Isherwood, Christopher Goodbye to Berlin (1939) * Herr Issyvoo in his best "I am a camera" phase: decay of a civilization
(Germany under the Nazis) in the form of seemingly casual sketches of Berlin life. Also: All the Conspirators: Mr Norris
Changes Trains, etc. See DRAMA (Auden)
Isherwood, Christopher, English, 1904-1986.
The Berlin Stories. Rec: Bloom Time
A Single Man. Rec: Burgess
James, Henry The Turn of the Screw (1898)
One of the finest ghost stories in English, all the better for containing no explicit ghosts. See BIOGRAPHY (Edel, James);
DIARIES; FICTION/NOVELS; LITERARY CRITICISM
James, M. R. Collected Ghost Stories (1931) dl
Elegant, civilized shudders—not the melodramas of Poe (qv), but reality showing tiny, devastating cracks. Best read by
candlelight, wind nibbling at the windows.
Jewett, Sarah Orne, American, 1849-1909.
The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories. Rec: Bloom NYPL
Joyce, James Dubliners (1914)
One story, The Dead, is a masterpiece. The rest would perhaps not seem so interesting now, had Joyce not gone on to write
Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake. All the same, a remarkable dissection of turn-of-the-century Irish life. See BIOGRAPHY
(Ellmann); DIARIES; FICTION/NOVELS
Kafka, Franz Metamorphosis (1916)
Kafka's most haunting story, in which he found a perfect image for his pervasive sense of alienation. Also: In the Penal Colony,
etc. See DIARIES; FICTION/NOVELS
Kafka, Franz, Czech writing in German, 1883-1924.
Collected Works. Rec: Ward
The Trial. Rec: Adler Bloom Boston PL Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Meaningful Rexmo Seymour-Smith Smiley
The Castle. Rec: Adler Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Meaningful TLS
Metamorphosis. Rec: GBWW NYPL SJC
Penal Colony. Rec: SJC
Short Stories. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 (Selections) Fadiman 4 (Selections) Meaningful
Amerika. Rec: Bloom
The Blue Octavo Notebook. Rec: Bloom
Diaries. Rec: Bloom
Parables, Fragments, Aphorisms. Rec: Bloom
Kipling, Rudyard Limits and Renewals (1932)
The Kipling to value—estranged, embittered and burnt-out. This last collection of stories contains his most complex, selfgnawing work. See CHILDREN'S BOOKS; POETRY
Kleist, Heinrich von, German, 1777-1811.
Stories. Rec: Bloom
Landolfi, Tommaso, Italian, 1908-1979.
Gogol's Wife and Other Stories. Rec: Bloom
Lardner, Ring Collected Short Stories(1941)
Edmund Wilson once said, "What bell might not Lardner ring if he set out to give us the works?" Lardner did give us the
works. In the vernacular. There must have been something wrong with Wilson's bell. See HUMOUR
Lawrence, D. H. Tales (1934)
Lawrence at his finest. Odour of Chrysanthemums and The Rocking-Horse Winnerare the most memorable; but all are
interesting, surprisingly relaxed, even amusing. See DIARIES; FICTION/NOVELS; HISTORY/EUROPEAN; LITERARY
CRITICISM; POETRY; TRAVEL
London, Jack The Star Rover (1914)
How to define London's gift? "The passing thing done in the eternal way" was his own (not bad) definition of it. Also: The Call
of the Wild; White Fang. See TRAVEL
Lowry, Malcolm Hear Us O Lord from Heaven Thy Dwelling Place (1961)
Lowry's gift was for loading every rift with ore, or at least tequila; this posthumously published collection contains two stories
— Through the Panama and The Forest Path to the Spring. See FICTION/NOVELS
Lu Xun (Lu Hsün), Chinese, 1881-1936.
Diary of a Madman and Other Stories. Rec: Meaningful
Collected Short Stories. Rec: Fadiman 4 MW Asian Ward
Mann, Thomas Death in Venice ( 1911)
1' Masterly novella of a civilized artist at the end of his genteel tether. Also:
Stories of a Lifetime. See FICTION/NOVELS
Mansfield, Katherine Collected Stories (1945)
Mansfield's best stories, many about her childhood in New Zealand. See DIARIES
Mansfield, Katherine, New Zealander, 1888-1923.
The Short Stories. Rec: Bloom
Marguerite de Navarre, French, 1492-1549.
Heptameron. Rec: Bloom Smiley
The Heptameron is a collection of 72 short stories written in French by Marguerite of Navarre (1492-1549).
Maugham, W. Somerset Complete Stories (1951)
Maugham is the nearest thing to an English Maupassant (qv). Man-of-the-world stuff, cynical and anecdotal. Edmund Wilson
compared his stories to oysters (for the ease with which they slip down). See AUTOBIOGRAPHY; DRAMA;
FICTION/CRIME; FICTION/NOVELS
Maupassant, Guy de Boule de Suif (1880)
Maupassant contributed this masterly story while still unknown to the Soirees de Medan, a collection of short stories by such as
Zola and Huysmans. It made his reputation overnight. He is, with Chekhov (qv) and Singer (qv) one of the supreme masters in
the genre. Also: Mademoiselle Fifi; A Woman's Life; Bel-A etc
Maupassant, Guy de, French, 1850-1893.
Short Stories. Rec: Bloom Ward
Mitchell, Joseph, American, 1908-1996.
Up in the Old Hotel. Rec: Bloom National Review (stories)
Moore, George Celibate Lives (1924)
Five stories, one of which, Albert Nobbs, a study of transvestism, was recently ranked "in the first dozen short stories of world
literature". This overstates the case, but then Moore is an undervalued writer. Also: Heloise and Abelard; Evelyn Jones; The
Brook Kerith, etc
Murasaki-Shildbu, Lady The Tale of Genji (c. 1004)
This collection of stories is sometimes spoken of as a novel, but is nearer to The Arabian Nights than to War and Peace. Prince
Genji is the character; the country, Japan. Delicate, obliquely civilised; a masterpiece.
Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese, ca. 976-1015.
Tale of Genji. Rec: App Fadiman 4 Meaningful MW Asian Oriental Rex Smiley StJE Utne Ward
O'Brien, Edna, Irish, 1932- .
A Fanatic Heart. Rec: Bloom
O'Connor, Flannery, American, 1925-1964.
Everything That Rises Must Converge. Rec: SJC
The Complete Stories. Rec: Bloom Harvard
The Violent Bear It Away. Rec: Bloom
Wise Blood. Rec: Bloom Burgess
A Good Man is Hard to Find. Rec: Aquinas Hungry Mind Radcliffe
The Enduring Chill. Rec: Aquinas
O'Connor, Frank, Irish, 1903-1966.
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom
O'Hara, John The Hat on the Bed (1964)
O'Hara's stories are legion, and despite the flaws and cheapness, provide a panoramic view of East Coast American society
which is proving more and more truthful as the lid comes off the USA. Ephemera, possibly; compelling, certainly. See
FICTION/NOVELS
O'Hara, John, American, 1905-1970.
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom
Appointment in Samarra. Rec: Bloom BOMC ML Novels Time
The Lockwood Concern. Rec: Burgess
Paley, Grace, American, 1922- .
The Little Disturbances of Man. Rec: Bloom
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute: Stories. Rec: Harvard LAT
Collected Stories. Rec: Hungry Mind
Peretz, I. L., Pole writing in Yiddish, 1851-1915.
Selected Stories. Rec: Bloom
Pirandello, Luigi Better Think Twice about It (1933)
Pirandello was once called "the greatest short-story writer of the century". If his plays did not exist, we might value his stories
more highly, for their worth is considerable. See DRAMA
Poe, Edgar Allan Tales of the Grotesque and Macabre (1840) Twenty-five tales include The Fall of the House of Usher,
William Wilson, Ligeia, Berenice and Manuscript Found in a Bottle. Also: The Narrative of ArthurGordon Pym of Nantucket;
Poems; Eureka, etc. See FICTION/CRIME
Poe, Edgar Allan, American, 1809-1849.
Complete Tales. Rec: Good Reading Meaningful
Stories and Poems. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Harvard Ward
Essays and Reviews. Rec: Bloom
Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. Rec: Bloom
Eureka. Rec: Bloom
Porter, Katherine Anne, American, 1890-1980.
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom
Flowering Judas and Other Stories. Rec: Hungry Mind
Premchand, Indian writing in Urdu and Hindi, 1880-1936.
Gift of a Cow. Rec: Ward
Short Stories. Rec: MW Asian Ward
Pritchett, V. S., English, 1900-1997.
Collected Stories. Rec: Harvard
Prose, Francine, American, 1947- .
Guided Tours of Hell. Rec: Smiley
Pu Songling (P'u Sung-Ling), Chinese, 1640-1715.
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Rec: Ward
Runyon, Damon Guys and Dolls (1932)
it Runyon perfected the use of a certain kind of invented slang in these stories
about New York hoods, their mommas and their molls. His stories seem slight and forgettable, but aren't. Also: Take It Easy;
My Wife Ethel; Runyon d la Carte. See HUMOUR
Saki The Best of Saki (1976) it H. H. Munro called himself "Saki" after a South African monkey characterized by a long bushy
tail, delicacy and silence. His stories send up everything in sight. Bushy tales? Also: The Unbearable Bassington
Saki (H. H. Munro), Scottish, 1870-1916.
The Short Stories. Rec: Bloom
Saroyan, William The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934)
it
Saroyan's first book, an astonishing outpouring by a young man in love with life and language.
Schnitzler, Arthur, Austrian, 1862-1931.
Plays and Stories. Rec: Bloom
Sciascia, Leonardo, Italian, 1921- .
Day of the Owl. Rec: Bloom
Equal Danger. Rec: Bloom
The Wine-Dark Sea: Thirteen Stories. Rec: Bloom
Sholem Aleichem, Russian-American writing in Yiddish, 1859-1916.
Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories. Rec: Bloom
The Nightingale. Rec: Bloom
Singer, Isaac Bashevis Gimpel the Fool (1957)
Marvellous, timeless blend of medieval and modern imagination: the human condition defined and described by a master storyteller, delighted by the teeming detail which makes up a moment. Also: A Crown of Feathers; A Friend of Kafka, etc. See
FICTION/NOVELS
Singer, Isaac Bashevis, Polish-American writing in Yiddish, 1904-1980. Nobel Laureate
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind
In My Father's Court. Rec: Bloom
The Manor and The Estate. Rec: Bloom
Family Moskat. Rec: Bloom Ward
Satan in Goray. Rec: Bloom
Söderberg, Hjalmar, Swedish, 1869-1941.
Doctor Glas. Rec: Ward
Selected Short Stories. Rec: Ward
Stein, Gertrude Three Lives (1908)
9 In Melanctha, about a black woman, Stein showed for the first (and last?) time
just how well she could write fiction. Her prose rhythms admirably follow the movements of Melanctha's mind. After this,
Stein concentrated on the movement of her own mind—and turned into Old Mother Hubbard.
Stein, Gertrude, American, 1874-1946.
Three Lives. Rec: Bloom
Stevenson, Robert Louis The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)
Stevenson's wife Fanny read this tale in draft and complained that he had sensationalized a good allegory. Stevenson enraged,
stormed out; then he returned, said she was right and set to work to produce this classic story of split personality. See
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Stifter, Adalbert, Austrian, 1805-1868.
Indian Summer. Rec: Bloom
Tales. Rec: Bloom
Swift, Jonathan, Irish, 1667-1745.
Gulliver's Travels. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Col37 Col61 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Good Reading Lubbock Meaningful
Rexmo SJC Ward
A Modest Proposal. Rec: Adler Fadiman 3
Meditations Upon a Broomstick. Rec: Fadiman 3
Resolutions When I Come to Be Old. Rec: Fadiman 3
A Tale of a Tub. Rec: Adler Bloom
Journal to Stella. Rec: Adler
Shorter Prose Works. Rec: Bloom
Poems. Rec: Bloom
Anonymous, Arab, ca. 1500.
The Thousand and One Nights. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 4 Good Reading Lubbock Meaningful Oriental Ward
Toomer, Jean, American, 1894-1967.
Cane. Rec: Bloom Hungry Mind
Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich A Sportsman's Sketches (1852) Sketches of 19th-century Russian peasant life characterized by
what V. S. Pritchett called "their simple feeling and transparency". Also: The House of Gentlefolk; On the Eve; Virgin Soil, etc
Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich, Russian, 1818-1883.
A Sportsman's Notebook. Rec: Bloom
A Month in the Country. Rec: Bloom
Fathers and Sons. Rec: Bloom Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 Rexmo Smiley Ward
On the Eve. Rec: Bloom
First Love. Rec: Bloom
Tutuola, Amos, Nigerian writing in English, 1920- .
Palm-Wine Drinkard. Rec: Bloom Ward
"My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" and "The Palm Wine Drinkard" are African tales in their pure unadulterated form. And they're
not something you'd want to hear before bedtime! Amos Tutuola writes an English which lends the narration a wide-eyed,
almost childlike voice--yet in the face of wild, horrific imagery (eg. armies of dead babies) the words are unflinching. (amazon)
Twain, Mark The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches (1865)
Interesting mostly for the way it foreshadows Twain's superb use of the vernacular in The Adventures of Tom Sa wyerand The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Title piece, based on an old Californian folk tale, still has charm. See FICTION/NOVELS;
HISTORY/AMERICAN; HUMOUR; TRAVEL
Ueda Akinari, Japanese, 1734-1809.
Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain). Rec: Ward
Verga, Giovanni, Italian, 1840-1922.
The House by the Medlar Tree. Rec: Bloom Ward
Little Novels of Sicily. Rec: Bloom Ward
Mastro Don Gesualdo. Rec: Bloom Ward
The She-Wolf and Other Stories. Rec: Bloom
Vesaas, Tarjei, Norwegian, 1897-1970.
Boat in the Evening. Rec: Ward
Walser, Robert, German, 1927- .
Selected Stories. Rec: Bloom
Welty, Eudora, American, 1909-2001.
Collected Stories. Rec: Bloom
Delta Wedding. Rec: Bloom BOMC
The Robber Bridegroom. Rec: Bloom
The Ponder Heart. Rec: Bloom
Wilson, Angus Such Darling Dodos (1950)
Splendid trifles of 1940s-1950s British life. The world of the sensitive middle class and genteel England were never the same
again. Nor was Wilson, to our loss.
Zoshchenko, Mikhail Scenes from the Bathhouse (1961)
Zoshchenko was the (unofficial) satirist-in-chief to the court of the second most terrible utopia in history. This collection of
stories is a grin full of teeth.
Zoshchenko, Mikhail, Russian, 1895-1958.
Nervous People and Other Satires. Rec: Bloom
D. Quinn Mills
D. Quinn Mills is the .principal faculty member at the • Harvard Business School keeping the study of labor relations alive. The
impact of economic and managerial systems on people has been his continuing professional interest. He is noted for
maintaining a strong emphasis on the general management aspects of people relationships, tying case research and discussion
to the problems of operating-line executives, and avoiding the functional perspectives and responsibilities of personnel
managers.
A member of the Harvard Business School faculty since 1976, he is the author of ten books and was appointed the Albert J.
Weatherhead Professor of Business Administration in 1978.
Winston S. Churchill. The Second World War, Volume I: The Gathering Storm (1948). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983.
I was twelve years old and living in Houston, Texas when an aunt gave me a copy of the first volume of Winston Churchill's
six-volume history of the Second World War, entitled The Gathering Storm. I read the book and found it fascinating. It opened
to me the wide world of nonfiction literature. It permitted me to learn about great events as they were viewed by participants,
including authors like Churchill who possessed insightful and powerful personalities. Reading Churchill also gave me a respect
for our language and for rhetoric—cadences, the crashing thunder of strong words, the rhythmic sequence of sentences. In a
short time I had read the remaining five volumes of the series and went on to histories composed by other authors.
William Faulkner. Intruder in the Dust (1948). New York: Random House, 1967. (Pb)
. The Sound and the Fury (1929). New York: Random House, 1967. (Pb)
During high school I lived in Memphis, Tennessee. Perhaps because I had moved to Memphis and found the attitudes and
opinions of my classmates somewhat different from my own, I began to read in search of explanations of what it meant to be a
person from the deep South in the United States. William Faulkner's writings revealed to me the complexity of the Southern
tradition—of guilt, revenge and repentance. The most powerful of the books was The Sound and the Fury, but the line I most
remember came from a less well-known novel entitled Intruder in the Dust. "Some things you must always be unable to bear,"
Faulkner wrote; "injustice, prejudice, and despair ... not for kudos and not for cash, just refuse to bear them."
Another Southern writer taught me a lesson I've benefited from enormously over my lifetime, a lesson about tolerance.
"Nothing human disgusts me," wrote Tennessee Williams in Night of the Iguana, "unless it is unkind or violent."
William James. The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902). New York: Penguin, 1982. (Pb)
College was for me as for many young people a time of questioning and doubts. I had been raised in a Protestant church but
during college became profoundly uncertain about the significance of religious faith. Was religion a positive or a negative
influence in mankind's experience?
At this time I happened upon William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience. From James's book I learned how
hazardous it is to generalize about something as complex as religion. This insight reopened to me the search for a religious
faith with which I was comfortable. But James also helped me to avoid easy generalizations and conclusions in other complex
areas of human life.
The Bible.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The Cost of Discipleship (1948). R. H. Fuller, trans. Magnolia, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1983.
In the years since I have read widely in Eastern religious works, and in the writings of the ancient Western world. Marcus
Aurelius particularly impressed me. I recall one of his observations about self-restraint: "be careful that you do not feel toward
the inhuman as they feel toward men." I also read extensively in the mainstream of Christian writings. I was particularly
influenced by Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship, since the author later gave his life in the struggle within
Germany against the Hitler regime.
I have also nibbled at the Bible continually for many years, especially enjoying comparing different translations. The Bible
remains the central form of transmission of the Western heritage, and is the foundation of our moral standards—to my mind far
more important than laws. The biblical text that returns most often to my mind is from the Book of Micah: "He has showed
you, oh man, what is good—and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with
your God?" I have over many years rendered many decisions in arbitration hearings, and these words have never been far from
my thoughts as I pondered what decision to make.
Milovan Djilas. The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System (1957). San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982.
George Orwell. 1984 (1949). New York: Signet, 1984. (Pb)
In graduate school I studied economics and political science. There is implicit, and sometimes explicit for that matter, criticism
of our economic and political systems in much that is written in those disciplines. Two books that definitely shaped my
perspective were Milovan Djilas's study of Stalinist communism, The New Class, and George Orwell's 1984. The two books
constituted a vision of a totalitarian hell, created in this century by people who spoke publicly of their commitment to the
improvement of human life. These books helped me to preserve a deep appreciation for our own society, without, I hope,
causing me intentionally to ignore its limitations. In particular, I recognized again the value of individual human freedom
which Western society affords its members.
Isaac Bashevis Singer. Stories for Children. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1984.
Years later I became a parent. One of the greatest joys parenting offers is to try to see the world as children see it. I_ read the
classics of children's literature, and enjoyed them more than I did the first time. Also I discovered Isaac Bashevis Singer's
Stories for Children. It was helpful to me in my own writing to see that simplicity of theme and treatment could contain great
depth of understanding of the human character and of human institutions. In particular I was influenced by Singer's comment at
the end of Stories that today the only serious literature is that written for children. Popular adult literature is lost in
sensationalism and the effort to shock.
Margaret Murie and Olaus Murie. Wapiti Wilderness: The Life of Olaus and Margaret Murie in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
(1966). Jackson Hole, Wyo.: Teton Bookshop, n.d. (Pb)
Now in middle age, I think about what things are of great value in life, and what I should try to experience in the time left to
me. I am more aware than ever before of the natural richness of this continent. Recently I have been much impressed by the
account that Margaret and Olaus Murie left of their years working for the Forest Service in the Tetons (Wapiti Wilderness).
Olaus was a founder of the Wilderness Society, which today attempts to preserve what remains of the American wilderness
from unreasonable development. Partly under the influence of their book I am putting aside more of my time for trips into the
natural wilderness. This is also, I think, an important spiritual dimension in life.
Martha Minow
Martha Minow is a professor of law at Harvard Law School. A former law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall, Professor
Minow is also a member of the faculty of the Doing Justice Program at Brandeis University and a member of the board of
directors of the American Bar Foundation. Her primary interests and her best-known courses are "Children and the Law" and
"Family Law."
I asked myself, what books on my shelf are so worn from rereading—or missing from the shelf altogether because I keep
insisting that someone else read them? The list is too long, but here are some that come immediately to mind.
Robert M. Cover. Justice Accused: Antislavery and the Judicial Process (1975). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.
(Pb)
It asks, why did judges who opposed slavery nonetheless enforce the laws governing slavery before the Civil War? Its answers
move through debates about whether law is natural or socially constructed, through biography and analyses of the interplay
between personality and social role, into psychology and the persistent human desire to avoid personal choice and
responsibility, and through the power of language in expressing and shaping what people think is possible.
Isaac Bashevis Singer. In My Father's Court (1966). New York: Fawcett, 1979. (Pb)
A memoir of the author's childhood days in the home where his father, as rabbi, heard disputes and struggled for resolutions
amid the daily lives of his community in Warsaw. The disputes become windows into the virtues and vices of individuals, the
traumas solved by arbitrary rules, and the traumas created by them.
Adrienne Rich. The Dream of a Common Language: Poems. New York: W. W. Norton, 1978. (Pb)
A collection of poems that explore the difficulties of speaking about women's experiences and, in so doing, create the
possibility of saying things that haven't before been said.
Hester Eisenstein and Alice Jardine, eds. The Future of Difference (1980). New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press,
1985. (Pb)
A collection of essays that connects the contemporary women's movement with scholarly work. In these connections,
breathtaking precision in analysis and careful explosions of disciplinary boundaries appear and reappear. The sustained offering
of insights uses and at the same time challenges psychoanalytic thought about the formation of the self and gender identity,
epistemological debates over the impossibility of objectivity, and current inquiries into literary analysis and political theory.
Andre Lorde's essay, "Poetry Is Not a Luxury," shows so powerfully how there are only new ways of making old ideas, and yet
the future of our words, and ourselves, depends on our "need to dream, to move our spirits most deeply and directly and
through promise."
Ludwig Wittgenstein. Philosophische Untersuchungen (Philosophical Investigations, 1953). G. E. Anscome, trans. Frankfurt:
Suhrkamp, 1967.
How amazing to find out that a philosopher could have a voice, a playful, personal voice; that reading philosophy could feel
like a fun and puzzling conversation; and that things look differently after reading? listening? arguing? with this book.
Norton Juster. The Phantom Tollbooth. New York: Epstein & Carroll, 1961. (Pb)
A children's book about the meaning of life, it takes puns seriously so that language and experience both become fresh, and it
reminds us that we might well be able to do things that people say could never be done.
Sarah Lawrence Lightfoot. Worlds Apart: Relationships Between Families and Schools. New York: Basic Books, 1978. (Pb)
Subtle, vivid depictions of the lives of children, teachers and families that mutually implicate each other even through their
separations, boundaries and conflicts. The book gently incorporates insights from social theory while exposing the workings of
power, cultural and racial differences, and personal hopes and pain. It makes possible knowledge about what we don't see by
exposing what others don't see about us in the gaps between classrooms and homes, and, indeed, the gaps between all the
places we may dwell.
Avis C. Vidal
Avis Vidal is an associate professor of city and regional planning at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and
specializes in urban economic development, housing and urban policy. Her current research focuses on the effectiveness of
public–private partnerships formed to promote urban development by supporting the activities of community-based
organizations.
J. D. Salinger. Franny and Zooey: Two Novellas (1961). New York: Bantam, 1969. (Pb)
Buddy's letter to Zooey is the best and most enduring reminder I have had of the importance of discovering the things that
really matter to you, and then doing them with zest because that's the way they deserve to be done.
Chaim Potok. My Name Is Asher Lev (1972). New York: Fawcett, 1978. (Pb)
A powerful exploration of the clarity of purpose that a natural gift or calling makes possible, and of the anguish that comes
with being forced to choose between two highly valued claims on one's identity.
Anthony Lewis. Gideon's Trumpet. New York: Random House, 1964. (Pb)
Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong. The Brethren (1979). New York: Avon, 1980. (Pb)
Two very different accounts of the wonder and power of the law and the people who make it work—when it works.
Charlotte Brontë. Jane Eyre (1847). New York: Putnam, 1982.
My former husband and I read this book aloud. When we finished I asked him whether he liked it. "It's good . . . okay. . . but it
gets a little tiresome because it's all from her point of view."
Chaim Potok. The Book of Lights. New York: Fawcett, 1981. (Pb)
A book that illustrates the potential power of religious and cultural tradition in helping one come to terms with the inescapable
presence of death and evil.
Willa Cather. My Antonia (1918). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1926. (Pb)
The only thing I ever read that helped me understand why people like the Midwest.
Film
From the start, cinema established itself as not just another medium, but as one of the great popular art forms, as wide-ranging
as literature, music or painting themselves. Like those arts, it contains masterpieces and rubbish, timeless works and ephemera
—and a huge range of good-quality journeyman work, popular entertainment which can, at its best, transcend its own modest
aspirations. Nowadays, thanks to television showings, films (of all qualities) are accessible as never before, and there is a wide
popular knowledge of film styles and techniques; television has not, however, resulted (as was predicted) in the death of
creativity, but in a remarkable upsurge of new styles, new talents, new excellence. This list avoids the more arcane areas of film
criticism (addicts writing in code for addicts) and also the more fleeting of fan-journalism. We have chosen good serious guides
to the medium and to the industry, and biographies, studies and reminiscences of some of the most enjoyable (not to say
enjoyably literate) practitioners of film.
See AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Chaplin): BIOGRAPHY (Mailer); DRAMA (McCrindle); HUMOUR (Allen)
Armes, Roy A Critical History of the British Cinema (1978) 10 Detailed and informative, if at times rather conventional and
opinionated. Avoids chauvinism; covers important ground.
Barnouw, Erik Documentary: A History of Nonfiction Film (1974) 9 Standard work for students, fans and creators of
documentary films. Historycum-theory-cum-criticism adds up to an extremely useful compendium. Bawden, Liz-Anne (ed)
The Oxford Companion to Film (1976) 10 * Authoritative entries, alphabetically arranged, on every aspect of film from "AA
certificate" to "Zvoboda, Andre". Articles on national styles particularly good (Italy and Japan outstanding). Not as jolly or
personal as Halliwell (qv), but far more reliable.
Bayer, William The Great Movies (1973) &if Thoughtful critical assessments of sixty films which in Bayer's view represent
the medium at its best and most characteristic. Covers "trash masterpieces" (eg Gone with the Wind; Singin' in the Rain) as
well as films with grander pretensions (La Grande Illusion; Citizen Kane).
Bazin, Andre, French, 1918-1958.
Orson Welles: A Critical View. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Brown, Karl Adventures with D. W. Griffith (1974)
As a young man of immense technical ingenuity, Brown contributed much to D. W. Griffith's revolutionary discoveries.
Interesting to read in conjunction with Mrs D. W. Griffith's (qv) When the Movies were Young.
Brownlow, Kevin The Parade's Gone By (1968)
10a*.f
Riveting, classic collection of interview portraits of surviving Hollywood pioneers.
Buñuel. Luis, Spanish, 1900-1983.
My Last Sigh. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Burch, Noel To a Distant Observer(1939) 91/ Japanese film: outstanding study of a "national cinema". Emphasis is on
"formal" differences with Western cinema, but shows a strong sense of the political and cultural history that determined these
differences. Also: Theory of Film Practice
Clarens, Carlos Horror Movies (1968)
Useful survey of a uniquely fascinating genre.
Durgnat, Raymond A Mirror for England (1971)
Eccentric, sometimes brilliant historical/sociological work on British cinema.
Eames, John D. The MGM Story (1975)
Sumptuously produced account of every film (1,705 of them) made by this major studio.
Eisenstein, Sergei The Film Sense (1942) 011_, Chiefly important for theories behind Eisenstein's own films—long section
on Alexander Nevsky—but has profound implications for cinema as a whole. Also: Film Form. See Montagu; Septon.
Eisenstein, Sergei, Russian, 1898-1948.
Film Form. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Eisner, Lotte The Haunted Screen(1969)
Classic exploration of German Expressionist cinema, before and after The Cabinet of DrCaligari (1919).
Fields, W. C. W. C. Fields by Himself: His Intended Autobiography (1973)
Letters; articles; notes towards an autobiography: beguiling chronicle of an often troubled human being, a dedicated
professional and a wonderfully caustic writer, particularly on censors, studio bosses, babies, complaining wives or other health
hazards. See Taylor.
Griffith, Mrs D. W. When the Movies Were Young (1925)
A wide-eyed, wickedly scandalous account of movie-making in the 1910s. Rubbish? Fun. See Brown.
Halliday, Jon Sirk on Sirk (1972)
Important journeyman director interviewed at length. Fascinating insights into studio production conditions in Hollywood.
Halliwell, Leslie The Filmgoer's Companion (1965) a a ic./
Cheerful reference book (regularly updated), unreliable in details but readier with information on personalities and such
questions as who was the first Tarzan than any other source.
Kael, Pauline I Lost It at the Movies (1966)
Useful collection of reviews and articles by one of America's most effective, not to say raucous, film critics. Kael is
challenging, abrasive and personal—a welcome antidote to stuffiness or picayune blandness. (But avoid The Citizen Kane
Book: a piece of nonsense claiming that Welles didn't create Kane, subsequently discredited by Peter Bogdanovitch among
others.) These pieces show her at her perceptive/irritating best.
Kael, Pauline, American, 1919-2001.
For Keeps. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Knight, Arthur The Liveliest Art (1957)
This informal history of the movies. with emphasis on the early days in Hollywood, is a splendid introduction to the subject.
Easy reading, lots of fun. Latham, Aaron Crazy Sundays: F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood (1972)
Terrible case history of Hollywood's ability to humiliate a creative artist (compare with Tom Dardis: Some Time in the Sun).
See BIOGRAPHY (Milford); DIARIES (Fitzgerald); FICTION/NOVELS (Fitzgerald, West); FICTION/SHORT STORIES
(Fitzgerald)
Leyda, Jay Kino: A History of the Russian and Soviet Film (1960) Pi' Excellent, comprehensive record of the troubled history
of cinema in the Soviet Union. Essential background reading to Eisenstein (qv); the story continues in Liehm (qv).
Liehm, A. J. and M. The Most Important Art: East European Cinema after 1945(1977) 9J'
The only account of the—often Orwellian—mechanisms of film industries in the Sovietist east. Also: The Milos Forman
Stories (1976)
Love, Bessie From Hollywood with Love (1977)
Funny, unpretentious memoirs of 65 years in movies. Love is reliable, and sharp: she remembers, for example, how the
orthodox Jews who played in Intolerance found their box lunches full of ham sandwiches.
McCabe, John Charlie Chaplin (1978)
Writings on Chaplin are legion; this is one of the few (and first) objective, critical biographies. Also: Laurel and Hardy(1975), a
sumptuous picture book, with stills from every film. See Mast; AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Chaplin)
Mast, Gerald The Comic Mind (1973)
41110*./
Accessible, outstanding study of creativity in comic films. Fine contribution to a neglected field. Bonus for readers is the lively,
enthusiastic style: Mast blends description with analysis, relives each scene, each routine, as he discusses it.
Mellen, Joan Big Bad Wolves: Masculinity in the American Film (1977)
0
Serious—but hugely entertaining—study of the Hollywood myth-machine at work on great romantic male stars, and on the
sometimes limp reality behind the macho mask. A model of how to make a movie book: it's well researched, well written, and
beautifully salts gossip with objective criticism.
Milne, Tom (ed) Godard on Godard (1972) 9 Collection of French director Jean Luc Godard's important reviews and articles
from the 1950s and 1960s.
Monaco, J. F. The New Wave: Truffaut, Chabrol, Rohmer, Rivette (1976)
Also: How to Read a Film
Montagu, Ivor With Eisenstein in Hollywood (1963) Montagu—film-maker, zoologist, world class table-tennis player, selfpublicizing raconteur—accompanied Eisenstein and his Soviet colleagues during their often comically disastrous sojourn in
Hollywood. A self-regarding, funny book: Ninotchka, in a way, starts here. See Eisenstein; Septon.
Niven, David The Moon's a Balloon (1971)
By and large, Hollywood memoirs are little more than pimples on the bottom of literature. Of late, however, the form has
perked up considerably: the memoirs of Bogarde, Bacall, Maclaine and Love (qv)—and above all those of the urbanely
scurrilous Niven—should easily counter the (directors') view that actors are a species of cattle. Dinner-table anecdote, it's true
—but served as the driest of dry white wine. Also: Bring on the Empty Horses
Parrish, Robert Growing Up in Hollywood (1976)
Good, direct account of working in Hollywood by film editor and later director. Excellent on John Ford, in particular. Gossip,
but superior brand.
Perkins, V. F. Film as Film: Understanding and Judging Movies (1972)
Pickard, Roy The Hollywood Studios (1978)
Well, here it is, folks, Hollywood with the lid off and rarin' to go. It's a large, expensive and gossipy "history", full of names,
titles, apocryphal sayings and even the occasional fact. Fun for fans. Also: The Oscar Movies
Pudovkin, V. I. Film Technique and Film Acting(1958)
A classic study of the aesthetics of film (by one of the great Russian directors), somewhat more accessible than Eisenstein (qv).
Pye, M. and Myles, L. The Movie Generation: How the Film Generation Took Over Hollywood (1979)
The coup d'etatwhen young men with beards and passion for movies moved in on Hollywood. But for how long will Coppola
(Apocalypse Now), Spielberg (Jaws), Lucas (Star Wars) et alresist becoming their own establishment? Watch for sequels:
coming soon.
Ramsaye, Terry A Million and One Nights (1926)
Partial and overcoloured, but still the best, most readable history of early American cinema.
Reisz, K. and Millar, G. The Technique of Film Editing (1953)
Standard work on this key facet of film making. Some sort of editing is important in all arts, but in none so crucial as cinema,
where the editor—often the director—can make the difference between nonsense and genius. Difficult; but for the committed
layman, a revelation.
Rhode, Eric A History of the Cinema (1976)
Rosenbaum, Jonathan, American, 1943- .
Movie Wars. Rec: Harvard
Rotha, P. and Griffith, R. The Film Till Now (1930) 0 An early classic of film scholarship; still worth reading. Regularly
updated. Also: Documentary Film (Rotha)
Sarris, Andrew The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-68(1968)
In this book Sarris presents an eloquent case for the so-called "auteur" theory, holding that the director and/or screen writer are
the true creators of the final product and that actors, even if stars, are decidedly secondary. (More recent studies by others have
tended to seek a mean between this theory and the earlier one that the star makes the movie.)
Scheuer, Steven (ed) Movies on TV(1958) 0 a *
Reliable critical guide (regularly updated) to 10,000 English-language films. Septon, Marie Sergei M. Eisenstein (1952)
Fat, authoritative biography (revised 1978). See Eisenstein; Montagu.
Shavelson, Melville How to Make a Jewish Movie (1971)
A
A very funny book: the story of the making of Cast a Giant Shadow on location in Israel. Biopic of General "Mickey" Marcus,
who helped to win the 1948 war, starring those well-known Jewish actors Frank Sinatra, Yul Brynner and John Wayne—plus
the entire population of Israel. Hollywood jokes, Jewish jokes, Israeli jokes—what a time they had.
Sklar, Robert Movie-made America: A Cultural History of American Movies (1975)
Engagingly written history attempts to show—what is only partly true—that just as America has shaped its movies, so movies
have shaped America. An interesting thesis, and relevant by extension to other nations and cultures as well.
Taylor, Robert Lewis W. C. Fields: His Follies and Fortunes (1950) Funny book about a funny man. Should be taken with a
ton of salt and read in conjunction with W. C. Fields by Himself(qv).
Thomson, David, English, 1941- .
A Biographical Dictionary of Film. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Truffaut, Francois, French, 1932-1984.
The Films in My Life. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Walker, Alexander The Shattered Silents (1978)
& Blow-by-blow account of the coming of talkies, 1926-29. Exemplary
use of first-hand sources; a mine of information and a lively read. Also: Rudolph Valentino; Double Takes; Notes and
Afterthoughts on the Movies
Wesimore, F. and Davidson, M. The Westmores of Hollywood(1976) Who works quietly and unobtrusively behind every
Hollywood scene, sees everything, hears everything, says nothing—till now? The makeup man. There have been seven
Westmores (father and six sons), each heading the makeup department of a major studio. And what tales they have to tell!
Delicious gossip—and the makeup details are fascinating too.
Wolf, W. and L. Landmark Films (1979)
Brilliant critical analyses of thirty-four films (from The Birth of a Nation, 1915, to Seven Beauties, 1975), placing them in
historical and social context (eg Modern Times and the Depression; Deep Throatand the permissive 70s). Choice of films is
excellent; critical tone is serious but not ponderous; the book is challenging on film as a programmatic 20th-century art form.
Ziebold, Norman The Hollywood Tycoons (1969)
Amiably tart look at the men who made the movies: Mayer, Laemmle, Goldwyn, Selznick, Cohn, and a dozen more. If this was
fiction, who'd believe it?
CINEMA
Stanley Kauffmann
Film books in the English language were relatively scarce until around 1960 when the so-called Film Generation burst forth. To
accommodate this phenomenon, publishers began pouring out books. That generation's energy has decreased some-what as
serious consideration of film became less of a novelty and assumed a place in our lives more or less like that accorded older
arts. With that settling-down, publication of film books has also declined. The great wave of the 1960s and 1970s produced
predictably many inferior books, some of them catchpenny even in their arty pretentiousness, but some valuable works
appeared. Now that the very idea of a film literature is established, we can anticipate a steady flow of books - biographies,
histories, and criticism, which will always include the theoretical vogue of the moment. Since the cultivated person no longer
ignores the treasury of film that is part of our artistic legacy, such a person can increase his or her appreciation of that treasury
by judicious reading. Here are some primary suggestions.
On the screen man is no longer the focus of the drama, but will become eventually the centre of the universe.
Ai rn E BAZ1N
What is Cinema? (1967) by Andre Bazin and others. Exceptional perception and exceptional commitment to the artistic and
spiritual possibilities of film.
Bergman on Bergman (1973) by Stig Bjorkman, Torsten Manus, and Jonas Sima. Three Swedish film critics interview Ingmar
Bergman on his entire career to date. The result is more than a director's biography, it is the summation of a life in an.
Notes on Cinematography (1977) by Robert Bresson. A great director's wisdom, enlightening and, quite often, thrilling.
Film Form and Film Sense (1957) by Sergei Eisenstein. These two books, here in one volume, are cornerstone works in any
serious study of the subject.
The Movies as Medium (1970) edited by Lewis Jacobs. A highly useful conspectus of practical and aesthetic problems.
The Film Encyclopedia (1994) by Ephraim Katz. By far the best one-volume job. Imperfect, like all one-volume encyclopedias
on any subject, but still inexhaustibly useful.
American Film Criticism: From the Beginnings to Citizen Kane (1972) edited by Stanley Kauffmann and Bruce Henstell.
Reviews of significant American and foreign films at the time of their first appearance in the USA. A chronicle and a
commentary.
The Phantom Empire (1993) by Geoffrey O'Brien. A poetic exploration of our conscious and unconscious, our waking lives
and our dreams, after the first 100 years of film's existence.
Film History: An Introduction (1994) by Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell. The best one-volume world history. See my
comments on Katz.
Stage to Screen (1949) by A Nicholas Vardac. A vivid account of the growth of the cinematic impulse through the 19th-century
popular theatre until the flowering of the film itself.
Food and Drink
The literature of food and drink is extensive, often excellent, and notable for its relaxed, unflurried tone: the rhythms of the
kitchen, the maturing pace of the cellar, blended in prose. This list includes technical manuals, historical and sociological
monographs, works of philosophy and even ethics—but all of them (perhaps because their subject is of universal interest,
universal experience) have an openhanded accessibility not present in the specialist literature of other subjects. Food and drink
may be complex matters; but they are also, these books tell us, first and foremost fun. Censors beware! Even Plato approved of
the "drinking-bout" as a social lubricant.
See HOME (Grieve)
Adams, Leon D. The Wines of America (1973)
0a
Comprehensive; erudite; readable. Adams is the "dean" of American wine writers.
Amerine, M. A. and Singleton, V. S. Wine: An Introduction for Atnericans (1965)
Something missing from English wine literature: the academic approach. An important reference book for serious students not
frightened by a drop or two of chemistry. Also: Table Wines: The Technology of Their Production; Wines: Their Sensory
Evaluation, etc
Apicius The Art of Cooking (1 st century AD)
Apicius was a millionaire gourmet at the time of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. His book is a complete guide to Roman cuisine,
with recipes for everything from omelettes to stuffed dormice, pancakes to pine-kernel soup. Good translation (with modern
quantities and equivalents, if you want to try recipes): Flower and Rosenbaum: The Roman Cookery Book (1958).
Arora, David, American, fl. 1979.
Mushrooms Demystified. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Ayrton, Elisabeth The Cookery of England (1974)
Fascinating overview of traditional English food, more scholarly than Hartley (qv), more practical than Wilson (qv). Attractive
recipes. Also: English Provincial Cooking
Beard, James Beard on Bread (1973)
a
Excellent, thorough study of breadmaking, together with scores of recipes for different kinds of bread, by a famous US cook
whose corpulent figure and smile-wreathed face sell many books. Also: Beard's American Cookery; James Beard's Cookbook,
etc
Beck, Simone, French, 1904-1991.
Art of French Cooking. Rec: Boston PL
Beeton, Isabella The Book of Household Management
(1859-61)
Oa*?
Probably the most influential British cookery book ever published. The huge 1906 edition is recommended above later ones,
more worthy but more dull.
Better Homes and Gardens The Heritage Cookbook (1975) *
A beautiful book about the history of America's culinary melting pot, with illustrations and over 700 recipes. From the Indians
who taught the early settlers how to plant and eat corn to the immigrants who brought their national foods; from how
Americans "made do" in the Depression to the bountiful tables of plenty, this is a rich delicious book.
Boxer, Arabella Garden Cookbook (1974)
Almost every available herb and vegetable tackled in a lovely collection of recipes emphasizing the infinite possibilities of
plants. Also: First Slice Your Cookbook; A Second Slice. See Conran; Lappe; Stobart; HOME (Grieve)
Bradford, Sarah The Englishman's Wine (1969)
Outstanding book on port, its history, nature and quality. Recently (1978) revised, updated and retitled The Story of Port.
Bramah, Edward Tea and Coffee (1972)
Thorough social history, from coffee-houses to vending machines. Where the plants are—and were—grown, harvested,
shipped, distributed. How the drinks were prepared and served in the past, and how best to serve them now. An enthusiast on
his passion: engaging, buttonholing style.
Brillat-Sayarin, Jean-Anthelme de The Physiology of Taste (1826) World-famous dissertation on gastronomy by nonpractising cook. Mouthwatering entertainment. Good translation by M. F. K. Fisher (qv).
Broadbent, Michael Wine Tasting/Enjoying/Understanding (1979)
Polished but never snobbish. Common sense in a tricky area.
Carrier, Robert Great Dishes of the World (1963) .1/ Cooking as show-biz. Carrier's sensuous delight in food is the book's
main charm. Also: The Robert Carrier Cookbook; Cooking for You; Entertaining
Chang, Kwang-Chih (ed) Food in Chinese Cultures: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives(1 977) 9
Scholarly, academic survey of one of the world's greatest cuisines. A long way from the barbecued spare ribs or the bland chopsuey of the West See ARCHAEOLOGY
Child, Julia Julia Child and Company (1978)
*
"Company recipes", drawn largely from the famous US television series by "the French chef" (Julia Child), all in her ineffable
style—if a chicken falls on the kitchen floor, pick it up, dust it off, and serve it all the same, but with great style and panache.
Also: Mastering the Art of French Cooking; The French Chef Cookbook, etc
Conran, T. and Krell, M. The Vegetable Book (1976)
Sensible book on how to grow and cook all manner of vegetables. See HOME
Crewe, Quentin Great Chefs of France (1978)
A a* 5
Nobody remotely interested in food and cooking should miss this one. A dozen leading chefs are interviewed, and their style,
experience, specialities and creations examined. Recipes and kitchen advice included for those tempted to compete. Also:
International Pocket Food Book
David, Elizabeth French Provincial Cooking (1960) a Perhaps the most influential cookery book published in Britain since
World War II. Careful historical reference enlivened by anecdote and literary references and strengthened by clear personal
experience. Fine clear recipes, though timings and liquid contents are sometimes idiosyncratic. Also: Italian Food; English
Bread and Yeast Cookery; Summer Cooking, etc
David, Elizabeth, American, 1913-1992.
French Provincial Cooking. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Davidson, Alan Mediterranean Seafood (1972)
1$ a lir Catalogue of all edible Mediterranean fish, illustrated and
described with alternative names in up to eight languages. Splendid recipes. Also: North Atlantic Seafood
Duff, Gail The Vegetarian Cookbook (1978)*
Too many vegetarian cookery books are polemical or defensive tracts. This one isn't: it's a fat, matter-of-fact fact compendium
of tasty recipes. No fuss, no flab. Also: Fresh All the Year. See Boxer; Conran; Lappe; Stobart; HOME (Grieve)
Eekhof-Stork, Nancy The World Atlas of Cheese (1976)
Mouthwatering: not only a comprehensive introduction to a scholarly subject, but a gorgeous kitchen coffee-table book as well.
Escoffier, Auguste Ma Cuisine (1934)
*
Escoffier (1847-1935), regarded as one of greatest chefs, worked for sixty-two years in the top hotels of London. In this book
he describes his dishes, creations and experience.
Evans, Len The Complete Book of Australian Wine (1973)
Every country needs its Evans; only Australia has him.
Oa
Faith, Nicholas The Winemasters (1978)
A superb piece of reporting inspired by the Bordeaux scandal of 1973. It takes you further behind the scenes of the wine trade
than any other book. Farmer, Fannie The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook (1896) The most influential cookbook in
American history started with directions on how to lay a fire, chop wood, bring in water—and other essentials of contemporary
New England life. The book is now in its 11th edition (1965), although it has latterly assumed running water in the kitchen. The
most recent reincarnation is Fannie Farmer's New Cookbook (1979), a complete update of all recipes and revamping of advice,
which lacks the true flavour but still gives sound nourishment.
Fisher, M. F. K. The Art of Eating (1954) *
Auden once wrote. "this is a book which Colette would have loved and wished she had written". Five of Fisher's books are
collected in one volume and include an eclectic collection of recipes as well as some of the tastiest writing on food in English.
Forbes, Patrick Champagne (1967)
Massive, exhaustive. Author after publication entered the trade, and became managing director of Moet Chandon, London.
Guerard, Michel Cuisine Minceur(1976) 0 * Top French chef is overweight; grated carrot makes him cry; so he evolves a
method of cooking which rejects fat and carbohydrates but embraces the discipline and style of haute cuisine. Result: a
fashionable classic, neither economical nor austere. Also: Cuisine Gourmande
Hartley, Dorothy Food in England (1954) i4i *_1
Social history, mainly through popular English food and recipes. Dating (of quotes and recipes), bibliography, index all
hopeless; but still an indispensable book. Also: The Countryin an's England; Water in England; The Land of England, etc
Hazan, Marcella The Classic Italian Cookbook (1978)
a
Just what its title says: a thorough grounding in the arts of Italian cooking—and eating. Also: More Classic Italian Cooking
Herter, George Leonard, American, 1911- .
Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices (With Berthe Herter). Rec: Counterpunch NF
Hutchinson, Peggy Old English Cookery (1939)
Lovely, easygoing book; recipes and background preponderantly Yorkshire and the north of England. Also: Homemade Wine
Secrets
Jackson, Michael The World Guide to Beer (1977)
Jeffs, Julian Sherry (1961)
Meticulous; well-researched; authoritative. Also: The Little Dictionary of Drink; The Wines of Europe
Johnson, Hugh The World Atlas of Wine (1971)
&Walk./
Magnificent, essential. Also: Wine; Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book. See
HOME
Lappe, Francis Moore Diet fora Small Planet (1971)&ad'
Ecological movements have inspired dozens of dull books; this one by contrast, sets out its case for high-protein, meatless food
with care and well-documented argument. Recipes are good, practical and often luscious. See Boxer; Conran; Stobart; HOME
(Grieve)
La Place, Viana, American, 1951- .
Verdura: Vegetables Italian Style. Rec: Utne
Leonard, Leah W. Jewish Cookery (1949) a .1(
Splendid 600-page collection of (very clear) recipes, ordered by meals of day, days of week, weeks of year. Ideal for beginners;
more experienced cooks will also want Florence Greenberg's Jewish Cookery Book (1947 ; 7th revised edition especially
recommended).
Lichine, Alexis Encyclopaedia of Wines and Spirits (1967) 0*
Formidable; essential. Latest edition, 1979. Also: The Wines of France
Montague, Prosper (ed) Larousse Gastronomique (1938) (Ia * 5 Outstanding alphabetical encyclopaedia of world food, drink
and everything to do with the kitchen, kitchen-garden or dining-room.
Murphy, B. The World Book of Whisky (1979)
Penning-Rowsell, Edmund The Wines of Bordeaux (1969)
Poupon, P. and Forgeot, P. The Wines of Burgundy (1952)
Ray, Elizabeth (ed) The Best of Eliz a Acton (1968)i*f Acton's Modern Cookery (1845) was one of the most important early
British cookery books, looted by her contemporaries and successors including Isabella Beeton (qv). This selection distils its
essence.
Roden, Claudia A Book of Middle Eastern Food (1968)
0a
More than 500 recipes, with variations, from Greece, Turkey, Syria, the Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Morocco,
Tunisia, etc. Also: Coffee
Rombauer, I. S. and Becker, M. R. The Joy of Cooking (1931) One of the best-selling cookery books of all time, and
deservedly so. Organized by general categories of food preparation, with basic advice followed by specific recipes—mostly
good. Excellent for the beginner but also of value to experienced cooks as well, who appreciate its no-nonsense approach. If
you buy only one book, this should be it.
Rombauer, Irma, American, 1877-1962.
The Joy of Cooking. Rec: National Review NYPL
Shand, P. Morton A Book of French Wines (1928)
Grand tour of French wine in scholarly company, with enough personal opinion to be lively and provoking.
Simon, Andre L. The Noble Grapes and the Great Wines of France (1960)
_I
One of the first "coffee-table" wine books, and also first to stress the importance of grape varieties. Also: Bottlescrew Days;
Table of Content, Dictionary of Gastronomy, etc
Soyer, Alexis The Pantropheon (1853)
Witty, well-annotated history of food and its preparation in ancient times. Not to be taken for gospel though: those who seek
scholarly facts see Tannahill. Also: The Gastronomic Regenerator
Stobart, Tom Herbs, Spices and Flavourings (1970) f%1/
Excellent reference book (for cooks, not botanists). Good on Indian, Far Eastern and Mediterranean ingredients. Also: The
Cook's Encyclopaedia. See HOME (Grieve)
Tannahill, Reay Food in History (1973)
Where Soyer (qv) goes in for chatty anecdote, Tannahill prefers anthropological, sociological, historical facts—authoritative,
and no less fun. She also gives recipes, and her notes and bibliography are outstanding. Also: The Fine Art of Food. See SEX
Veronelli, Luigi Catalog° dei Vini d'Italia (1972)
Veronelli is the most respected, authoritative wine writer in Italy. In Italian, but its charts and quality guides are clear and
understandable.
Warner, Allen H. A History of Wine (1956)
Interesting glimpse into the manners and methods of the past.
Wilson, Constance Anne Food and Drink in Britain (1973) * 1/ Superb history of British cookery, its ingredients, the social
circumstances under which it developed.
Geography and the Environment
Geography is a definitive and descriptive discipline, with procedures as precise and objective as those of any other science, and
a specialist literature to match. But it is also, in its critical and speculative form, of crucial relevance to our whole view of the
world around us—a wide subject, shading into anthropology, history, politics and sociology. This aspect (concern for our world
and what we make of it) is of urgent interest today—and this list, therefore, includes books on the "new" geography as well as
those reflecting the older, more segmented scientific discipline.
See ARCHITECTURE (Clifton-Taylor, Giedion, Le Corbusier, Gropius, Mumford, Newman, Venturi); MATHEMATICS
(Moore, R., Pough); NATURAL HISTORY (Dorst, Huth, Sears); OCCULT (Jenkins); SOCIOLOGY (Raban, Willmott)
Abrams, C. Man's Struggle for Shelter in an Urbanizing World (1964) Searching examination of housing problems in the
Third World; pulls no punches.
Arvill, R. Man and Environment: Crisis and the Strategy of Choice (1967)
9 I'
Baker, J. N. L. A History of Geographical Discovery and Exploration (1937)
Essential work for anyone interested in the geographical ideas of people of other ages. This excellent book can replace many
more specialized tomes; its bibliography points to some of them.
Banfield, Edward C., American, 1916-1999.
The Unheavenly City. Rec: National Review
Banham, Reyner, English, 1922-1988.
Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Barry, R. G. and Chorley, R. J. Atmosphere, Weather and Climate (1972)
Berry. B. J. L. The Human Consequences of Urbanization (1973) Global survey, highlighting the contrast in experience
between Western and Third Worlds. See ARCHITECTURE (Mumford)
Burton, I. The Environment as Hazard(1978)
The environment is often no kinder to man than man to the environment, and its dangers and threats must be analysed in terms
of our perception of them: that is, they must be monitored and forecast, if we are to plan relief and reconstruction. Difficult but
important book.
Carson, Rachel Silent Spring (1962)
1ilOa..0
One of the first and most influential works written on the pollution of the natural landscape by man's activities ("DDT equals
RIP"); the basic thesis is still of crucial relevance. For up-to-date assessment, see F. Graham: Since Silent Spring (1970). See
NATURAL HISTORY (Durst)
Carson, Rachel, American, 1907-1964.
Silent Spring. Rec: Boston PL LAT ML Nonfiction National Review NYPL Utne
Chisholm, Michael Human Geography: Evolution or Revolution? (1975)
Pa
Concise summary: population, settlement and the use of natural resources. Chorley, R. J. and Haggett, P. Models in Geography
(1967)
Cole, J. P. A Geography of World Affairs (1979) Oa World "political geography" showing the distributional aspects of man's
political activity and the constraints of location and environment.
Cronon, William, American, 1954- .
Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Davies, W. K. D. The Conceptual Revolution in Geography (1972) a Excellent essays on new directions in geography.
Dillard, Annie, American, 1945- .
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Fisher, C. A. South East Asia (1964)
Forde, C. Daryll Habitat, Economy and Society (1934)
Oa
Classic account of the interplay of environmental and social factors in simple cultures—those of food gatherers and hunters,
herdsmen and farmers.
Freeman, T. W. A Hundred Years of Geography (1961)
✓
Readable account of the main contributions and contributors in the field.
Fuller, R. Buckminster, American, 1895-1983.
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. Rec: LAT
Guttman, Jean Megalopolis: The Urbanized Northeastern Seaboard of the United States (1961)
Classic study helped to popularize a new word as well as a new idea—that it was, or shortly would be, but one city all the way
from Portland, Maine, to Newport News, Virginia. See Tunnard.
Gould, P. and White, R. Mental Maps (1974)
P./
Landmark study in geography-by-perception, argues that what we think is there is often more significant than what actually is.
Haggett, Peter Geography: A Modern Synthesis (1972)
Comprehensive coverage of the new ideas of the 1960s.
P
Hall, Peter Urban and Regional Planning(1974)
Systematic account, with historical introduction, of planning, particularly in Britain and America. Also: World Cities
Hartshorne, Richard Perspective on the Nature of Geography (1959) Concise and readable account of the classical
idiographic and regional approach (temporarily?) set aside by contemporary ideas. Highly recommended.
Harvey, David Explanation in Geography (1969)
1$
One of the first and still the best account of the positivist approach to human geography. Also: Social Justice and the City
(influential, self-conscious account of his personal swing to the academic left)
Hoskins, W. G. The Making of the English Landscape (1955) A a!
Fascinating account of how man's activities over the centuries have created the English landscape of today. Later publication
English Landscapes (1975) is more profusely illustrated, but this book has more meat. Thomas (qv) provides a wider view of
the same subject.
Jacobs, Jane The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) Non-statistical, common-sense approach to urban problems
and planning; the author believes that living in cities should be fun—and can be again, given the right approach. See Morgan;
ARCHITECTURE (Banham)
James, E. Preston All Possible Worlds: A History of Geographical Ideas (1972) P Jordan, Terry The European Culture Area
(1973)
Systematic approach to the human geography of Western Europe; emphasis on demographic, economic and cultural elements.
Kasperson, R. K. and Minghi, J. V. (eds) The Structure of Political Geography (1970) OP 4
Storehouse of many of the most important contributions to political geography since classical times. Updated second edition
needed: but indispensable.
King, L. C. Morphology of the Earth (1967)
It is probably an impossible task to write a concise survey of the land features of the entire earth, but King's valiant attempt
makes a worthy start.
Leavitt, Helen, American, 1932- .
Superhighway-Super Hoax. Rec: NYPL (geography)
Written in 1970, this book is about how the interstate highway system grew out of all proportion to its original purpose and is
strangling the country with concrete and traffic jams.
Leopold, Aldo, American, 1913-1983.
A Sand County Almanac. Rec: NYPL
It is considered to be a landmark book in the conservation movement, describing the lands around Leopold's home in Sauk
County, Wisconsin, and his thoughts on developing a 'Land Ethic'.
Manners, Gerald The Geography of Energy (1971)
Excellent, short survey of the whole field of energy and policy-making.
Morgan, Elaine Falling Apart: The Rise and Decline of Urban Civilization (1976)
English equivalent of Jacobs (qv); but more entertaining and of wider scope.
Næss, Arne, Norwegian, 1912- .
Ecology, Community and Lifestyle: Outline of an Ecosophy. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Nicholson, Max The Environmental Revolution (1969)
Important text heralded new concern with quality of environment; couched in general terms, but nevertheless acute.
Pahl, R. E. Patterns of Urban Life (1970)
Lively discussion of some of the basic problems of urban geography and sociology.
Paterson, J. H. North America (1979)
Patmore, J. A. Land and Leisure (1977)
Looks at the demands being made on environmental resources by increasing leisure.
Reisner, Marc, American, 1948-2000.
Cadillac Desert: the American West and its Disappearing Water. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Sauer, Carl O. Agricultural Origins and Dispersals: The Domestication of Animals and Foodstuffs (1.952)
Lively, challenging book, worldwide in scope, on the overlap of geology with anthropology, history and archaeology.
Scientific American Cities: Their Origin, Growth and Human Impact (1973)
Succinct essays on city origins, health, transport, squatting, etc.
Simmons, I. G. The Ecology of Natural Resources (1974)
Comprehensive look at all the resources in the environment. Deals not only with the ecological implications of use, but also
with the way in which resources are regarded by society.
Stamp, Dudley Britain's Structure and Scenery (1946)
The way in which the geological structure of the country has contributed to the landscape. A fascinating complement to
Hoskins' (qv) account of human influence on the environment.
Stein, Gertrude, American, 1874-1946.
The Geographical History of America. Rec: Bloom
The Geographical History of America is a culminating work... the stylized presentation of the process of meditation itself, with
many critical asides. It demonstrates far more than it proves, and although it is in no sense a volume of philosophy (Gertrude
Stein never 'argues' anything), it is, philosophically, the most important of her texts." -- William H. Gass
Thomas, W. L. (ed) Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth (1956)
Essays on the interaction of culture and environment. Book covers immense historical and regional field. See Hoskins.
Tunnard, C. and Pnshkarev, B. Man-Made America: Chaos or Control (1963)
Apprehensive lest America (and then the world) becomes nothing more than one sprawling uncontrollable megalopolis, the
authors suggest controlled design of the artefacts with which man shapes his environment—from suburbs, commercial and
recreation areas to historic sites and the roads and freeways which link them all. See Gottman.
Ward, Barbara The Home of Man (1976)
Comprehensive look at the problems of human settlements in an over-populated world. Also: Spaceship Earth
Watts, David Principles of Biogeography (1971)
if
This book, already a standard text, supersedes the great old (1936) Plan t and Animal Geography of M. I. Newbigin.
Williams, Terry Tempest, American, 1955- .
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Rec: Counterpunch NF
GEOGRAPHY
Simon Ross
Geography is all around us, whether it be the built world of cities, motorways, and industry or the natural world of deserts,
beaches, and tropical forests. With the recent growth of the environmental movement and concerns about global poverty and
famine, natural disasters and climate change, geography has become much more issue-based than it used to be, although it still
retains the important qualities of inquisitiveness, sensitivity, and sheer wonder and excitement which are at the heart of
geographical study. The Earth is a fascinating, diverse, yet very vulnerable and fragile place and only through the careful
understanding and management of its peoples and resources will it retain its character and support the generations to come.
This is the very essence of geography and it therefore comes as no surprise that the subject has witnessed a tremendous boom
in popularity and status in both school and university.
My journey around the world gave me a sense of global scale, of the size and
variety of this great planet, and of the relation of one country and one culture to
another which few people experience and many ought to.
MICHAEL PALIN
The Gaia Atlas of Planet Management (1985; new edition 1994) by Norman Myers. There are many atlases and reference
books on the market today but there are few that are as informative and lavishly illustrated as this. It is intelligent and thoughtprovoking and there are many excellent thematic maps and colour photographs. It is divided into several sections including the
land, the oceans, the elements, evolution, and civilization. I strongly recommend this book for all those with an interest and
concern for the issues affecting the future of our planet.
Around the World in 80 Days (1989) by Michael Palin. An extremely readable, amusing, and, in places, poignant account of
the author's attempt to follow in the foot-steps of Phileas Fogg. Superbly illustrated and divided into bite-size pieces, it makes
an excellent escapist's bedtime read for dark winter nights.
Quest for Adventure (1981) by Chris Bonington. This wonderful book, dedicated to some of the world's greatest adventurers,
is superbly written and well illustrated. It trans-ports the reader into territories that the ordinary person can only dream about
and sets the imagination racing. Among the adventures described are the Kon-Tiki voyage, the flight of Apollo 11, the scaling
of Mount Everest, and the crossing of Antarctica.
Maps and Map-Makers (1987) by R V Tooley. Maps have always been at the heart of geography and they are also extremely
collectable antiques, being attractive to look at and holding their value well. This book forms an excellent introduction to maps
and the cartographers that painstakingly produced them and it will probably whet the appetite for seeking out some originals in
second-hand bookshops.
How to Shit in the Woods (1989) by Kathleen Meyer, This is an extremely amusing paperback which will bring a wry smile to
all those who have been camping or back-packing in the bush. There is, however, a serious side to this American book: `No
longer can we drink even a drop [of mountain water] before purifying it without running the risk of getting sick.'
Restless Earth (1972) by Nigel Calder. This book represented something of a land-mark in being one of the fast general
readers (it accompanied a television series) to examine the role of the newly forming concept of plate tectonics in accounting
for the major physical features of the Earth's surface. It is superbly illustrated and is still highly regarded today.
Human Geography: Evolution or Revolution? (1975) by Michael Chisholm. In the 1960s and 1970s there were a number of
important developments and innovations in the nature of geography and Professor Michael Chisholm attempted to make some
sense of the changes. `The primary purpose in writing is to convey an account of the direction and purpose of recent changes in
human geography as conceived by some-one fairly close to the scene.' Chisholm's book is a fascinating read for it traces the
history of the subject to the mid-1970s and attempts to look ahead into what was then regarded as a very uncertain future.
Discovering Landscape (1985) by Andrew Goudie and Rita Gardner. This book aims to 'discover and try to explain some of
the most appealing features of the natural landscape'. It is a splendid book for all those with an inquisitive mind who want to
know a bit more about the history and geology of well-known British sites such as Helvellyn, Lulworth Cove, and Cheddar
Gorge.
Disasters (1980) by John Whittow. This fascinating book looks at the causes and effects of the major natural hazards such as
earthquakes, landslides, and floods, writ-ten by a very well-respected author. It contains some amazing and often chilling eyewitness accounts.
Geology and Scenery in England and Wales (1971) by A E Trueman. For those with an interest in the geological
development of particular landscapes in England and Wales such as the West Country moors, the Cotswolds, or the Lake
District, this is a must for it is both informative and highly readable.
Inside the Third World (1979) by Paul Harrison. This powerful and thought-provoking book is highly recommended for all
those who have an interest in the Third World. As a freelance journalist Paul Harrison travelled extensively, particularly in
Africa, and this book describes his many experiences in the general field of development. It contains some marvellous and
often highly moving descriptive passages of landscapes and people.
History
History is an important branch of belles lettres, offering a writer the combined attractions of freedom of interpretation and a
supposedly factual armature. When the balance between these elements is right, the results for the reader can be thrilling and
compelling—for by taking in the parcelled past we take in something of ourselves as well. History cannot teach us prescriptive
lessons about action, since each conjunction of character and circumstance is unique; its function is rather a moral one, offering
us a mirror in which to see ourselves. To do this, we need a clear presentation of the facts combined with a critical overview
which takes account of the writer's and reader's present as well as of the delineated past. The books in this list (a necessarily
brief selection with no attempt at chronological completeness) have been chosen for just these qualities—and because, in many
cases, they offer the pleasures of wit and style as well.
Bloch, Marc, French, 1886-1944.
The Historian's Craft. Rec: TLS
Febvre, Lucien, French, 1878-1956.
The Struggle for History. Rec: TLS (history)
American History
There are two notable characteristics of these books—perhaps they reflect characteristics of the American nation at large. The
first is an urgent, philosophical, ideological approach to the creation of a just society; the second is a powerful antithesis
between town and country, with its corollary, a species of romantic nostalgia for rural innocence.
See ANTHROPOLOGY (Agee); ARCHAEOLOGY (Hume); AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Adams, Franklin. Grant, Malcolm X,
Miller): BIOGRAPHY (Flexner, Freeman, Parkman, Sandburg, Van Doren, Wall); DIARIES (Lincoln); FEMINISM (Flexner);
HISTORY/ASIAN (Fitzgerald); POLITICS (Acheson. Piven. Woodward. B.. Woodward, C. Vann): SOCIOLOGY (Lewis,
Lynd, Riesman)
Aaron, Daniel Men of Good Hope: A Story of American Progressives (1950)
Graceful biographical essays on assorted radicals, reformers and utopians (Henry George, Thorstein Veblen, Teddy Roosevelt,
etc) by a literary historian with no discernible axe to erind. Also: Writers on the Left: Episodes in American Literary
Communism; The Unwritten War: American Writers and the Civil War
Adams, Henry History of the United States during the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (4 vols, 188991)
Comparable in every respect to Macaulay's great Whig history of England in the later 17th century, this is possibly the best
single work by an American historian. Its vast scope is too much for many people; the fascinating first six chapters of volume I
are separately collected in The United States in 1800. Also: The Degradation of the Democratic Dogma. See
AUTOBIOGRAPHY; HISTORY/BRITISH (Macaulay); RELIGION
Aztecs, Aztecs (Mexico), 12th-15th C.
Works on the Aztecs. (See also Broken Spears) Rec: Ward
Bailyn, Bernard Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1967)
Stresses the role of ideas—about constitutionalism and corruptions thereof—in both Britain and pre-Revolutionary America.
Also: New England Merchants in the Seventeenth Century; The Origins of American Politics, etc
Beard. C., M. and W. The Beards' New Basic History of the United States (1960)
it a Beards'-eye view of North
American history, from the arrival of the Norsemen in the 11th century to the launching of the first US spy satellite in 1960.
Quick-moving, sometimes glib (and a settlers' view: indigenous Americans systematically ignored); but a useful general
perspective of the flow of events.
Berger, Raoul Impeachment: The Constitutional Problems (1973) To many observers, the events culminating in the
impeachment of Richard M. Nixon are some of the most crucial in American post-war constitutional history. This book (date of
publication uncannily apt) is a judicious examination of the historical and legal issues. Also: Executive Privilege: A
Constitutional Myth
Black Elk, Native American, 1863-1950.
Black Elk Speaks (With William G. Neihardt (1881-1973)). Rec: Counterpunch Trans Hungry Mind Utne (history)
Boorstin, Daniel J. The Americans (3 vols, 1958- 73)
This trilogy ( The Colonial Experience; The National Experience; The Democratic Experience) has little in common with the
usual plodding textbook. Boorstin celebrates American vitality, adaptability and know-how. Lively, affectionate tribute to the
American dream made flesh. Also: The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson; The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America
Boorstin, Daniel, American, 1914-2004.
The Image, or What Happened to the American Dream. Rec: LAT
Bridenbaugh, Carl The Beginnings of the American People: Vexed and Troubled Englishmen. 1590- 1642(1968)
Brilliant portraits of life in late Tudor and Stuart England, with emphasis on the reasons—economic, religious, political—why
emigration to North America became a powerfully attractive prospect. Also: Mitre and Sceptre, etc
Brown, Dee Alexander, American, 1908-2002.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West. Rec: NYPL (history)
Various authors, Aztecs (Mexico), 1519 ff..
Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Ed. by Miguel León-Portillo). Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Brown, Dee Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1971)
* The near-annihilation of the American Indian. A shaming
book: white behaviour depicted as almost uniformly dark. Also: Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow
Cash, W. J. The Mind of the South (1941)
Earnest revealing study by a Southern newspaperman of the narrow, twisted mind (as he saw it) of his beloved region. The
South Cash described is now largely gone, but many still remember it—with more pain than pleasure.
Catton, Bruce This Hallowed Ground (1956)
American Civil War from the North (Union) side. Style sometimes purplish; interpretations sometimes superficial; but steeped
in period, readable, often memorable. See Wilson for literary images from the Civil War. Also: The Coming Fury; Terrible
Swift Sword: Never Call Retreat
Chernow, Ron, American, 1949- .
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Finance. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Cockburn, Andrew, American, 1947- .
The Threat: Inside the Soviet Military Machine. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Coleman, Terry Passage to America (1972)
In the second half of the 19th century, over two million ordinary British people embarked on a journey as terrifying and
unpredictable as any traveller's to Cathay or Arabia Deserta: from the slums and famine of Ireland and northern England they
took ship for America. Swindled, robbed, plundered by diseases, insulted and terrorized, they eventually arrived. This book
describes their incredible journey, mainly in the words of contemporary documents.
Commager, Henry Steele Britain through American Eyes (1974) i * Acerbic anthology of American reactions to the mother
country from 1778 to 1948. What an arrogant, stuffy lot the British were! Also: The American Mind
Demos, John A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony (1970)
17th-century Puritans, the history of the family.
De Voto, Bernard Across the Wide Missouri (1947)
De Voto was a popular historian of many facets of American life, but especially good about the West. Also: The Course of
Empire
Dewey, John Democracy and Education (1916)
Dewey was one of America's most respected philosophers; this book was perhaps his most influential. Richly thoughtprovoking, it enunciates propositions that have since become dogmas. See PHILOSOPHY
Douglass, Frederick, American, ca. 1817-1895 .
My Bondage and My Freedom. Rec: Good Reading
Selected Essays. Rec: SJC
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Rec: Bloom Rexmo
The Constitution and Slavery. Rec: SJC
Fischer, David H. Growing Old in America (1977)
The young country is growing old. Ingenious, personal and polemical theories on the transition from gerontocracy, via
filiocracy to senility. No solutions. Also: The Revolution of American Conservatism; Historians' Fallacies
Foote, Shelby, American, 1916- .
The Civil War. Rec: ML Nonfiction National Review
Fredrickson, George M. The Black Image in the White Mind (1971) White attitudes—callous, condescending, sometimes
philanthropic, occasionally admirable—to black Americans, 1814-1917. Written in excellent clean prose. See Genovese;
Jordan.
Genovese, Eugene Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (1975)
1$
Huge, imaginative study not of what was done for or to slaves but of their own efforts to preserve sanity and dignity, and of
slaveowners who were not always monsters. Also: The World the Slaveholders Made. See Fredrickson; Jordan.
Genovese, Eugene D., American, 1930- .
Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made. Rec: National Review
George, Henry Progress and Poverty (1879)
A fine book about the perennial conflict between rich and poor, this famous work proposed a method of resolving all economic
problems—so-called "single tax"—and led to Single Tax candidates all over the country for a generation. See Aaron.
Halberstam, D. The Best and the Brightest (1972)
Power in America: how the best and brightest brains were called to be knights in JFK's Camelot, and how their light sputtered
out in the mud and slime of the Vietnam War. Halberstam's scalpel prose and clear-eyed conscience (especially on US
involvement in Asia) make him one of the most readable, as well as one of the sharpest, commentators on US affairs. See
MEDIA
Haley, Alex, American, 1921-1992.
(See also X, Malcolm)
Roots. Rec: Boston PL Hungry Mind
Handlin, Oscar The Uprooted (1951)
Excellent book on the American immigrant, that maker of a civilization who has latterly come in for so much study. Handlin is
a sympathetic and dependable observer; his story is compelling. See Coleman.
Hartz, Louis The Liberal Tradition in America (1955)
Ingenious development of an appealingly simple thesis: that the US, being a post-feudal creation, has lacked both the pain and
the profundity of older, European nations. Also: The Founding of New Societies
Higham, John Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism, 1860- 1925 (1955)
Dispassionate analysis of the resentments and misgivings of native-born Americans in the face of large-scale immigration.
Hofstadter, Richard The Age of Reform from Bryan to F.D.R. (1955)
Hofstadter was one of the most gifted American historians of the
century—elegant in style, broad in scope, able to borrow from other disciplines without going overboard. This book, an
analysis of Populists and Progressives up to New Dealers, is characteristically clear and crisp. Also: The American Political
Tradition; Anti-Intellectualism in American Life; The Progressive Historians: Turner, Beard, Parrington, etc
Howe, Irving The Immigrant Jews of New York, 1880-1922 (1976)
Also: The American Communist Party (with Lewis Coser); Steady Work; World of Our Fathers. See Handlin.
Jones, Howard Mmnford 0 Strange New World: American Culture, the Formative Years (1964)
0 Wide-ranging, rambling,
stimulating discussion of the New World's image, or images, from Columbus to the early 19th century. Also: The Age of
Energy: Varieties of American Experience, 1865 —1915
Jones, Maldwyn Destination America (1976)
Concise, expert account of "push and pull" factors that induced so many millions to leave their own land and come to the US.
Also: American Immigration. See Bridenbaugh; Coleman; Handlin.
Jordan, Winthrop D. White over Black (1968)
0P
How Americans, absorbing some of the assumptions of Europe, came to visualize black peoples of the past as—variously—
innocent and depraved, docile and dangerous, human and subhuman, in need of civilizing yet incapable of passing beyond
savagery. An erudite, perceptive book. (Compare Fiedler: Life and Death in the American Novel.) See Fredrickson; Genovese.
Josephy, Alvin M., Jr. The Indian Heritage of America (1968) * 1 f Comprehensive survey of the Indian cultures of North and
South America; brief, savage final chapters on the arrival of the whites. Essential background to Brown (qv). See
MYTHOLOGY (Burland)
Kammen, Michael People of Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Origins of American Civilization (1972) * f Kammen, a
colonial historian, argues that from the outset the Americans were confronted with dual systems of authority and belief—those
of the Old World and the New. He carries the theme toward our own time, maintaining that Americans have become addicted to
dualisms. Witty, resourceful and provocative. Also: A Rope of Sand: The Colonial Agents, British Politics and the American
Revolution; A Season of Youth: The American Revolution and the Historical Imagination
Kennedy, John F., American, 1917-1963.
Profiles in Courage. Rec: LAT
King, Martin Luther, Jr., American, 1929-1968.
Why We Can't Wait. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Kofsky, Frank, American, 1935-1997.
Harry Truman and the War Scare of 1948. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Kolko, Gabriel Main Currents in Modern American History (1976) 9* Occasionally doctrinaire, but very good on class,
economic structure and foreign policy since about 1870. Also: The Triumph of Conservatism. 1900-1916; Railroads and
Regulation, 1877-1916
Kraditor, Aileen S. The Ideas of the Women's Suffrage Movement, 1890- 1920(1965)
Also: Up from the Pedestal: Selected Writings in the History of American Feminism. See FEMINISM (Flexner)
Lasch, Christopher The New Radicalism in America, 1889-1963 (1965)
Opinionated assessments of various opinionated Americans, from Jane Addams and Randolph Bourne to Norman Mailer. Also:
The Agony of the American Left; Haven in a Heartless World: The Family Besieged
Le Sueur, Meridel, American, 1900-1996.
North Star Country (history of Minnesota). Rec: Counterpunch NF
McCullough, David, American, 1933- .
The Great Bridge. Rec: ML Nonfiction (history)
McNaught, K. The History of Canada (1970)
McPherson, James M., American, 1936- .
Battle Cry of Freedom. Rec: ML Nonfiction National Review
Mencken, H. L. The American Language (1936)
Serious, thorough study by the enfant terrible of US journalism of the language that he loved and studied all his life. Nothing
escaped his quick eye and ear and all of it is here.
Mencken, H. L., American, 1880-1956.
The American Language. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Meyers, Marvin The Jacksonian Persuasion: Politics and Belief (1957) Political rhetoric, economic and reformist ideas,
Tocqueville, the social novels of James Fenimore Cooper—out of such materials Meyers evokes the mood of mid-19th-century
USA.
Miller, Perry The New England Mind: From Colony to Province (1953)
0 9*
Miller did as much as anyone to rescue Puritanism from the caricatures of Mencken and others. A historian of ideas, he
revealed the power and profundity of Puritan theology—and in this book, the retreat of the Church (up to about 1730) in the
face of New England secularism. Also: The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century; Errand into the Wilderness: The
Life of the Mind in America, from the Revolution to the Civil War, etc
Morgan, Edmund S. The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop (1958)
Economical, vivid biography of the Suffolk gentleman-lawyer and Puritan churchman who sailed for the New World in 1630 to
become the first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony. Also: The Stamp Act Crisis; The Puritan Family Morison, S. E.
Oxford History of the American People (1965) Controversial, idiosyncratic, fascinating history of America by the dean of New
England historians. One of the two or three best single-volume histories—much more fun than Beard's (qv) for example. See
BIOGRAPHY; TRAVEL
Morison, Samuel Eliot, American, 1887-1976.
The Oxford History of the American People. Rec: Fadiman 3
Morris, Edmund, American, 1940- .
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Rec: ML Nonfiction
New York Times (publisher), American, Pub. 1971.
The Pentagon Papers (Investigative reporting by Neil Sheehan et al.). Rec: LAT
Parkman, Francis The Oregon Trail (1847)
Parkman, a frail Harvard graduate, followed the track of Lewis and Clark and in the process became a man—and a great
historian. Also: The Conspiracy of Pontiac, etc. See BIOGRAPHY; TRAVEL (Lewis)
Parkman, Francis, American, 1823-1893.
France and England in North America. Rec: Bloom Rexmo
The California and Oregon Trail. Rec: Bloom
Parrington, Vernon Louis, American, 1871-1929.
Main Currents in American Thought: An Interpretation of American Literature from the Beginnings to 1920. Rec: National
Review
Peterson, Merrill The Jefferson Image in the American Mind (1960) This book traces the ups and downs of the great man's
reputation since his death in 1826.
Philby, Kim, English, 1912-1988.
My Silent War. Rec: Counterpunch NF (history – cia)
Washington Post (publisher), American, Pub. 1974.
The Presidential Transcripts (Ed. By Carl Bernstein, et al.). Rec: LAT
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. The Imperial Presidency (1973) 9 Tends to blame Republican incumbents for creating the
"runaway" presidency, and to be kinder to Democrats. Yet abundantly documented, lucid and incisive. Also: The Age of
Jackson; The Age of Roosevelt; Robert Kennedy and His Times
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr., American, 1917- .
A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. Rec: LAT
The Age of Jackson. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Sheehan, Neil, American, 1936- .
A Bright Shining Lie. Rec: ML Nonfiction (history – Vietnam)
Sinclair, Andrew Prohibition: The Era of Excess (1962)
_I/
High-spirited, boldly argued social history held together by a clear thesis: that rural and small-town America has kept on
fighting last-ditch battles against the city slickers. Also: The Betted-fait The Emancipation of American Women Slotkin,
Richard Regeneration through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600– 1860 (1973)
The rich and complex function of the American wilderness in the European and then the American imagination: solitude,
savagery (noble and ignoble), Davy Crocketts and Daniel Boones. Eloquent, analytical follow-up to the work of Turner (qv);
especially interesting to read in conjunction with Thoreau's Walden. See Smith.
Smith, Henry Nash Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth (1950)
*
Still one of the best attempts to portray America, and the West in particular, as a state of mind or set of ideas (a passage to
India, a desert, a land for farmers, a back-drop for dime-novel heroics). Excellent use of imaginative literature. See Slotkin;
Turner.
Smith, Page, American, 1917- .
A People's History of the United States. Rec: Fadiman 3 (history)
Tarbell, Ida, American, 1857-1944.
The History of the Standard Oil Company. Rec: Boston PL Counterpunch NF
Thompson, Hunter S., American, 1937-2005.
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. Rec: LAT
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Turner, Frederick Jackson The Frontier in American History (1920) 4*
The key essay in this collection, "The Significance of the Frontier", dates back to 1893. It brought fame to Turner and started
off decades of argument as to whether—Turner's argument—American democracy was truly and wholly a product of the
frontier West. See Slotkin; Smith.
Turner, Frederick Jackson, American, 1861-1932.
The Frontier in American History. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Twain, Mark Life on the Mississippi (1883)*
There are those, not a few, who feel this was Twain's greatest book. Trenchant, uproarious revelations of the American
character—a wise and marvellous book. See FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES; HUMOUR; TRAVEL
Valentine, Douglas, American, 1949- .
The Phoenix Program. Rec: Counterpunch NF (history – Vietnam)
Vo Nguyen Giap, Vietnamese, 1912- .
How We Won the War. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Williams, William Appleman, American, 1921-1990.
The Contours of American History. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Wilson, Edmund Patriotic Gore (1962)
dti *
Literary history in Wilson's special vein: relaxed, ruminative; good on personality as well as on style and social context.
Essays, beginning with "Uncle Tom's Cabin", on North-South antagonism, the Civil War and its aftermath. Also: The Triple
Thinkers; The Shock of Recognition; The American Earthquake, etc. See DIARIES; LITERARY CRITICISM; POLITICS
Woodward, C. Vann Tom Watson, Agrarian Rebel (1938)
Watson was a Georgia demagogue, veering between sincere radicalism and the politics of resentment. Splendid introduction to
the Dixie mentality. Also: Reunion and Reaction; The Compromise of 1877. See POLITICS
Worster, Donald, American, 1941- .
Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Zinn, Howard, American, 1922- .
A People's History of the United States. Rec: Harvard Utne
Bernard Bailyn
Bernard Bailyn, whose historical work centers on the history of the colonies, the American Revolution and the AngloAmerican world in the preindustrial era, is the Adams University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Charles
Warren Center for Studies in American History. He has written extensively in his field and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in
1968 for The Ideological Origin of the American Revolution. He has taught at Harvard since 1949.
Wonderful books to read:
David Thomson. Woodbrook (1974). New York: Irish Book Center, 1981. (Pb)
A profoundly moving memoir of a young English historian's love affair with Ireland and with his young Irish tutee. It is a
perfect merging of personal experience and historical awareness, beautifully written. It explains the Anglo-Irish tragedy better
than any book I know, and shows history to be a living force.
Thomas Mann. Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer, Adrian Leverkahn, as Told by a Friend (1947).
H. T. Lowe-Porter, trans. New York: Random House, 1971.
A brilliant commentary, in fictional form, on German culture—its great achievements and deadly disease. Beyond all the
learning and speculation in the book, it is wonderfully inventive, simply as fiction.
Ernest Jones. The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud (1953-57). 3 vols. New York: Basic Books, 1961. (Pb)
I read this as something of a morality tale of the heroic achievements of one of the most creative minds in the history of
Western culture. It is told as a triumph of sheer genius and creativity over all sorts of adversity. And it happens to be true.
William Faulkner. Absalom! Absalom! (1936). New York: Random House, 1972. (Pb)
This dark, multigenerational saga of Southern life, woven in an elaborate narrative structure, swept me along by its wildly
imaginative storytelling. And then I discovered that there are real historical models for most of the major figures, especially the
mysterious Colonel Sutpen. It is soaring fiction and weirdly perceptive history at the same time.
William Trevor. The Stories of William Trevor. New York: Penguin, 1983. (Pb)
These are the best contemporary short stories I know: deadly bullets, all of them, piercing some sensitive area of common
experience.
Trevor, William, Irish, 1928- .
The Love Department. Rec: Ward
The Children of Dynmouth. Rec: Ward
Virginia Woolf. The Letters of Virginia Woolf. Nigel Nicolson, ed. 6 vols. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 197580.
The sheer verbal skill in these dashed-off letters is superb —and they are marvelously perceptive and penetrating. So are her
Diaries.
Alan Brinkley
Alan Brinkley is the Dunwalke Associate Professor of American History at Harvard, specializing in twentieth-century
American history. His attention focuses on the Depression, the Neu) Deal, and the American South, His work Voices of Protest:
Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and the Great Depression won the American Book Award in 1982. He will soon publish The
Transformation of New Deal Liberalism.
William Faulkner. Absalom! Absalom! (1936). New York: Random House, 1972. (Pb)
When I try to think of books that have given me particular pleasure and that have affected me in particularly important ways, I
think first of William Faulkner's Absalom! Absalom! (1936), which I have always considered one of the greatest of all
American novels, a work I've read and reread with constantly increasing admiration. Long before I became a historian, I loved
this book for its remarkable depth and complexity and its enormous passion and excitement. Eventually, however, I came to see
in this novel some compelling justifications for my own interest in the past. It succeeds better than any work I know in
revealing how history can operate as a living force in the lives of men and women.
Robert Penn Warren. All the King's Men (1946). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982.
For many of the same reasons, I'm greatly attached to Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men. It's a novel principally
concerned with individuals and their pasts; and it too reveals how history defines (and often burdens) us in dealing with the
present. But it's also a novel about politics, and few works of literature convey as clearly the elemental forces that politics can
at times unleash.
Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). New York: Harper & Row, 1984. (Pb)
For somewhat different reasons, I think of Huckleberry Finn, the greatest of Twain's works and in my opinion the greatest
American literary achievement of its, and perhaps any, era. Huckleberry Finn reveals more about nineteenth-century America
than any work I know. And yet it also displays a moral sensibility that resonates clearly with the values and beliefs of our own
era.
George F. Kennan. Memoirs (1967). 2 vols. New York: Pantheon, 1983.
George Kennan's Memoirs, especially the first volume (1925-1950), have always seemed to me a work of special importance.
It's an account of an indisputably important public life, and yet it reveals as well the private world of a man of enormous
sensitivity and reflectiveness. I know of few pictures of the public world so deftly and contemplatively drawn.
Richard Hofstadter. The Age of Reform; From Bryan to F.D.R. New York: Knopf, 1955.
Richard Hofstadter's The Age of Reform is a work with which I for the most part profoundly disagree. But it has also always
been a model to me of literate, bold, and imaginative historical inquiry. It's a reminder to professional historians of how
scholarship can move beyond the narrow, specialized bounds we impose on ourselves and make itself of interest and
importance to a larger world.
Graham Swift. Waterland: A Novel (1983). New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984.
Among very recent works, I'm particularly fond of Waterland, a novel by a young English writer named Graham Swift. Like
Absalom! Absalom! and All the King's Men, Waterland is not only a "story," but a "history," an exploration of how families
struggle with the burdens of their own pasts. It's also a wonderfully entertaining and absorbing mystery of great sophistication
and complexity.
John R. Stilgoe
Author of Common Landscape of America, 1580 to 1845, Metropolitan Corridor: Railroads and the American Scene and a
forthcoming book on American suburbs, John R. Stilgoe teaches the analysis of landscapes at Harvard's Graduate School of
Design. He farms as an avocation.
These five books introduce five scales of space—from the Mediterranean basin to an obscure New England farm—and offer a
feast of perceptual biases and techniques: whatever the challenges of the next century, the delight that so often accompanies
disciplined scrutiny of the physical environment will continue to hearten alert travelers and readers, and perhaps make the
challenges less daunting.
Fernand Braudel. The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (1949). Sian Reynolds, trans. New
York: Harper & Row, 1976. (Pb)
One of the few genuinely masterful works of modern geographical-historical writing, Braudel's fourteen-hundred-page
Mediterranean defines a region ecologically (from the southern limits of the date palm to the northern limits of the olive tree)
and culturally (from the Arab east and south to the Catholic north and west), demonstrating in intricate detail the complex and
fragile interaction of physical environment and human effort in one moment of time past. No recent work better displays the
sumptuous richness of meanings implicit in the word region.
Henry James. The American Scene (1907). Leon Edel, ed. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1968. (Pb)
Written after a self-imposed absence of some two decades, The American Scene is James's nonfiction account of stupendous
change in the landscape and life of the eastern United States, change best designated as "modernization" perhaps, but certainly
change that no participant—and no foreign visitor—perceived so crisply. James left an essentially agricultural nation and
returned to one urban, industrialized, and ensnared in mechanized haste; high-speed trains, rural trolley cars and motorcars had
changed forever the traveler's perception of landscape, foreshortening distances, twisting angles of vision and blurring detail,
making the whole visual environment a sort of scene.
Timothy Dwight. Travels in New England and New-York (1821-22). 4 vols.. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1969.
At the close of the eighteenth century, the president of Yale College began riding horseback (and later by chaise) through the
northeastern part of the new Republic. His Travels details not only thousands of landscape constituents—everything from the
texture of soil to the shape of bridges to the color of meetinghouses—along his winding routes, but interprets the landscape
emerging from wilderness as the emblem of distinctly American virtues—order, simplicity, individualism, self-reliance. His
volumes offer a glimpse of slow, self-paced, methodical wandering and a wealth of insight into the cultural baggage any
observer of landscape and customs brings to a region, and particularly to his own.
Henry David Thoreau. Cape Cod (1865). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1972. (Pb)
As Thoreau walked the edge of the land, he found real wilderness, a spray-soaked zone of eroding sand, shipwreck, packs of
wild dogs, sharks and people inured to assaults by wind, tide and surf, a zone that disconcerted the lover of Concord woodlots
and fields. Cape Cod grapples with the concept of the margin, the amorphous zone neither wholly landscape nor wholly sea.
There Thoreau encountered the edge of fear, the awesome recognition that tiny Cape Cod thrusts into an alien element, an
element so powerful that it shapes not only Cape Cod landscape, but Cape Cod life, Cape Cod unmasks the Thoreau disguised
in Walden, reveals the incredible fragility of a small land continuously besieged, and rams home the terrible intimacy of the
walker exploring alien space.
Donald Hall. String Too Short to Be Saved (1961). Boston: David R. Godine, 1979. (Pb)
A New Hampshire hill farm in the Depression and the early years of World War II forms the setting for autobiographical
memory. But more than memory suffuses this brilliant book. Hall inquires deeply into the love of a farmer for his farm and its
neighborhood, the love for individual rocks and blueberry plantings, for old cellar holes and hay fields, for neighbors as
individuals; and he scrutinizes the survival of nineteenth-century (and earlier) agricultural techniques and attitudes into the
twentieth century. On the slopes of Ragged Mountain endure an earlier landscape and an earlier way of living almost wholly
isolated from the world-shaking events far off in cities, in Europe, in the Pacific. Stewardship. simplicity, forbearance,
compassion—such are the virtues manifested in the fields and buildings city folk scorn as scrubby, rundown, or old-fashioned
as their automobiles race past.
The Worlds of Christopher Columbus
Columbus
F. Fernandez-Armesto
The Invention of America E. O'Gorman
The Columbian Exchange A.W. Crosby
W.D. and C.R. Phillips
Small Earth
Small Earth
Small Earth
Small Earth
Ancient History
The predominance of Greek and especially Roman topics reflects, perhaps, a consistent Western preoccupation with cultural
and social origins. But there are good representative books on the other principal ancient civilizations too.
See ARCHAEOLOGY (Chadwick, Clark, Cottrell, Hume. Mackendrick); ARCHITECTURE (Boethius, Lawrence, Vitruvius);
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Caesar); BIOGRAPHY (Plutarch); DIARIES (Cicero, Pliny, Seneca); FEMINISM (Pomeroy); FOOD
(Apicius): HISTORY/ASIAN (Barham, Eberhard, Hall. Hambly); HISTORY/LATIN AMERICAN (Katz); LITERARY
CRITICISM (High-et); MATHEMATICS (Lindsay); MYTHOLOGY (Harrison, Kirk); POLITICS (Aristotle, Plato); TRAVEL
(Pausanias)
Arrian, Greek, ca. 100-180 CE.
Anabasis. Rec: Ward
Georg Gerster, The Past from Above Rec: cooltools
2005, 415 pages
$41
Gibbon, Edward Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88)
P
Certainly the wittiest and possibly the greatest of all European historical works; should be read in its "damned thick" entirety—
but for the faint-hearted there is D. M. Low's excellent one-volume abridgement.
Gibbon, Edward, English, 1737-1794.
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom GBWW Good Reading Lubbock Rex Rexmo SeymourSmith Ward
Autobiography. Rec: Adler
Grant, Michael The Ancient Mediterranean(1969)
Grant is one of the great modern popularizers of ancient history. He takes short cuts, makes quick assessments; but he is
persuasive and generally reliable. This book discusses the interplay between all the civilizations round the Mediterranean—a
vast amount of disparate erudition encapsulated in 300 readable pages. Also: A History of Rome; Nero. etc
Various Authors, Greek, 7th C BCE-10th C CE.
Greek Anthology. Rec: Rex
Grote, George, English, 1794-1871.
A History of Greece. Rec: Lubbock
Herodotus Histories (5th century ac)
The "father of history" ranges far and wide to analyse and describe the confrontation between East and West with which the 5th
century BC began. Discursive, anecdotal, personal: one of the most enjoyable books of the ancient world.
Herodotus, Greek, ca. 484-425 BCE.
The Histories. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Col37 Col61 Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW Lubbock Rex Seymour-Smith
SJC (Selections) Ward
Heyden, A. A. M. and Scullard, H. II. Atlas of the Ancient World (1955)
a*J
Not just maps, but hundreds of splendid photographs and a well-written, informative text. Introduces classical history and
culture as well as geography.
Huart, C. Ancient Persia and Iranian Civilization (1972)
Crisp, clear and informative on the culture, society and military achievements of the ancient Medes and Persians. See
HISTORY/ASIAN (Irving)
Johnson, P. The Civilization of Ancient Egypt (1978)
For the beginner, a useful guide: enthusiastic, well-written (in attractively breathless style), reasonably accurate. Readers whose
interest Johnson whets will go elsewhere for more objective, authoritative views (his bibliography points the way); but there is
no better starting-point than here.
Jones, A. H. M. The Later Roman Empire, 284-602(1964)
"This book is not a history of the later Roman empire. It is a social, economic and administrative survey of the empire,
historically treated"—and all you are ever likely to want to know about it can be found herein. Also: The Greek City; The
Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces
Josephus A History of the Jewish War (AD 75-79)
Jewish history, until Masada, recounted in choice vocabulary and high literary style by ex-combatant Jewish turncoat. Of
particular interest to those who seek illumination on the Jewish character (or characters) at the time of Christ. Also: Jewish
Antiquities
Lehmann, J. The Hittites (1977)
If you can stomach its relentlessly jolly, journalistic style, this book sheds fascinating light on a very dark corner of Old
Testament history.
Lempriere, Jean Bibliotheca Classica (1788)
Oa*
Also called Classical Dictionary; an absorbing alphabetical account of personalities, themes and structures of classical works,
as quirky and personal as Dr Johnson's Dictionary. Avoid all modern editions, which soften the delights in favour of academic
accuracy.
Lewis, N. and Reinhold, M. Roman Civilization: A Sourcebook (2 vols, 1955) 111
Anthology of translated extracts covering all aspects of Roman life: volume I the republic, volume li the empire. Authors range
from the grandest of historical figures to humble soldiers writing home from barracks far overseas; translations are excellent,
notes, bibliography and index are unobtrusive, helpful.
Livy History (1st century AD)
Oa*
The remains of Livy's vast history of Rome (originally in 142 volumes, now reduced to something like 700 pages) have, more
than any other works, formed later views of the Roman character. Moralistic historiography in its finest flowering.
Livy, Roman, 59 BCE-17 CE .
History of Rome. Rec: Adler Aquinas Lubbock
Early Rome. Rec: Rex
Mellersh, H. E. L. Chronology of the Ancient World (1976) Magnificently simple: chronology of events from 10,000 BC to
AD 799. Covers every available area of civilization; endlessly fascinating cross-parallels.
Procopius The History of the Wars (c. 565)
The reign of Justinian and the achievements of Belisarius (about whom Robert Graves wrote a famous novel), recorded by a
contemporary. The A necdota (Secret History) forms an appendix not to be missed by those whose taste is (in the author's
words) for "wanton crime and shameless debauchery, intrigue and scandal". Good English translation: Loeb Library. See
FICTION/NOVELS (Graves)
Procopius, Byzantine Greek, ca. 498-ca. 560 .
Works. Rec: Ward
Radice, Betty Who's Who in the Ancient World (1971)
a
Pocket reference to Greece and Rome. Mythological and historical characters presented with essential details and useful
reference to their place in later art, music and literature. Good introduction on the classical tradition in the Western world, and
its relevance today. See LITERARY CRITICISM (Highet)
Rostovtzeff, M. The Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World (1941)
Planned originally as a "short survey", this monumental work is the classic treatment of one of the most important periods of
Greek history. Also: Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire
Saggs, H. W. F. The Greatness That Was Babylon (1962)
A thick book (560 pages) on a neglected subject. Comprehensive; accessible. Sallust The Conspiracy of Catiline (c. 35 BC)
Analysis of the decline and fall of the Roman republic by a perverse, morose but not unintelligent contemporary. Vivid,
stylized portrait of Catiline as a species of half-mad revolutionary mobster; much information on political and social conditions
and attitudes as the republic rocked towards its end.
Selzer, M. Caesar, Politician and Statesman (1968)
Standard scholarly biography of the "bald-headed adulterer" (as his soldiers, marching behind his triumph, sang of him). For a
cooler, less authoritative view, see Michael Grant's (qv) Julius Caesar, for a fictional gloss, see Rex Warner's Young Caesar. See
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Caesar); DIARIES (Cicero)
Suetonius Lives of the Twelve Caesars (c. 121)
ia
Suetonius was the arch gossip columnist of the Roman world: his book is full of scurrilous gossip, damaging innuendo,
distortion and over-emphasis. Hugely entertaining. Good English translation by Graves (who also plundered Suetonius for
many of the juicier details in his I Claudius and Claudius the God). See FICTION/NOVELS (Graves)
Suetonius, Roman, ca. 69-ca. 150 CE.
Twelve Caesars. Rec: Ward
Syme, R. The Roman Revolution (1939)
The modern classic work in ancient history. The subject is the establishment of the imperial autocracy by Augustus; the style is
wilful and self-pleasing, demanding several readings; the rewards are great.
Tacitus, Roman, ca. 55-ca. 117 CE .
Annals. Rec: Adler Aquinas GBWW Seymour-Smith SJC (Selections) Ward
Histories. Rec: Adler GBWW Rex Ward
Agricola. Rec: Adler
Germania. Rec: Adler Lubbock
Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War (5th century BC) Thucydides' work (perhaps the first-ever "scientific history")
is idiosyncratic in its selection and treatment of material, and in style. Fascinating chiefly for intelligent discussion of some of
the philosophical problems thrown up by history: the purpose of historiography itself, the sources of political power, the
problems of empire, and the reasons for decline and defeat. Good translation: Crawley.
Thucydides, Greek, 470/460-ca.400 BCE.
History of the Peloponnesian War. Rec: Adler Aquinas Bloom Col37 Col61 Colcc91 Collh91 Fadiman 3 Fadiman 4 GBWW
Good Reading Harvard Lubbock Rex Seymour-Smith SJC Utne Ward
Toynbee, A. J. Hannibal's Legacy (2 vols, 1965)
Exhaustive and perhaps the best account of the effects of Hannibal on Italy and the Mediterranean world. See
HISTORY/WORLD
Veyne, Paul, French, 1930- .
The Roman Empire. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Xenophon Anabasis (4th century Bc)
it
Fascinating memoir of the extrication of 10,000 Greek mercenaries from Persia by the general who led them. Xenophon's
appeal is largely in his relaxed unaffected style. Without literary aspirations, he has an interesting, human tale to tell, and tells it
well. Also: Hellenica: Memorabilia
Xenophon, Greek, ca. 429-ca. 354 BCE.
Cyropaedia. Rec: Ward
Memorabilia. Rec: Lubbock
Anabasis. Rec: Lubbock
Franklin Ford
Franklin Ford is Harvard's McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History, respected for his work in modern French and
German history. His research interest in the history of murder and tyrannicide culminated in the recent book Political Murder.
He is a former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
My selection, as you will see, is highly personal. They are all favorites of mine, in part because each of them has helped me to
think in the present, about the past, with some hope of making more sense of the rest of the time continuum: the part that still
stretches ahead.
A fuller understanding of humanity, including its gropings and errors, but also its achievements and flashes of greatness, is
what I take to be one of the historian's primary goals. It must also be a goal of anyone who thinks seriously about dangers and
opportunities, some of which are already urgent realities while others require imagination to discern even as serious
possibilities. My choice of works that seem "historical" in the best, because extended, sense will no doubt surprise some
readers; but so may the contents of the works themselves, when seen in that light.
Garrett Mattingly. The Armada (1959). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984. (Pb)
Mark Twain. The Comic Mark Twain Reader. Charles Neider, ed. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977.
George Otto Trevelyan. The Early History of Charles James Fox (1880). New York: AMS Press, 1971.
Max Weber. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (1946). H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds. and trans. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1979. (Pb)
Anatole France. The Gods Will Have Blood (Les dieux ont soy) (1912). Frederick Davies, trans. New York: Penguin, 1979.
(Pb)
Karl Polanyi. The Great Transformation (1944). Boston: Beacon, 1985.
Michael Shaara. The Killer Angels (1974). New York: Ballantine, 1975. (Pb)
Sybille Bedford. A Legacy (1956). New York: Echo Press, 1976. (Pb)
Felix Gilbert. Machiavelli and Guicciardini (1965). New York: W. W. Norton, 1984. (Pb)
T. H. White. The Once and Future King (1958). New York: Putnam, 1958.
Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War (ca. 431-404 B.C.). Richard Livingstone, ed. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1960. (Pb)
Robert Nisbet. Prejudices: A Philosophical Dictionary (1982). Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1983.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE
Graham Ley
Classical literature now commands greater attention than ever before, with good-quality translations of a large number of
ancient authors prompting a wide readership to explore the origins of a European tradition. Recent approaches to epic, drama,
lyric poetry, the novel, and the prose genres of historiography and rhetoric have drawn on developments in contemporary
literary criticism and theory, and have tended to integrate social with purely formal considerations. Partly as a result of this
expansion in interest, it is now easier to find accessible works on individual authors than the kind of broad introduction that
was popular a generation or so ago. But most translations now include an up-to-date introduction and some useful suggestions
for further, critical reading.
A poet is a light, winged, holy creature, and cannot compose until he is possessed
and out of his mind, and his reason is no longer in him; no man can
compose or prophesy so long as he has his reason.
PLATO ION
The Cambridge History of Classical Literature (1983) edited by E J Kenney and. W V Clauseh. A series of introductions by
literary specialists to the full range of Greek and Latin literature in antiquity. Available in sections devoted to particular genres
and subjects.
The Oxford History of the Classical World (1988) edited by John Boardman. An illustrated compendium of introductions to
ancient literature, an, history, and culture by specialist authors, with each chapter carrying suggestions for further reading.
The Pelican History of Greek Literature (1985) by Peter Levi. A good general introduction by a Greek scholar who is also a
poet.
A Short History of Greek Literature (1985) by Jacqueline de Romilly. A translation of an introduction by one of the most
sensitive critics of Greek tragedy.
Ancient Greek Literature (1981) edited by Kenneth Dover. A selection of helpful introductions to major genres and authors.
Roman Literature and Society (1980) by Robert Ogilvie. A good, contextual introduction for the student or general reader.
The Latin Love Poets from Catullus to Ovid (1980) by R Lyne. An outstanding study of a major tradition in Latin poetry of
the later republic and early principate.
Virgil (1986) by Jasper Griffin. An accessible introduction to the leading national and ideological poet of the Augustan era.
The series of translations in Penguin Classics offers many of the ancient authors in separate volumes. Two anthologies of
translated selections, Greek Literature (1977) and Latin Literature (1979), both prepared by Michael Grant, may be helpful in
providing an impression of the range available.
Asian, African and Middle Eastern History
Many areas of the world are sparsely represented on library shelves—West Africa and Australasia, for example, offer few
satisfactory comprehensive histories. Other areas, especially in the Third World, are evolving so quickly that modern histories
are obsolete before they even reach the shelves. The books suggested here, therefore, are a very broad sweep: without claims to
comprehensive or final coverage, they make at least a start.
See AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Gandhi); BIOGRAPHY (Howarth); DIARIES (Stanley); ECONOMICS (Myrdal); POLITICS
(Cabral, Hinton); RELIGION (Guillaume); TRAVEL (Kingsley, Lawrence, T. E., Maclean, Polo, Ronay, Roy)
Ajayi, J. F. Ade A Thousand Years of West African History (1966) MI Serious, dependable synoptic history of Africa; important
and eye-opening. Allen, Charles (ed) Plain Tales from the Raj (1975) fi a * Book originated in a series of radio interviews
with fifty surviving administrators of colonial India. Extraordinary detail of extraordinary daily lives: coping with high collars,
rigid etiquette, recalcitrant natives, the Edwardian British at their dotty, pragmatic best.
Anene, J. C. and Brown, G. (eds) Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries (1966)
Collection of research findings and other scholarly writings; bitty and unsystematic; but individual papers are illuminating,
authoritative. See Ajayi; Thompson.
Basham, A. L. The Wonder That Was India (1954) it a* Catchpenny title; magnificent book. Fat (600 pages),
comprehensive, badged in every sentence with the author's zest for his subject. Covers the ancient history of India from 3000
BC to the coming of Muslims in AD 1565. Particularly strong on culture and social life. Usefully read in connection with
Nehru (qv).
Batatu, Hanna, Palestinian writing in English, 1926-2000.
The Egyptian, Syrian, and Iraqi Revolutions. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Beasley, W. G. The Modern History of Japan (1963) 0 Excellent volume in recommended Asia-Africa series. Traces Japanese
affairs from its opening to the West in the mid 19th century to the amazing first fruits of the economic boom after World War II.
Annotated bibliography particularly useful. Also: Great Britain and the Opening of Japan. See Bergamini.
Bergamini, David Japan's Imperial Conspiracy (1971)
Compendious political indictment of Hirohito and his faction; disputable interpretations, but a readable, extraordinary book.
See Beasley.
Boulnois, L. The Silk Road (1963)
Brilliant history of the silk trade, from Roman times to the Boxer Rebellion. Caroe, Olaf The Pathans, 550 BC-AD 1957(1958)
Northwest frontiersmen withstood Greeks, Arabs, Moguls, British Raj, and (more recently) Russian tanks. Exhaustive,
illuminating study.
Eberhard, W. A History of China (1948)
Admirable introductory survey. Use fourth English edition and supplement (for the 20th century) with McAleavy (qv) and
especially Suyin (qv). See ARCHAEOLOGY (Chang)
Edwardes, M. The Last Years of British India (1963)
Sympathetic historical study, seeking to place politics in a wider perspective. Objectivity at times leads to opaqueness; but is
otherwise admirable. See Nehru.
Elvin, Mark The Pattern of the Chinese Past (1973) Ji
Outstanding examination of technological and social forces in pre-modern China; essential analysis of causes and effects in
Chinese imperial history. Particularly good on agriculture and printing—and on the reasons for China's technological
stagnation after 1350.
Farrell, J. G., English, 1935-1979.
The Siege of Krishnapur. Rec: Bloom
Fitzgerald, C. P. A Concise History of East Asia (1966)
✓
Divided into three sections (China; Japan and Korea; South-East Asia); outstanding for style, precision of information, clearsightedness of historical judgement.
FitzGerald, Frances Fire in the Lake( 1972)
First-hand journalistic analysis of the modern history of Vietnam, a tragi-comedy (if you can't see the blood or smell the
corpses) of East-West misunderstanding and mismanagement. Definitive answer to those who believe "we" were right to be in
Vietnam.
Gabrielli, Francesco The Arabs: A Compact History (1963) a -1
Also published as A Short History of the Arabs. Compared to Glubb (qv) a sparrow beside an eagle; but ideal for those who
want a brief, clear survey of the facts. Particularly good on the early spread of Islam.
Glubb, John The Course of Empire (1965) * I .1
Third volume of a monumental, recommended history of the Arabs. Offers, among other pleasures, a unique study of the First
Crusade and Moorish Spain from the Arabian point of view.
Hall, D. G. E. A History of South East Asia (1965) 0 a * .1
Marvellous 1000-page survey. Modern section has been updated to 1968 (3rd edition), but the volatility of the area outstrips
even Hall's dexterous pen. For the first 10,000 years, however, a prescriptive read.
Hambly, Gavin (ed) Central Asia (1969) 0 ✓_I
Historical survey from 500 BC to the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950. Excellent on the Mongols, Uzbeks and Turks; a grim
overview of a ruthless colonizing process, continuously bloody, from all directions, over 2500 years. Also: Cities of Mughal
India
Hersey, John, American, 1914-1993.
The Wall. Rec: BOMC
Hiroshima. Rec: NYPL (history)
Hibbed, Christopher The Dragon Wakes (1970)
Excellent popular account of China's relations with the West between 1793 and 1911. The section on the Boxers is particularly
good. Also: The Great Mutiny, etc. See HISTORY/BRITISH
Various authors, Japanese, Pub. 1986.
Hibakusha: Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Trans. by Gaynor Sekimori). Rec: Counterpunch Trans (history)
Hinton, William, American, 1919-2004.
Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village. Rec: Counterpunch NF (sociology)
Ibn Khaldun, 'Abd Ar-Rahman bin Muhammad, Arab, 1332-1406.
Prolegomena (Muqaddimah). Rec: App Oriental Ward
Ingham, K. A History of East Africa (1962) 01 J
Inglis, Brian The Opium War( 1976)
fi 1 3
Opium trade between British India and the Chinese—urbane account of one of the most bizarre 19th-century encounters
between inscrutable East and imperious West. Also: Roger Casement; The Forbidden Game
Irving, Clive Crossroads of Civilization (1979) a ./ Journalistic survey of Persian history from earliest times to 1939.
Continuing, blood-soaked saga of modern Iran starts here. See HISTORY/ANCIENT (Huart)
James, C. L. R., Trinidadian, 1901-1989.
The Black Jacobins. Rec: Bloom Counterpunch NF (Jamaica)
The Future in the Present. Rec: Bloom
Judd, Denis The Boer War (1977) di a *
Good use of first-hand documents. Popular historiography at its best. Also: Someone Has Blundered: Calamities of the British
Army in the Victorian Age
Kapuscinski, Ryszard, Polish, 1932- .
The Emperor. Rec: NYPL (history of africa)
Kinross, Lord Ataturk: The Rebirth of a Nation (1964)
9✓
Breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I seen as the starting-point for the modern Middle East and its problems.
Lockhart, J. G. and Woodhouse, C. M. Rhodes (1963)
Access to Cecil Rhodes' private papers makes this a definitive biography of the seminal figure for 19th- and 20th-century
southern Africa.
Ludowyk, E. F. C. The Story of Ceylon (1962)
46 1
Discursive; informative; better on events after the Portuguese arrival in the 16th century than on earlier history. Second edition
(1967) best. Usefully read in conjunction with Silva (qv).
McAleavy, Henry The Modern History of China (1967)
aJ
19th- and 20th-century China, set forthwith sense and style. In conjunction with Elvin (qv) and Suyin (qv), will supply all the
necessary basic information. McCoy, Wilfred W. The Politics of Heroin in South-East Asia (1972) Fully documented account
of the unsung anti-heroes of the whole Indo-Chinese adventure between 1945 and 1972—the poppy-growers and their
customers, including the governments of South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, etc, who pushed narcotics in order to finance the
cause of freedom, and turned the US army in Vietnam on to a nearly 10 per cent addiction to hard drugs. The fine print of
history, blown up.
McEwan, P. 3. M. and Sutcliffe, R. B. (eds) The Story of Africa (1965)
Comprehensive account of social, economic and political issues in modern Africa, linked to historical causes.
Morris, Donald R. The Washing of the Spears(1965) * Rise and fall of the Zulu nation. Unblinking, objective, devastating
account of bravery, repression and genocide.
Nehru, Jawaharlal The Discovery of India (1951) * Passionate, partisan, personal; "history" of India written "in Ahmadnagar
Fort prison during the five months April to September 1944". History as advertising copy: the nation pulses with life before
your eyes. Those who prefer a more objective view—and those whom Nehru excites to read further—are referred to Basham
(qv).
Phillips, Wendell Unknown Oman (1966) 4' _I
South-eastern tip of the Arabian peninsula, explored by the first Western historian and archaeologist to make a systematic
study. Some of the book is an account of his travels; but the second half is a valuable historical survey. Also: Quataban and
Sheba
Preble, George H. The Opening of Japan (1962)
s _1
Preble was a US naval lieutenant in the fleet of Commodore Perry, which first opened Japan to Western commerce in 1853.
This diary of the voyage (ed Szczesniak) is witty, detailed, and full of delightfully wide-eyed accounts of the wonders and
customs of the fabled East. Interesting, too, for sidelights on 19th-century naval life. See TRAVEL (Dana)
Ransforcl, Oliver The Great Trek (1972)
History outstrips legend. Well told, thoroughly documented account of one of the great epic stories of the whites in Africa.
Also: The Rulers of Rhodesia; The Battle of Spion Kop
Sadler, A. H. L. A Short History of Japan (1963) a Earliest times to 1951; the flow of events is charted with brisk clarity.
Usefully read in conjunction with Beasley (qv).
Salih, Tayeb, Sudanese writing in Arabic, 1929- .
A Season of Migration to the North. Rec: Meaningful NYPL
Severin, Timothy The African Adventure (1973)
di a 3
Popular account of 400 years of African exploration. Standard names like Stanley are given good coverage; but the book is
chiefly interesting for lesser-known Portuguese and Belgian figures. Illustrated from contemporary drawings, many by the
explorers themselves.
Silva, K. M. da (ed) Sri Lanka: A Survey (1977)
Pa
Geography, history, politics, culture. Comprehensive; objective. See Ludowyk.
Sima Qian (Ssu-ma Ch'ien), Chinese, 145-86 BCE.
Records of the Grand Historian. Rec: Fadiman 4 MW Asian Rexmo StJE Ward
Sinuhe, Egyptian, Ancient, ca. 2000 BCE.
The Story of Sinuhe. Rec: Ward
Snow, Edgar Red Star over China (1937)
Influential account of the Chinese Revolution based on Snow's encounters with Mao Tse-tung, Chou En-lai and others on the
1936 Long March. See Suyin.
Spence, Jonathan, English, 1936- .
The Death of Woman Wang. Rec: Bloom
The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. Rec: Bloom
The Gate of Heavenly Peace. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Stanley, R. and Neame, A. (eds) The Exploration Diaries of H. M. Stanley (1961)
4*f
Suyin, Han The Morning Deluge (1972): The Wind in the Tower (1976)
Massive two-volume biography of Mao; subtitle (Mao Tse Tung and the Chinese Revolution, 1893 - 1975) tells all. See Snow.
Thompson, E. B. Africa, Past and Present(1966)
a -If
An attempt, for the general reader, to set modern Africa in its historical context. At its best when discussing the multifarious
Western exploitation of Africa—a sordid, riveting tale.
Vatlidotis, P. J. The Modern History of Egypt (1969) .1 _I
Egyptian history, 1800-1969. Good on political and ideological struggles between independence in 1922 and the establishment
of the republic in 1956.
Wilson, M. and Thompson, L. (eds) The Oxford History of South Africa (2 vols, 1969-71)
P
Exhaustive account, particularly good on indigenous cultures. Donnish objectivity is a welcome corrective to the partisan
approach of many writers on this subject.
BOOKS ON THIRD WORLD LITERATURE
Kadiatu Kanneh
This collection of texts problematizes and engages with the category of `Third World' writing, allowing for an informed critical
focus. The texts vary from a direct analysis of a range of Third World literatures to a more theoretical or political discussion of
prevalent themes, issues, histories. The texts examine debates around language, history, gender, often exploring how issues of
self-determination and independence affect the analyses of literary criticism.
Night after night my mother would talk-story until we fell asleep. I
couldn't tell where the stories left off and the dreams began, her voice
the voice of the heroines in my sleep.
MAXINE HONG KINGSTON
Myth, Literature and the African World (1976) by Wole Soyinka. This text interrogates the definition, both of African
literature and of Africa, engaging directly with a range of literary texts from Africa and contextualizing their meanings and
aesthetic value within a conception of Africa as a distinct mythic and philosophical whole.
Decolonising the Mind (1986) by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. This text presents a polemic against colonial domination and the
prevalence of colonial languages in African literatures. A major touchstone for political readings of African literatures.
The Empire Writes Back (1989) by Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin. This text defines the field of `Third World literature' as
`postcolonial', and presents a survey of the major issues and complexities which currently dominate literary critical analysis in
this area.
The Wretched of the Earth (1961; translated 1963) by Frantz Fanon. This French text is rightly called an enduring classic.
Dealing with the effects of colonialism on the identity and economics of the Third World, Fanon's argument insists on the
relevance of political resistance to literature and its criticism.
African Literature and African Critics (1988) by Rand Bishop. This text discusses a history of African literary criticism,
dealing with contested issues of cultural appropriation, linguistic determination, and literary value.
Chinua Achebe (1990) by C L Inns. This careful analysis of Achebe's novels and their significance usefully contextualizes his
work and provides thorough readings of the narratives.
Reading the African Novel (1987) by Simon Gikandi. A very useful reading of African literatures, both anglophone and
francophone, with close analysis, comparative work, and insightful argument.
Manichean Aesthetics (1983) by Abdul R Janmohamed. A well-argued and interesting polemic on the theory and analysis of
African literatures, examining a range of African literatures and literatures about Africa.
Motherlands (1991) edited by Nasta Susheila. A collection of essays on women's writing from the Caribbean, Africa, and S
Asia.
Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory (1993) edited by Patrick Williams and Laura Chrismas. This collection of
critical essays designates the field as `post-colonial'. The introduction addresses the politics of this designation, and the text
provides a very useful collection of major essays.
Resistance and Caribbean Literature (1980) by Selwyn R Cudjoe. A critical survey of Caribbean novels, drawing from the
English-, French-, and Spanish-speaking traditions in the Caribbean.
British History
Books about breeding and taste, not least in royal circles, stud this list—and tell us, some will say, something of the British
character itself. There is marked insularity too: often, it seems, the British went out into the world only to conquer, to govern or
to disapprove.
See ARCHAEOLOGY (Frere); ART (Conrad); AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Bamford. Brittain, Graves, Hervey, Macmillan):
BIOGRAPHY (Cecil, Donaldson, Longford, Nicolson, WoodhamSmith); DIARIES (Carlyle, Chesterfield, Evelyn. Greville,
Montagu, Pepys): FEMINISM (Hiley, Norris): HISTORY/AMERICAN (Bridenbaugh); POLITICS (Bagehot, Clarke,
Cowling); SOCIOLOGY (Chesney, Reeves, Roberts): TRAVEL (London)
Bacon, Francis Essays (1597) 0 Pungent observations on his own changing world, on man and society, on politics, ambition,
marriage, youth and age, education: all the major issues which concern Bacon as much as they do us.
Bede The Ecclesiastical History of England (731)
King Alfred thought this one of the books "most necessary for all men to know", and it's still fascinating. The history of Britain
from the landing of St Augustine in 597 to the year 731, discussed in elegant, quiet prose.
Blythe, Ronald The Age of Illusion (1963) ti „1
Emotive, with essays on the England of the 1920s-1930s: covers such topics as the General Strike. the Jarrow March. and
Munich. Also: The Aspirin Age
Blythe, Ronald Aketzfield(1969)
First-hand accounts of life in a Suffolk village at the beginning of the 20th century. Pastoral idyll in parts—but poverty,
accident and illness are there as well. People talking about their own lives: the red meat of history. Also: The View in Winter(on
old age). See Bragg; Thompson; SOCIOLOGY (Terkel)
Bragg, Melvyn Speak for England (1976) &If
Oral history of the author's home town of Wigton, Cumbria, in the 20th century. Vivid recollections by ordinary people of their
lives and experiences. Parallel to Thompson (qv). See Blythe; Briggs.
Briggs, Asa (ed) They Saw It Happen, 1897-1940(1960)
a
Last of four volumes (all recommended) covering British history 55 BC–AD 1940. Anthology of first-hand documents,
thematically arranged. The series strongly reinforces the view that history is collective memory, is people not events. Also:
Victorian People; Victorian Cities, etc. See MEDIA
Brown, R. Allen English Castles (1954)
1t J
Castles, the most emblematic of medieval buildings, are an essential study for anyone hoping to understand feudal society; this
book (preferably use the 3rd edition) is the most comprehensive account in English. Also: The Normans and the Norman
Conquest; The Origins of English Feudalism; The Origins of Modern Europe
Burn, W. L. The Age of Equipoise (1964)
Admirable general introduction to the Victorian era; covers social and artistic matters as well as historical events.
Burnet, Gilbert A History of My Own Titne (1723)
Cocky, garrulous, unpopular Scot, who went into exile under James II, came back with William of Orange, ended up Bishop of
Salisbury. Pungent style, excellent information, shrewd insights, obviously prejudiced. An invaluable eye-witness account of
the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth and their turbulent aftermath.
Burton, Elizabeth The Georgians at Home, 1714-1830(1966) &
Daily life in Georgian England: homes and gardens, furniture and artefacts, food, medicine, diversions and amusements. Also:
The Elizabethans at Home; The Jacobeans at Home
Cruickshanks, Eveline Political Untouchables: The Tories and the '45 (1979)
The author tackles the subject of England at the time of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion with aplomb, makes full use of the French
archive material without which the story makes no sense. For specialists, essential; for those interested in the politics of
rebellion, fascinating.
Dillon. M. and Chadwick, N. The Celtic Realms (1967)
DTI
Useful study of pre-Norman British society, essential for understanding the independent cultures of Ireland, Scotland and
Wales, as well as the Celtic underlay of later English culture. Particularly good on religion, literature and art. The History of
Civilization series (from which this comes) is patchy; this volume is excellent.
Elton, G. R. Studies in Tudor and Stuart Politics and Government (2 vols, 1974)
Important collection of articles, mainly on the government of Tudor England, by an influential British historian. Also: The
Tudor Constitution, etc
Ensor, R. C. K. England, 1870– 1914(1936) 10 By far the best of the volumes on modern history in the Oxford History of
England series. Detailed, accurate, sensible.
Feiling, Keith A History of England (1966) A a-1
Basic one-volume history from pre-Roman times to World War II. Clear, readable text gives a swift but not unreliable view of
the flow of events. Superb index; helpful bibliography; useful maps and charts. A model, in short, of what such a book should
be. Also: The Life of Neville Chamberlain; The Second Tory Party, 1714-1832
Fitzgibbon, Constantine Red Hand: The Ulster Colony (1971) Good historical survey of the relations between Ireland and
(particularly) England from the time of Elizabeth Ito the troubled end of the 1960s. Clear-eyed, dismaying read. Also: Out of
the Lion's Paw: Ireland Wins Her Freedom. See Woodham-Smith.
George, M. Dorothy English Political Caricature (2 vols, 1959) A IS
Historians ignore political caricature at their peril; the general reader will be amused as well as informed by this excellent twovolume survey of the great age of caricature, 1700-1832. No subject is sacred: ministers, taxation, the loss of the American
colonies, the French Revolution, Napoleon—all are here.
Glover, Janet R. The Story of Scotland (1960)
Revised 2nd edition best. Series, The Story of . . , generally recommended: crisp, authoritative, concise.
Green, John Richard, English, 1837-1883.
A Short History of the English People. Rec: Lubbock
Harrisson, Tom Living through the Blitz (1975)
The London Blitz, recorded through the war-time reports of Mass Observation. Fascinating record of civilian morale, the
hardships of the home front, and hopes for a better future. (Compare C. Perry: Boy in the Blitz.)
Hibbert, Christopher George IV (2 vols, 1972 - 73)
Fascinating; satisfying. Plumb's dictum on George IV, "never, never a dull moment", is fully justified. Also: The Court at
Windsor, The Grand Tour, London: The Biography of a City. See Plumb; HISTORY/ASIAN
Hill, Christopher The World Turned Upside Down (1972)
it *
Study of radical groups (scientific, religious, political, sexual) during the English Revolution. Essential reading for anyone who
believes that England during the 1640s and 1650s was "Puritan". Also: The Century of Revolution, 1603 - 1714; Milton and the
English Revolution; The Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution
Laslett, Peter The World We Have Lost (1965)
A grass roots—or rather parish register—enquiry in depth into the lives of the ordinary people of 16th- and 17th-century
England. Does for Britain what Demos did for 17th-century America. See HISTORY/AMERICAN (Demos)
Longford, Elizabeth Victoria R. L (1964) A Easy to read, well researched biography, in a different class to Lytton Strachey's
Queen Victoria, which is for those who are looking for imaginative literature, not history. See BIOGRAPHY
Macaulay, T. B. The History of England (4 vols. 1848– 55) A
Old hat, of course; the quintessential Whig historian. Make allowance for his prejudices, and—pace T. S. Eliot—enjoy the
superb narrative style. Famous, long Chapter 3 still gives an unrivalled picture of 17th-century English society. Also: The Lays
of Ancient Rome. See LITERARY CRITICISM
Magnus, Philip King Edward the Seventh (1964)
.1
Workmanlike combination of essential facts with a reasonable ration of titbits. Biographies of Edward VII are a crowded field;
this is one of the very best. Also: Kitchener, William Ewart Gladstone, etc
Mathew, Gervase The Court of Richard II(1968)
A *If
Mathew's study of the literature, art and way of life of Richard and his courtiers uncovers the origins of Renaissance court
culture and of the cult of sensibility. Also: Byzantine Aesthetics
Mattingly, Garrett The Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1959) a Absorbing account based entirely on contemporary record;
more exciting than any fiction. Also: Catherine of Aragon; Renaissance Diplomacy
More, Thomas Utopia (1516)
*RA
Ironic commentary on early Tudor England; the wit and wisdom of the "man for all seasons" and his vision of a new society
won him admirers as diverse as High Tory Anglicans and Russian Leninists.
More, St./Sir Thomas, English writing in Latin, ca. 1477-1535.
Utopia. Rec: Adler Bloom Good Reading Rex Ward
Morgan, Robin, See Sisterhood is Powerful
Neale, J. E. Queen Elizabeth (1934) A _1 Brilliant mingling of scholarship with humane and compassionate understanding of a
woman in high politics. Its only weakness is the somewhat pervasive view that the queen could do no wrong. Also: The
Elizabethan House of Cornrnons; Elizabeth I and Her Parliaments. See Read: Rowse.
Orwell, George The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)
a*
Perceptive, harrowing account of "life on the dole" in the 1930s; helped influence a generation's attitude to the spectre of mass
unemployment. See FICTION/NOVELS; LITERARY CRITICISM; POLITICS
Plumb, J. H. The First Four Georges (1956) *1/ Plumb was the first scholar to stress the complexity of George I; here he
surveys the following three Georges with a similarly unjaundiced eye. Compulsive. Also: Sir Robert Walpole; The Growth of
Political Stability, 1675 – 1725; Chatham, etc. See Hibbert.
Power, Eileen The Wool Trade in English Medieval History (1941) Unlikely-sounding subject; but fascinating and of far more
than parochial interest. Economic history at its elegant best.
Priestley, J. B. English Journey (1934)
Sensitive evocation of England during the early 1930s by famous author and broadcaster.
Read, Conyers Mr Secretary Walsingham and the Policy of Queen Elizabeth (1925)
M., jor study of Elizabethan foreign policy and elucidation of the intelligence system built up and operated by the spiritual
ancestor of MI5 and the CIA. Also: Mr Secretary Cecil and Queen Elizabeth; Lord Burghley and Queen Elizabeth. See Neale;
Rowse.
Rowse, A. L. The England of Elizabeth (1950)
a*
First and best of a series of studies of the Elizabethan age. Better on aristocrats than on what he calls "the idiot people",
especially the Puritans. Furious fun. See Neale: Read.
Rude, George Hanoverian London, 1714– 1808(1971)
3
Marvellous evocation of Georgian London; when and why the churches were built and the squares laid out; shows how the
1715 rebellion affected the capital with its Jacobite versus Hanoverian protagonists. Also: Wilkes and Liberty; A Social Study
of 1763-1774
Scarisbrick, J. J. Henry VIII(1968)
Scarisbrick sees Henry's reign as fractured by the break with the papacy, and portrays the king as a complex, Renaissance ruler,
cruel and cultivated, foolishly intent on war with France, against all reason. Authoritative, accessible.
Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England (1943)
111
Master-work on the subject; another outstanding volume from the Oxford History of England series. Also: The First Century of
English Feudalism Strong, Roy Splendour at Court: Renaissance Spectacle and Illusion (1973)
The politics of spectacle. Fascinating illustrations.
Tawney, R. H. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (1926)
1$
Classic which finally destroyed the concept of "the Puritan Revolution" by showing the connections between Puritanism and
the needs of developing capitalism. Also: History and Society; Equality, etc
Taylor, A. J. P. English History, 1914- 1945 (1965) *
Invigorating survey of 20th-century Britain. Taylor's occasionally idiosyncratic evaluations of people and events only add to
the liveliness of the narrative. Also: The Origins of the Second World War, The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, 1848-1918;
The Habsburg Monarchy, 1815 - 1918. etc. See BIOGRAPHY
Thomas, Keith Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971)
Anthropological and sociological techniques uncover the life and thought of ordinary people in 17th-century England. Book
that transformed its subject: essential reading.
Thomas, Keith, Welsh, 1933- .
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England. Rec:
Counterpunch NF TLS
Thompson, E. P. The Making of the English Working Class (1963) Superb book by one of this century's leading British
historians. Also: Protest and Survive (crucial polemic on need for disarmament). See BIOGRAPHY
Thompson, E. P., English, 1924-1993.
The Making of the English Working Class. Rec: Counterpunch NF ML Nonfiction TLS
Thompson, Paul The Edwardians: The Remaking of British Society (1975)
-1
Based largely on interview material; vividly conveys the texture of grass-roots Edwardian society.
Trevelyan, G. M. England under Queen Anne (1930-34)
di II
Charts the rise, through war and peace, of England as mistress of the seas, an equal of France on land and the cradle of the
Golden Age. Fluent, authoritative style. Also: England under the Stuarts; English Social History British History in the
Nineteenth Century, etc
Wilson, David Harris King James VI arid /(1956)
Fascinating account of the baffling character who united the crowns of England and Scotland and who was a combinationof wit
and pedantry, learning and folly. Woodham-Smith, Cecil The Great Hunger: Ireland, 1845 – 49 (1962)
111 One of the best
books on Irish history. If you are English it should make you blush with shame. Also: The Reason Why; Queen Victoria, etc.
See Fitzgibbon; BIOGRAPHY
European History
This list concentrates, in the main, on the most useful and accessible surveys of this vast subject (the history, in part, of the
whole modern civilization of the West). A few books on specific topics are included (usually where the subject is neglected or
the treatment unique); but for the multitude of specific topics we recommend browsing in the bibliographies of Cantor (qv).
Fisher (qv) and Lichtheim (qv).
See ARCHAEOLOGY (Piggott, Sandars); ARCHITECTURE (Clark, Conant. Harvey, Murray); AUTOBIOGRAPHY
(Kropotkin, Saint Simon, Speer); BIOGRAPHY (Bainton. Bullock, Huizinga, Lachouque, Taylor); DIARIES (Frank);
FEMINISM (Porter, Thomas); MATHEMATICS (Irving, Mendelssohn); MEDICINE (McNeill); POLITICS (Carr, Orwell,
Stern, Trotsky); RELIGION (Deanesly); SOCIOLOGY (Blok, Elias); TRAVEL (Ley, Michener, Polo)
Barraclough, Geoffrey The Medieval Papacy (1968)
Fine study of what many regard as the single most important institution in the history of Western Europe. Brisk; short;
complete. See HISTORY/WORLD
Bloch, Marc, French, 1886-1944.
Feudal Society. Rec: Counterpunch Trans TLS
Strange Defeat. Rec: National Review
Boussard, Jacques The Civilization of Charlemagne ( 1968) _I
Good account of the first unifier of Europe—salutary reading for those illiterati who try to use history as an argument against
European solidarity. If it worked for Charlemagne ...
Braudel, Fernand The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip 11(1973) *
Dextrously interweaves public with private affairs; makes more sense out of the tangled events of this turbulent time than
might have been thought possible.
Braudel, Fernand, French, 1902-1985.
The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Rec: Counterpunch Trans Fadiman 3 TLS
Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century. Rec: Fadiman 3
Calmette, Joseph The Golden Age of Burgundy (1949)
Cantor, Norman F. Medieval History (1963) a ✓ Accessible, authoritative study of Europe in the 2nd-15th centuries.
Particularly good on Church and State; Carolingian section outstanding.
Chandler, David The Campaigns of Napoleon (1967)
II a *
Outstanding; essential companion to the biography by Lachouque. Also: The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough, etc.
See Geyl; BIOGRAPHY (Lachouque)
Churchill, Winston, English, 1874-1965. Nobel Laureate
The Second World War. Rec: ML Nonfiction National Review TLS
The Gathering Storm (Volume 1 of The Second World War). Rec: NYPL
Cohn, Norman Europe's Inner Demons (1975)
0
Scathing, scholarly attack on supposed Devil-worship leading to the witch hunts of the Middle Ages and later. Also: Warrant
for Genocide; The Pursuit of the Millennium
Cohn, Norman, English, 1915- .
The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages. Rec: National Review
TLS
Conquest, Robert, English, 1917- .
The Great Terror. Rec: National Review (history)
Derry, T. K. A History of Scandinavia (1979)
II ✓
Fawtier, Robert The Capetian Kings of France (1960)
*
Fisher, H. A. L. A History of Europe (1936) a ✓
If European history can be covered at all in 1200 pages this book does so.
Froissart, Jean, French, ca. 1337-ca. 1410.
Chronicles. Rec: Bloom
Fussell, Paul, American, 1924- .
The Great War and Modern Memory. Rec: LAT ML Nonfiction
Geyl, Pieter Napoleon. For and Against (1965)
*
Exactly what the title says: the arguments lucidly and elegantly marshalled.
Gilmore, Myron P. The World of Humanism, 1453-1517(1952) a
Characteristic volume from (recommended) The Rise of Modern Europe series.
Grey, Ian Catherine the Great (1961)
it a
Grierson, Edward The Fatal Inheritance (1969)
✓
Urbane account of bloodthirsty, terrible events: Philip II and the revolt of the Spanish Netherlands. Slips down as easily as milk
—but what an aftertaste! See Braudel.
Guicciardini, Francesco, Italian, 1483-1540.
History of Italy. Rec: Ward
Hale, J., Highfield, R. and Smalley, B. (eds) Europe in the Late Middle Ages (1970)
Hart, Basil Liddell History of the First World War(1935)
at a
Authoritative one-volume history of the "war to end wars". Also: History of the Second World War; The Other Side of the Hill.
See AUTOBIOGRAPHY Haskins, Charles H. The Normans in European History (1915) There were few more formative
influences on Europe than the Normans. This unpretentious, well-written survey of their manifold achievements is the best
introduction. Also: Norman Institutions; The Twelfth-century Renaissance
Hole, Edwyn Andalus: Spain under the Muslims (1958)
MI a _I
Readable, popular treatment of an important subject. Fascinating to compare with the Arabian view in Glubb
(HISTORY/ASIAN).
Huizinga, Johan Men and Ideas (1969)
*
Luminous essays by a leading 20th-century scholar and humanist. "The Task of Cultural History-; "Patriotism and
Nationalism"; "Chivalric Ideals"; biographical studies of John of Salisbury, Abelard, St Joan, Erasmus and Grotius. Contains
famous, influential pieces on "The Problem of the Renaissance" and "Renaissance and Realism". See BIOGRAPHY
Huizinga, Johan, Dutch, 1872-1945.
The Waning of the Middle Ages. Rec: Counterpunch Trans GBWW National Review TLS
Jones, Gwyn A History of the Vikings (1969)
&Oaf
Keegan, John The Face of Battle (1976)
*4
The uncharted (perhaps unpalatable) face of much history: an anatomy of the soldiers who stood in line, who did the work.
Their conditions, feelings, reactions. Disturbing, unforgettable book, despite weak conclusions. See Middlebrook.
Keegan, John, English, 1934- .
The Face of Battle. Rec: ML Nonfiction
The Second World War. Rec: National Review
Ladurie, E. le Roy Montaillou(1975)
P*
Pyrenean village, 1294-1324, caught between Albigensian heretics and the Inquisition, brilliantly reconstructed from
contemporary documents. Ordinary community is laid bare as authentically as in a novel. Also: Carnival, etc
Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel, French, 1929- .
Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
The Peasants of Languedoc. Rec: TLS (history)
Larkin, Maurice Gathering Pace (1969)
a
Excellent textbook on continental Europe, 1870-1945. Readable, objective.
Lawrence, D. H. Movements in European History (1921)
Conceived as a school textbook, for money, this "series of vivid sketches of movements and people" encapsulates some of
Lawrence's most idiosyncratic views of the historical process, leadership, political morality. 1971 edition (recommended)
includes later Epilogue on fascism, Russian communism and British democracy post-1918. Rare, fascinating oddity. See
DIARIES; FICTION/NOVELS ; FICTION/SHORT STORIES; LITERARY CRITICISM ; POETRY ; TRAVEL
Lefebvre, Georges, French, 1874-1959.
The Coming of the French Revolution. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Lewis, Peter Later Medieval France (1968)
Lichtheim, George Europe in the 20th Century (1972)
;
Cultural survey, seeking to place political, social and artistic movements in philosophical/historical context. Good on the
decline of bourgeois liberalism, and on the effect of supra-national organizations on the nation state.
Macartney, C. A. and Palrner, A. W. Independent Eastern Europe (1962)
P✓
Authors believe that Eastern Europe between 1919 and 1939 presented a unity, posing an identity of problems and playing a
single crucial role in the development of subsequent political attitudes. This view, persuasively argued, underlies a good
general survey of the area and the period.
Massie, Robert K. Nicholas and Alexandra (1968) it a * ✓ _I
Dispassionate account of moving, tragic events, often more like Dostoyevsky than real life. Good use of diaries, letters and
other first-hand evidence.
Maurois, Andre A History of France (1949) it Is a *
Personal, discursive, engrossing—a great polymath in full control. Third edition (1960) revised (and extended to cover the rise
of de Gaulle).
Middlebrook, Martin The First Day on the Sorrune (1971) a *
Compilation based on hundreds of first-hand accounts. Like Keegan (qv) essential reading for anyone who believes in the glory
and nobility of war. Fine maps and appendices. Also: The Kaiser's Battle; Battleship, etc
Moss, H. L. B. The Birth of the Middle Ages, 395– 814(1935)
Finely written account of the decline of the Roman empire, barbarian settlements in the West, Byzantium, Muslim conquests,
the history of the Franks to Charlemagne, and the early history of the papacy. No Dark Ages here: a luminous, exciting book.
Mundy, J. H. Europe in the High Middle Ages, 1150- 1309(1973) 0
Nelson, W. H. The Soldier Kings (1970)
The house of Hohenzollern, from its shabby 15th-century origins to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II after World War I. Best
read with the pinch of salt provided by E. J. Feuchtwangler in Prussia, Myth and Reality (1970).
Origo, Iris The Merchant of Prato (1957) *
Evocative study of the archives of the Datini family, makes it possible to revive an individual 14th-century merchant in all
facets of his commercial and social life. Pares, Bernard A History of Russia (1926)
Marvellous account to the Revolution, and good on the politics of the succeeding Bolshevik years. Second edition (1947)
extends the story to include Russia under Stalin, by an old man out of sympathy with communism. This dying fall should not
obscure the book's general objectivity and excellence.
Pemoud, G. and Flaissier, S. The French Revolution (1959) *
Story of aristocrats and ordinary people, told entirely in eye-witness accounts.
Psellus, Michael Fourteen Byzantine Rulers (1063-75)
r4 *
Contemporary statesman on emperors and empresses of the Byzantine golden age. Extravagant lives; extravagant, splendid
telling.
Runchnan, Steven A History of the Crusades (3 vols. 1951 -54)
* One of the best, most thrilling historical books of the
20th century, engrossing for specialists, accessible for all. Also: The Sicilian Vespers; The Fall of Constantinople; The Last
Byzantine Renaissance
Ryder, A. J. Twentieth-century Germany: From Bismarck to Brandt (1973)
a -1
Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic, 1178-1241.
Egil's Saga. Rec: Smiley
Heimskringla. Rec: Ward
Prose Edda. Rec: Bloom
Solzhenitsyn, A. I. The Gulag Archipelago (1973) *
Extraordinary, heart-rending report on the lives—and deaths—of the victims of Stalin's repression. The Gulag was the system
of prison camps through which millions of Russians passed in the years before and after World War II. Solzhenitsyn's account
is fervently biased—but how could it be otherwise? As a writer, he has here found his great theme; beside this book his fiction
(worthy enough but grossly overpraised— political rawness is no guarantee of literary quality) pales into its proper subordinate
place.
Southern, R. W. The Making of the Middle Ages (1953)
a*.f
Begins more or less where Moss (qv) leaves off, and ends in 1200. This is the period of the founding of our civilization, and the
author, steeped in every aspect of it, writes quite beyond the range of most historians. Simply outstanding. Also: Western
Society and the Church in the Middle Ages
Sukhanov, N. N., Russian, 1882-1940.
The Russian Revolution, 1917. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Taylor, A. J. P., English, 1906-1990.
The Struggle for Mastery in Europe. Rec: TLS
Thompson, David Europe since Napoleon (1957) 1$ Fat (800 pages), comprehensive, smoothly written. Weaker on culture
than on politics and military history; notably good on 19th-century colonialism.
Tuchman, Barbara The Guns of August (1962)
*
To be compared with Middlebrook (qv), Tuchman's book reminds us again that never in human history was so much folly
manifested by so many as in World War 1—the "Great War", as we ironically call it. Also: A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous
14th Century; The Proud Tower
Tuchman, Barbara, American, 1912-1989.
The Guns of August. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Tyng, Sewell, American, 1895-1946.
The Campaign of the Marne, 1914. Rec: National Review
Tyler, Royall The Emperor Charles the Fifth (1956) 01 -If
Wilmot, Chester The Struggle for Europe (1952)
Outstanding first-hand account of World War II.
Wilmot, Chester, Australian, 1911-1954.
The Struggle for Europe. Rec: National Review
Yates, Frances, English, 1899-1981.
The Art of Memory. Rec: Counterpunch NF ML Nonfiction
This book “drew attention to the key role played by magic in early modern science and philosophy” (Wikipedia)
Walter Jackson Bate
Walter Jackson Bate is the Kingsley Porter University Professor at Harvard and a distinguished scholar of eighteenth- and
nineteenth-century English literature. Among his many books are From Classic to Romantic (1946). The Burden of the Past
(1969) and two biographies, John Keats (1964) and Samuel Johnson (1977), each of which won the Pulitzer Prize for
biography.
Great books are the most valuable means of deepening us as "experiencing natures"; and it is only as experiencing natures that
we can prepare for new challenges.
Benjamin P. Thomas. Abraham Lincoln (1952). New York: Knopf, 1974. (Pb)
The most succinct of the many biographies of one of humanity's greatest heroes.
The Bible. King James version (1611).
Often called the "noblest monument of English prose," the King James version is interwoven with the texture of our speech,
and remains a supreme beacon for the spiritual and moral life of mankind.
James Boswell. The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791). New York: Random House, 1964. (Pb)
The most fascinating of all biographies, and one of universal appeal because its subject shared so deeply almost every aspect of
the experience we all share.
Werner W. Jaeger. Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture (1934). Gilbert Highet, trans. New York: Oxford University Press,
1965. (Pb)
A profound study of what permitted a small people to create the basis of Western culture.
Alfred North Whitehead. Science and the Modern World (1925). New York: Free Press, 1967. (Pb)
Unrivaled in showing what, from the ancient world to the twentieth century, permitted and encouraged the giant adventures of
the mind that have formed our world.
William Shakespeare. Shakespeare: Complete Works (1592-1611). Alfred Harbage, ed. Baltimore: Penguin, 1969.
The most searching example in literature of the interplay of human action presented in language no other writer has equaled.
Stanley Hoffmann
Stanley Hoffmann is a professor of government and the C. Douglas Dillon Professor of the Civilization of France at Harvard
University. Professor Hoffmann has been teaching and writing both about international affairs and about France for thirty
years. Educated in France, he came to Harvard as a teacher in 1955.
All of these books (1) deal with the most fundamental choices—often tragic—individuals are called upon to make, particularly
as citizens, and (2) are works of art and not merely of instruction.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Social Contract (1762). Maurice Cranston, trans. New York: Penguin, 1968. (Pb)
The most powerful attempt to reconcile freedom and authority, self-fulfillment and community. It fails, I think—but what an
impressive and instructive failure.
Leo Tolstoy. War and Peace (1865-69). Louise Maude and Aylmer Maude, trans. George Gibian, ed. New York: W. W. Norton,
1966.
The greatest novel ever written and the most probing attempt to show the effects of war on a diverse group of individuals.
Jean-Baptiste Racine. Andromaque (1667). John Cairncross, trans. New York: Penguin, 1976. (Pb)
Love, revenge, lust, motherhood and the aftermath of the Trojan War, in the perfect poetic mix of passion and formality that is
Racine's genius.
Roger Martin du Gard. Les Thibault (1922-40). New York: Larousse, n.d. (Pb)
Even longer than, albeit not as rich as War and Peace, this is another fresco about individuals and war (the First World War) and
a humane, wise, compassionate and deeply pessimistic study of lives.
Charles de Gaulle. The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle (1954-59). J. Griffin and R. Howard, trans. New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1964.
The epic story of France's fall and liberation, written by the chief actor in the drama, a leader of genius who was also a
magnificent writer.
Raymond Aron. Peace and War: A Theory of International Relations (1962). Richard Howard and Annette Baker Fox, trans.
Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1966.
The most comprehensive study of international politics, which tells us both about the limits and about the possibilities of
empirical theory and explores the dilemma of ethical action in world affairs.
John V. Kelleher
John Kelleher is about to retire as professor of Irish studies at Harvard University. where he is acting chairman of the Celtic
Department. His connection with Harvard began in 1940 as a member of the Society of Fellows—in his words, "to paraphrase
an old joke: the first in the field and the first to leave it.I wrote sketches for recommended readings several times, but they were in lame prose and besides I was put off by the
realization that it wasn't particular books but individual authors that had significantly influenced me. I hope the resulting
compromises may be of use.
Sean O'Faolain. The Finest Stories. Boston: Little, Brown, 1957.
I put down this title because I must record my debt to O'Faolain and because he is best known here for his short stories, but I
could as properly cite his biographies of Irish figures, or his editorials in The Bell (1939-45), or his many studies of the Irish
people and the nation they have been creating. He is supremely the writer as citizen. I know of none so sensitively perceptive
and sane.
James Joyce. Ulysses (1918-20). New York: Random House, 1976. (Pb)
For years I wondered why the book continued to appeal despite the steadily rising barrier of interpretation that surrounds it.
Finally it dawned on me that Ulysses is about the only upbeat masterpiece of this century—and immensely funny too. In its
own artfully tangled way it records the heartening adventures of people of quiet courage.
John Millington Synge. The Playboy of the Western World (1907). New York: Barnes & Noble, 1968.
I think Synge was the greatest of all modern Irish writers. His work is all of a piece, rammed with vitality, and, for all of
Synge's own iron reserve, it has extraordinary emotional range. In this play he also shows that he is a wonderful comic writer
—probably the more so for his basic sense of tragedy.
Eoin MacNeill. Celtic Ireland (1921). Dublin: University Press of Ireland, 1981.
Again one title to indicate my debt to a man's entire work. MacNeill would be happy to know that much of what he wrote is
now outdated. He was that rare type, a great innovative scholar quite without vanity. Almost alone he transformed the study of
early Irish history from apology or polemic to true historiography, and did that happily.
Maria Edgeworth. Castle Rackrent (1800). New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. (Pb)
An extraordinarily seminal work by a woman of genius. It is not only the first true Irish novel, but the first regional novel,
immensely admired in its day and imitated everywhere. Raised in England, brought to Ireland as a young girl, she somehow
learned more about Ireland, present and past, than I am sure she was aware of knowing. The result is a work of vivid realism.
William Butler Yeats. The Poems of W B. Yeats (1887-1939). Richard Finneran, ed. New York: Macmillan, 1962. (Pb)
I cite the latest and most complete edition. Yeats parlayed the damnedest combination of natural gifts, spasmodic learning,
native shrewdness, indomitable dedication, some willful half-beliefs, and a few deep insights—parlayed these into memorable,
powerful poetry. Useful poetry, too, that sticks to the ribs.
Europe: the Emergence of an Idea D. Hay Europe
Europe: a HistoryN. Davies
Europe
The Times Illustrated History of Europe
F. Fernandez-Armesto
Europe
Latin American History
These books catalogue the (continuing) collisions between the Old World and the New, and, less obviously, the progress of one
of the last and bloodiest confrontations between Christianity and ordered pagan civilization. The ideological conflicts of the
wider world are galvanized by technological overkill; but they yield nothing in violent dogma, dogmatic violence, to the deaththroes of the old.
See ARCHAEOLOGY (Deuel); BIOGRAPHY (Madariaga, Morison); MEDICINE (McNeill): MYTHOLOGY (Burland);
SOCIOLOGY (Lewis): TRAVEL (Chadwick)
Boxer, C. R. The Portuguese Seaborne Empire, 1415 - 1825
(1969) Oaf
Portuguese expansion in Asia and in the Americas; stylish general his ,ory of colonial Brazil. Useful background to Freyre (qv)
and Hemming (qv). Also: The Golden Age of Brazil, 1695 - 1750; The Dutch Seaborne Empire, 1600- 1800
Collier, Simon From Cortes to Castro (1974)
a
General history of Latin America to 1973, combined with chapters of social, economic and political analysis. Also: Ideas and
Politics of Chilean Independence, 1808-33
Cunha, Euclides da, Brazilian, 1866-1909.
Rebellion in the Backlands. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Freyre, Gilberto The Masters and the Slaves (1933) P* *
According to one critic (Tannenbaum), the creation of national identity and pride, which in Mexico required "a bloody
revolution, untold suffering and the loss of a million lives", was achieved in Brazil "by this one man and this one book". Also:
The Mansions and the Shanties-, Order and Progress
Gerbi, Antonello The Dispute of the New World: The History of a Polemic, 1750- 1900 (1973) p
Masterpiece of intellectual history traces in witty, learned style the origins and development of the great debate on the alleged
inferiority of both man and environment in the Americas.
Gibson, Charles The Aztecs underSpanish Rule (1964)
0P
History of Mexico from the Spanish conquest to 19th-century independence, reconstructed with scholarly care and told with
sympathy and objectivity. Also: The Inca Concept of Sovereignty and the Spanish Administration in Pent; Spain in America
Hennaing, J. Red Gold: The Conquest of the Brazilian Indians, 1500 - 1800(1976)
Well-researched, readable corrective to Freyre's (qv) somewhat roseate view of Brazilian racial integration; powerful case
study of this central, if grim, theme in Latin American history. Also: The Conquest of the Incas
Hennessy, Alistair The Frontier in Latin American History (1978)
9
Something of a misnomer. Sees the frontier (political, military, economic, racial) as a central theme of Latin American history
from the Conquest to the present; this allows coverage of a wealth of topics (some neglected in conventional narrative
histories). Difficult, but worthwhile.
Katz, Friederich The Ancient American Civilizations (1972) ita-1 Stimulating analysis of pre-Columbian civilizations,
particularly good on social and economic structures (less so on art and literature); usefully points the way to further reading.
Also: a major study of Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution, in preparation and should be worth waiting for.
Lynch, John The Spanish American Revolutions, 1808 –26 (1973) Good general study of the independence movements which
liberated Latin America from Spanish colonial rule, concentrates on Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico. Also: Spain
under the Habsburgs
Meyer, Jean A. The Cristero Rebellion: The Mexican People between Church and State, 1926-29(1976) Pa./
A brilliant account by French historian of the "alternative" Mexican Revolution, focusing on the Catholic peasant revolt of the
1920s but illuminating wider aspects of religion and politics in modern Mexico. Also: The A merican Revolution, 1910-40
Parry, J. H. The Spanish Seaborne Empire (1966)
&a/
Probably the best general account in English of the Spanish empire in the New World. Also: The Age of Reconnaissance;
Europe and a Wider World
Prescott, William H. History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843)
109
One of those monumental narrative histories which (rightly or wrongly) historians seldom now attempt; describes Cortés's
conquest of the Aztec empire in grandiloquent style and with immense local detail—even though Prescott never once himself
set foot in Mexico. Also: History of the Conquest of Peru
Thomas, Hugh Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom (1971)
Pa J
Comprehensive history of Cuba from the Spanish conquest to Castro (concentrating attention on the modern period). Prolix,
chaotic. Also: The Spanish Civil War
Wachtel, Nathan The Vision of the Vanquished: The Spanish Conquest of Peru through Indian Eyes, 1530-1570(1976)
Poignant contrast to Prescott's (qv) account; draws on Indian sources to give Indian perspective.
Womack, John Zapata and the Mexican Revolution (1968)
Pedants cavil at the book's colloquial style, and the social scientists at its dearth of sociological analysis; it remains the best
work in English on the Mexican Revolution.
World History
A convincing, definitive synthesis of world history remains to be written. For future master-masons, these books may offer
guidelines; for the rest of us, interested visitors to the quarry. they are intriguing, rough-hewn blocks announcing a potential
they cannot yet fulfil.
Barnes, Harry Elmer, American, 1889-1968.
A History of Historical Writing. Rec: Ward
Barraclough, Geoffrey The Times Atlas of World History (1978) v * Geographical, historical, cultural and military
information clearly and concisely displayed. Essential reference book, and a model of its kind. See HISTORY/EUROPEAN
Bowra, M. et al Golden Ages of the Great Cities (1952)
Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Paris, Venice, Vienna, London, New York—each described at a moment of cultural or historical
supremacy by one of a galaxy of respected historians.
Cambridge Modern History (1957)
Fourteen-volume standard history of the world since the Renaissance. Essential work of reference, flawed only by excessive
concentration on Europe.
Carr, E. H., English, 1892-1982.
What is History?. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Collingwood, R. G., English, 1889-1943.
The Idea of History. Rec: National Review TLS
Durant, Will The Story of Civilization (1935) &RI Multi-volume one-man's view of human history and achievement. Durant's
style is lucid and elegant. His judgements can seem selective and glib; but this remains a monumental work, at once stimulating
and unique.
Durant, Will and Ariel, American, 1885-1981 and 1898-1981.
The Story of Philosophy. Rec: Good Reading
The Story of Civilization. Rec: Fadiman 3
Fukuyama, Francis, American, 1952- .
The End of History and the Last Man. Rec: National Review
Grenville, J. A. S. A World History, 1900– 1945 (1979) 09 Wide-ranging, authoritative study by a leading scholar. Also: Lord
Salisbury and Foreign Policy; Europe Reshaped, 1848 -1878
Grun, B. The Timetables of History: A Chronology of World Events (1975)
Fascinating compendium of dates and events.
Herzl, Theodor, Austrian, 1860-1904.
The Jewish State. Rec: NYPL
Johnson, Paul, English, 1928- .
Modern Times. Rec: National Review (history)
Kennedy, Paul, English, 1945- .
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Rec: TLS
Roberts, J. M. The Hutchinson History of the World (1976) a * /
Ambitious attempt at a full history of the world from earliest times to the present day. Compression; judgement—an impressive
achievement. Also: Europe, 1880-1945; The Mythology of the Secret Societies
Spengler, Oswald, German, 1880-1936.
The Decline of the West. Rec: Boston PL
Toynbee, A. J. Cities of Destiny ( 1967)
Magnificent history of the city—its origins, development and ultimate domination of the civilized world. See
HISTORY/ANCIENT
Toynbee, Arnold, English, 1889-1975.
Armenian Atrocities: The Murder of a Nation. Rec: NYPL
A Study of History. Rec: Adler ML Nonfiction TLS
Civilization on Trial. Rec: Adler
Vico, Giovanni Battista, Italian, 1668-1744.
New Science of Giambattista Vico. Rec: Aquinas Bloom Seymour-Smith Ward
Wells, H. G. A Short History of the World (1922)
Still the most accessible brief world history. Displays many of Wells' prejudices, but is coherent and perceptive. See
FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SF
Ernest R. May
Ernest May is a Texan, educated in California, who has been a professor of history at Harvard since the 1950s. A former dean
of Harvard College, he is currently the Charles Warren Professor of History and teaches at the Kennedy School of Government.
He is author, coauthor and editor of works on the history of the United States, modern international relations and the uses of
history for decision nicking.
My choices offer the reader the opportunity to extend his own range of experience five hundred years back and across a variety
of political systems.
William H. Prescott. History of the Conquest of Mexico (1839). Abridgment, Gardiner C. Harvey, ed. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1966. (Pb)
Prescott's account of Cortez' expedition is the first history I read that held me as much in thrall as any novel. He made me see
that almost incredible adventure.
Harold G. Nicolson. Peacemaking 1919 (1933). New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1965.
Part reminiscence, part history, part spleen, part analysis, this is the best case study of an international conference ever written
in English. It still helps me understand better how outcomes in negotiation can be affected by factors of personality,
temperament, age, comparative fatigue, staging, and the like, which do not necessarily surface in documentary records.
Eckart Kehr. Schlachtflottenbau and Partei-Politik 1894-1901. Berlin: E. Ebering, 1930.
This monograph on the German naval building program of 1898-1902 is justifiably renowned among historians of Germany
and of international relations. It is a finely crafted analysis of how domestic parliamentary politics influenced a national policy
supposedly "above politics." I read it as a graduate student, and it has continuously influenced my own research and teaching—
much of which has dealt with the same theme, played in a number of other settings.
Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz. Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communications
(1955). New York: Free Press, 1964. (Pb)
This pioneering study of the ways "opinion leaders" shape public opinion was to me enormously enlightening. No other book
has helped me so much to understand democratic processes.
Richard E. Neustadt. Alliance Politics. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970. (Pb)
For my mind, this study of the Suez and "Skybolt" crises of 1956 and 1962 plays counterpoint to Eckart Kehr's. It explores the
ways court and organizational politics influence outcomes consciously (and conscientiously) designed to be "nonpolitical."
Bernard Bailyn. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1965). Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967. (Pb)
This book argues compellingly that Americans and Englishmen of the 1770s saw issues differently in part because they had
different histories in their heads. They read differently the lessons of the English seventeenth-century revolution which was
their common heritage, and they respected different authorities and traditions. As so graphically developed by Bailyn, the
example of the American Revolution has helped to keep in my own mind—I hope—awareness not only of the varieties of
perception possible among seemingly similar individuals but also of what a German philosopher labeled (with uncharacteristic elegance) the Gleichzeitigkeit der Ungleichzeitigkeiten—the contemporaneous existence of things noncontemporaneous.
Richard Pipes
Richard Pipes is the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of History at Harvard and has been a member of the Harvard faculty since
1950. From 1981 to 1982, Professor Pipes was director of Eastern European and Soviet affairs on the National Security
Council. His many works include: Survival Is Not Enough (1984): U.S.-Soviet Relations in the Era of Détente (1981): and
Formation of the Soviet Union (1954).
I did not provide a list of the most important books but only of those which have had a strong personal influence on me. They
may do nothing for others.
Friedrich Nietzsche. The Basic Writings of Nietzsche (1872-95). Walter Kaufman, ed. and trans. New York: Modern Library,
1968.
The first author to make a great impression on me was Friedrich Nietzsche, whom I "discovered" at the age of fifteen. I
devoured all he wrote (in the original German). He suited well my adolescent sense of rebellion. Once I reached seventeen I
found him less and less palatable, and I have not been able to read him since.
Rainer Maria Rilke. Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke (1897-1923). Stephen Mitchell, ed. New York: Random House,
1982.
The poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke I first read at the age of nineteen or twenty. Its profound lyricism, its serenity have affected
me more than any other poetry and do so to this day.
Francois P. Guizot. The History of Civilization in Europe (1828). William Hazlitt, trans. Darby, Penn.: Arden Library, 1983.
I discovered this book while I was a soldier and it showed me that history can be a form of philosophy and literature. It
persuaded me to become a professional historian.
The Bible (so-called "Old Testament").
I first read it late, at the age of twenty-eight or so, in connection with tutoring in history and literature, where it was obligatory.
I was overwhelmed by nearly all of it, but especially the Book of Job and the Psalms.
Michel de Montaigne. Selections from the Essays (1595). Donald M. Frame, ed. and trans. Arlington Heights, III.: Harlan
Davidson, 1973. (Pb)
I tried to read the Essays (in the Florio translation) at the age of twenty-five but it bored me. Then I read it again at the age of
forty-seven and found it the wisest book ever written. I never fail to be impressed and influenced by Montaigne's outlook.
Sir Max Beerbohm. Works and More (1930). St. Clair Shores, Mich.: Scholarly Press, 1969.
Max Beerbohm has had a much smaller influence on me and yet I love reading him: his quiet elegance, detachment, serenity
appeal to me greatly, as does his exquisite humor. I first read him when I was fifty or so.
Thomas C. Schelling
Thomas Schelling is the Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Political Economy at Harvard's John F Kennedy School of
Government and a professor in the Department of Economics. He is the author of numerous works including The Strategy of
Conflict (1961), Arms and Influence (1966), Micromotives and Macrobehavior (1978), and Choice and Consequence (1984).
In addition to teaching at Harvard since 1958, he is director of Harvard's Institute for the Study of Smoking Behavior and
Policy, which fulfills his research interest in addictive and habitual behaviors and other issues in self-management. His other
research interests include national security and climate changes.
These books give readers a taste of the best in natural science, social science, classical and modern history and literary style.
Charles Darwin. The Origin of Species (1859). New York: Penguin, 1982. (Pb)
I have had a fascination with evolutionary biology, provoked by such beautiful books as George Gaylord Simpson's This View
of Life, but had never picked up a copy of Darwin's original work until ten years ago. I have rarely had such pleasure and
excitement in reading a sustained piece of scientific reasoning and presentation of evidence. It is technically accessible to any
intelligent reader. It is a genuinely participatory experience.
Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War (ca. 431-404 B.C.). Richard Livingstone, ed. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1960.
I knew that classical Greece produced people at least as smart as people anywhere today, but until I read this I had no idea how
modern they were in their thinking. Nothing written in this century can touch Thucydides (or the people he quotes) for subtlety
of political and diplomatic discourse and strategy. I like Rex Warner's translation in the Penguin edition, but some readers may
need large print. If you like it go on to Herodotus and Xenophon.
Erving Goffman. Interaction Ritual: Essays in Face-to-Face Behavior (1967). New York: Pantheon, 1982. (Pb)
I was hooked on Goffman from the time I read "On Face Work," the first essay in this collection. If you like this try "Stigma,"
"Forms of Talk," and "Asylums." He looks at the same people we look at doing the same things we see them doing, and he sees
things we can't see without his help. He once pointed out to me that a woman can be naked with her husband without
embarrassment, naked with her sister without embarrassment, but not naked without embarrassment in the presence of both.
Laurence Sterne. Tristram Shandy (1759-67). New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. (Pb)
I bought a copy in 1943 because it fit in my pocket and I was vaguely aware that it was a classic. I read it for an hour on a
streetcar and was captivated by the story, the style and the purported author. It is an endlessly digressive autobiography that
begins with his conception and barely gets up to his birth. Sterne writes a lovely, leisurely sentence that can wind on for three
hundred words and you never lose your way or have to look back.
John Keegan. The Face of Battle (1976). New York: Penguin, 1983. (Pb)
I have a book on baseball that says fear is the fundamental factor in hitting, and hitting with the bat is the fundamental act of
baseball. For John Keegan, a distinguished military historian, fear is the fundamental factor in exposing oneself to enemy
weapons, and exposing oneself is the fundamental act of corn-bat, as he vividly describes, at the level of the individual soldier,
the battles of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme. A superbly thoughtful history of military combat.
Lloyd Weinreb
Lloyd Weinreb has been a professor of law at the Harvard Law School since 1965. His specialties are criminal law and legal
philosophy. In addition to his textbook, Leading Constitutional Cases on Criminal Justice, he has published Denial of Justice
and Law of Criminal Investigation.
Homer. The Iliad (ca. 800 B.C.). Robert Fitzgerald, trans. New York: Doubleday, 1975. (Pb)
The great epic, full of the grandeur and pain of the human condition.
Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colon us (ca. 441-401 B.c.). New York:
Penguin, 1984. (Pb)
The unlimited tragic vision. The meaning of human freedom is laid bare.
William Shakespeare. King Lear (1605). New York: Penguin, 1984. (Pb)
Everyone must choose which of Shakespeare's plays is closest to him. In this end, I return most often to Lear. The Tempest is a
close second.
Michel de Montaigne. Selections from the Essays (1595). Donald M. Frame, ed. and trans. Arlington Heights, Harlan
Davidson, 1973. (Pb)
Montaigne is a wise, compassionate friend to accompany one throughout life, ready to converse about every important subject,
whatever one's mood.
James Joyce. Dubliners (1914). New York: Penguin, 1976. (Pb)
Small lives seen closely enough to disclose eternal truths. Ulysses is as good for the same reason.
William H. McNeill. The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community (1963). Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1970. (Pb)
Truly great history.
McNeill, William H., American, 1917- .
The Rise of the West. Rec: Fadiman 3 ML Nonfiction
HISTORY: INTRODUCTION
John Stewart
The study of the past is something that has fascinated human societies from at least the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans,
and before this in certain eastern cultures. This does not mean, however, that those who study the human past in a scholarly
way, that is professional historians, can necessarily agree on the usefulness or otherwise of such a pursuit. For some, history
can provide a guide, albeit an imprecise one, to an understanding of the present and, more problematically, the future. Others
see this as an unrealistic or pretentious claim for history, arguing instead that its virtues lie in such matters as evaluating
evidence and in beginning to understand the complexities of human existence. The latter group tend to be `conservative' in their
historical practice, and are unhappy about any alliances between history and other disciplines such as sociology. Such debates
go to the heart of what we mean by `history', and the books listed below provide an introduction to these debates from a
number of different standpoints.
Not to know what took place before you were born is to remain for ever a child.
MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO
History and Social Theory (1992) by Peter Burke. This work argues for a closer relationship between history and the social
sciences, and for the use of appropriate'theory' in historical study. A number of case studies are also provided suggesting how
such a relationship might work in practice. Burke is a distinguished historian in this field, and his arguments therefore come
right from the heart of the debate.
What is History? (1961) by E H Carr. A controversial figure, Carr claimed a 'scientific' basis to historical study, while
acknowledging, in a famous phrase, that history was an `unending dialogue between past and present'. Of particular concern to
his critics, however, was his definition of historical `facts'. Although difficult to defend nowadays as a whole, this work was
significant not least in provoking other historians to try and describe and analyse exactly what it was they did when
undertaking research and writing.
The Practice of History (1967) by Geoffrey Elton. The late Geoffrey Elton was one of the most articulate exponents of the
more `traditional' approach to history. In this work he reveals, clearly and lucidly, the kind of painstaking procedures a historian
has to go through in order to produce a useful piece of historical research. Elton also makes clear his scepticism about any
predictive or `scientific' qualities which might, mistakenly, be attributed to history. In part, this work is a response to Carr.
Return to Essentials (1991) by Geoffrey Elton. In a sense, the title says it all. Elton attacks those who would distort history by
seeking to force historical evidence into pre-determined theoretical patterns. Instead, Elton seeks to emphasize the traditional
historical practices of which he himself was such an admirable exponent. This book is worth reading alongside Marwick, Tosh,
and, especially, Burke.
What Is History Today? (1988) edited by Juliet Gardiner. This is a collection of essays on the different branches of history political history, economic history, and so on - by experts in the various fields. Clearly written and with a useful introduction,
this work brings out both the diversity of historical study and the range of opinions about its value.
The Nature of History (1989) Arthur Marwick. Writing in a witty and provocative style, Marwick seeks to show the 'necessity
of history', by which he means the need for societies to study and attempt to understand the past in order to be able to make
sense of present-day society. The book also deals with such topics as the development of historical studies and the problematic
nature of primary sources.
Introduction to History (1986) by the Open University. Designed for an Open University distance-learning course, and
written by Arthur Marwick, this is one of the best places for any newcomer interested in the nature of historical study to start.
Marwick carefully takes readers through various meanings of the word `history', and again argues the case for the necessity of
society's understanding its historical origins. There are a number of video recordings also associated with this course which, if
access can be gained to them, further illustrate the points being made.
The Pursuit of History (1991) by John Tosh. Like Marwick, Tosh sees a necessity for historical study. His work is particularly
useful in alerting readers to some of the main types of historical study, and to recent developments such as the use of
quantitative methods.
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HISTORY
Geraldine Pinch
The birth of Egyptology is usually dated to Jean Francois Champollion's decipherment of the Egyptian hieroglyphic script in
1822. Egyptologists are concerned with every aspect of the civilization of ancient Egypt; not just with those topics, such as
pyramids and mummies, that have caught the popular imagination. Egypt is important in the history of humanity as the first
large state to be ruled by a central government. The `pharaonic' culture created in the late 4th millennium BC lasted for over
3,000 years and produced some of the world's most impressive art and architecture. In spite of the huge quantity of surviving
remains, and frequent new discoveries, many aspects of life in ancient Egypt remain mysterious.
I now proceed to give a more particular account of Egypt; it possesses
more wonders than any other country, and exhibits works greater than
can be described, in comparison with all other regions; therefore more must
be said about it. The Egyptians, besides having a climate peculiar to themselves,
and a river differing in its nature from all other rivers, have adopted customs
and usages in almost every respect different from the rest of mankind.
HERODOTUS
Ancient Egypt: A Cultural Atlas (1980) by John Baines and Jaromir Malek. A reliable introduction to ancient Egyptian
history and culture. It includes a guide to all the main ancient sites with many excellent maps and plans.
Ancient Egypt: The Land and Its Legacy (1988) by T G H James. A journey through Egypt describing the surviving towns,
temples, and tombs. A beautifully illustrated book that combines impeccable scholarship with sensitivity to the atmosphere of
ancient sites.
Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization (1989) by Barry J Kemp. A thought-provoking study of the political, social, and
economic life of the ancient Egyptians written by a leading archaeologist.
Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt (1982) by Erik Hornung (translated by John Baines). A challenging book for anyone
seriously interested in understanding the complex world of ancient Egyptian religion.
Building in Egypt: Pharaonic Stone Masonry (1991) by Dieter Arnold. A detailed, technical book that answers every
conceivable question about how the pyramids, and all the other great monuments, were built.
Egyptian Painting and Relief (1986) by Gay Robins. An essential, brief guide to understanding and enjoying Egyptian
paintings and sculptured reliefs. It explains the materials, methods, and unique conventions of ancient Egyptian art.
Egyptian Hieroglyphs (1987) by W V Davies. The best short introduction to the languages and scripts of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egyptian Literature volumes 1-3 (1973, 1976, 1980) by Miriam Lichtheim. These books allow the ancient Egyptians to
speak for themselves. They include translations of stories, love poems, royal inscriptions, and passages from the famous Book
of the Dead
Akhenaten, King of Egypt (1988) by Cyril Aldred. A comprehensive study of a ruler who has been called `the first individual
in history'. It explores the religious reforms of the `heretic pharaoh' and his wife Nefertiti, and the troubled history of the
controversial Amarna period.
The Complete Tutankhamun (1990) by Nicholas Reeves. A full, and magnificently illustrated, account of the reign of the boy
pharaoh Tutankhamen, and of the astounding contents of his tomb.
GREEK AND ROMAN HISTORY
Graham Ley
There is an abundance of general histories of both Greece and Rome, which vary from the lavishly illustrated to detailed
studies of the available archaeological and literary evidence about events and personalities. I have included in this list primarily
books that provide a reliable overview of extensive periods, and that incorporate in an accessible form the results of continuing
scholarship. The Greek and Roman historians, of whom the most important for general study are Herodotus and Thucydides
(for classical Greece) and Livy and Tacitus (for republican Rome and the early Roman Empire), have been translated in the
Penguin Classics series. Also fascinating, for their suggestive portraits of individuals, are the biographies written by Plutarch
(of Greek and Roman military and political leaders) and by Suetonius (of the early Roman emperors).
It will be enough for me if these words of mine are judged useful by
those who want to understand clearly the events which happened in the
past and which (human nature being what it is) will, at some time or
other and in much the same ways, be repeated in the future.
THUCYDIDES
The Routledge Atlas of Classical History (1971; revised edition 1994) by Michael Grant. A graphic presentation of the major
historical events and eras.
The Historians of Greece and Rome (1969) by S Usher. An informative and accessible introduction to the major ancient
writers themselves.
The Fontana History of the Ancient World (1976 onwards) by various authors. A comprehensive and accessible multivolume
account by specialists, which pays attention to social and cultural history as well as to economics, military affairs, and politics.
The volumes are: Early Greece by O Murray, Democracy and Classical Greece by J Davies, The Hellenistic World by F
Wallbank, Early Rome and the Etruscans by R Ogilvie, The Roman Republic by M Crawford, The Roman Empire by C Wells,
The Later Roman Empire by A Cameron.
The Early Greeks (1976) by R J Hopper. A clear and interesting survey of Greek history from the Minoan period to the
emergence of the classical Greek city-state.
The Greek World 479-323 BC (1983) by Simon Hornblower. Probably the best short survey of a crucial period in Greek
history, which saw the rise and decline of classical Athens.
The Miracle That Was Macedonia (1991) by N Hammond. A recent account of the growth and apogee of Macedonian power
under Philip and his son Alexander the Great by a leading historian.
Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age (1990) by Peter Green. A detailed picture of the
changing historical and cultural relations in the Mediterranean in the period of the gradual decline of Greek power, and of the
growth of Rome.
A History of the Roman World 753-144 BC (1980) by H Scullard. A continually revised, authoritative history of the first six
centuries of the Roman republic.
The Roman Revolution (1939) by Ronald Syme. The classic study of the transformation of the Roman republic into a
principate under Augustus.
For up-to-date studies of the Roman Empire, in its earlier and later periods, I should recommend the books by Wells and
Cameron in the Fontana series.
Three other books deal with areas that may be of particular interest to readers: The Roman Invasion of Britain (1980) by
Graham Webster;
Greeks, Romans and Barbarians (1988) by Barry Cunliffe; The Ancient Economy (1984) by M Finley.
ANCIENT MIDDLE EASTERN HISTORY
Stephanie Dailey
The civilizations that once flourished in the Middle East have been uncovered gradually during the past 150 years. Their
numerous and varied writings on stone and clay are still being excavated and are mostly deciphered, so that we can reconstruct
very ancient life and literature in astonishing detail. Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Canaanites, Elamites, and
Persians are all linked together by their use of cuneiform (wedge-shaped) writing, by trade and empire, and by splendid cities.
They made extraordinary progress in are, architecture, astronomy, and technology, and we are only just beginning to appreciate
the true extent of their achievements.
It is indeed one of the most remarkable facts in history, that the
records of an empire, so renowned for its power and civilisation, should have
been entirely lost; and that the site of a city (Nineveh) as eminent for its extent
as its splendour, should for ages have been a matter of doubt; it is not perhaps
less curious that an accidental discovery should suddenly lead us to hope that
these records may be recovered, and this site satisfactorily identified.
AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD
Ancient Iraq (1980) by George Roux. A beautifully constructed account which introduces Mesopotamian history and culture
to the nonspecialist.
The Greatness That Was Babylon: A Survey of the Ancient Civilization of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley (1988) by Harry W F
Saggs. An excellent overview showing clearly why this civilization ranks among the foremost in world history.
Mesopotamia (1991) by Julian Reade. A brief, elegant account containing brilliant illustrations taken mainly from the superb
collections in the British Museum.
Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East (1990) by Michael Roof. This fine book gives an overview of the
whole subject, beginning with the remarkable prehistoric cultures. It is lavishly illustrated throughout the text.
Ancient Near Eastern Art (1995) by Dominique Collon. If you ever got the impression that the Egyptians and Greeks
invented fine architecture or freestanding statues, carving in very hard stone or narrative sculpture with lifelike scenes to take
your breath away, read this and think again.
Myths from Mesopotamia (1991) by Stephanie Dailey. Even earlier than the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Mahabharata, the
ancient Mesopotamians were writing epics and myths that still have power to compel modern man. These translations are
eminently readable, and show how scholars have pieced together the oldest stories in the world.
Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History (1992) by J Nicholas Postgate. An original and fascinating
book which combines archaeology and texts to give new insights into the development of ancient civilization. Beautifully
illustrated too.
From the Omens of Babylon: Astrology and Ancient Mesopotamia (1994) by Michael Baigent_ This remarkable book, by a
nonspecialist who has taken great care with the scholarly material to write an account that is highly readable, is the envy of
specialists. It shows that Chaldaean astrologers did not become famous worldwide without good cause, and how their learning
contributed to humanism in the Renaissance.
The Hittites (1990) by Oliver R Gurney. This remains one of the best books to describe the ancient Indo-European people of
Anatolia who took over much of the learning of Mesopotamia and helped to transmit it to Hebrews and Greeks.
The Bible and Recent Archaeology (1987) by P Roger and S Moorey. An extensive revision of Kathleen Kenyon's book of
1978. It relates with great clarity and fine photographs how the tricky linkage between archaeology and the Bible continues to
excite furious debate.
MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN HISTORY
Simon Hall
Since World War II, medieval historians have pioneered alternatives to the traditional, event-based study of history. Today,
most medievalists attempt either to present a snapshot recreation of medieval culture as a whole - intellectual, economic, and
material - from as wide as possible a selection of its surviving records, or to trace long-term changes in the ideas, economic
trends, technology, demography, and even environment of the medieval world. The following selection offers an introduction to
both traditional and new medieval history.
These may seem small things ... but taken together they build up a complicated sense of the past, which must always be made
up of small things vividly perceived.
R W SOUTHERN
The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe (1992) edited by George Holmes. A superbly illustrated, modern,
thematic introduction which combines both traditional and new approaches.
Cambridge Medieval History 8 volumes (1923-36) by various authors. A multi-volume series offering the most authoritative
traditional account of the Middle Ages.
Feudal Society (1965) by Marc Bloch. A ground-breaking analysis by an extraordinary historian and Resistance hero that
helped to create the new approach to history.
The Making of the Middle Ages (1953) by R W Southern. The best short introduction to the medieval world, transcending the
division between traditional and new history, by possibly the greatest British medievalist of all.
The World of Late Antiquity (1971) by Peter Brown. An outstanding short, illustrated introduction to the early medieval
period, from AD 200 to about 800, packed with thematic insights.
The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined (1978) by Georges Duby. The most influential book by the most celebrated
modern French medievalist, tracing the emergence, importance, and disappearance of a concept fundamental to medieval social
thought.
Reason and Society in the Middle Ages (1978) by Alexander Murray. An exploration of all aspects of the interaction between
the mental and real worlds of medieval Europe.
Medieval Monasticism (1984) by C H Lawrence. A straightforward factual introduction to one of the most complex and
important features of medieval culture, and one of the most alien to modem readers.
Medieval Civilization (1988) by Jacques Le Goff. A unique combination of narrative history with an analysis of time and
space, material culture, Christian society, and mentalities, sensibilities, and attitudes in medieval Europe.
THE RENAISSANCE
Martyn Rady
The Renaissance is commonly considered to extend from the 14th to the 16th century. The Renaissance was a cultural
movement which sought to restore the forms of classical Roman and Greek civilization which had been lost during the period
of the Middle Ages. This restoration involved not only an, architecture, and sculpture, but also a renewal of interest in Latin
and Greek texts, poetry, and drama. The Renaissance had its place of birth in Italy, in particular in the courts of the north Italian
princes who acted as patrons of the arts. Italy was also the home of the earliest humanists, so called because of their interest in
`human letters' (hierae hurnaniores): poetry, literature, and history. The humanists edited classical works, the original texts of
which had been corrupted during the Middle Ages, and sought to perfect the Latin and Greek languages used in their own day.
The Renaissance spread out from its Italian birthplace during the 15th century and affected an, architecture, and literature
across most of Europe.
The 16th century ... runs from Columbus to Copernicus, from
Copernicus to Galileo, from the discovery of the earth to the discovery
of the heavens. That as when man found himself.
JULES MICHELET
Cultural Atlas of the Renaissance (1993) by C F Black and others. A very well-illustrated volume which covers the principal
trends of the period.
The Art of the Renaissance (1963) by Peter Murray and Linda Murray. Another well-illustrated book which concentrates
primarily on developments in an and architecture in Italy.
The Italian Renaissance in its Historical Background (1961) by Denys Hay. The author investigates not only the values and
meaning of the Renaissance in Italy but also its political background and subsequent dissemination north of the Alps.
The Renaissance in National Context (1992) edited by Roy Porter and Mikulas Teich. Although the volume includes several
chapters on the Renaissance in Italy, the bulk of the work is devoted to the Renaissance in northern Europe. It thus provides a
valuable counterweight to the `Italianocentric' approach of most books on the Renaissance.
The Impact of Humanism on Western Europe (1990) by Anthony Goodman and Angus MacKay. Provides a thorough
survey of the humanist 'programme' and includes discussion of the relations between humanism and the Reformation, court
patronage, and magic.
Renaissance Europe 1480-1520 (1971) by J R Hale. Provides valuable and entertaining social, religious, economic, and
cultural background.
Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects (1550; several translations) by Giorgio Vasari. Vasari records the biographies of
the leading Italian artists from Cimabue and Giotto in the late 13th century to Leonardo and Michelangelo in his own day.
The Prince (1513) by Niccolo Machiavelli. By separating politics and government from theology and ethics, The Prince may
be considered one of the first works of political science.
PROTESTANT REFORMATION
Martyn Rady
The Protestant Reformation began as a reaction to the theology and practices of the Catholic church. It is frequently considered
to have commenced in 1517 when the German monk Martin Luther launched a public attack on the Catholic practice of selling
indulgences, which were documents absolving the purchaser from sin. Luther's protest and his desire to `purify' and reform the
church won him immediate and wide-spread support in Germany. The success of Protestantism in Germany owed much,
however, to the backing of the princes who protected Luther and established churches of their own independent of the pope.
The movement of religious protest and renewal begun by Luther was given clarity and coherence by the Swiss reformer John
Calvin, who composed his seminal theological text The Institutes of the Christian Religion in Geneva during the 1530s. By the
middle years of the 16th century, Germany, Scandinavia, England, Scotland, the Low Countries, and large parts of France and
central and eastern Europe had been won over to the Protestant Reformation. The reaction of the Catholic church (known as the
Counter-Reformation) was to define its theology more closely, to eliminate abuses, and to urge the persecution of Protestants.
All the strength, all the weakness of the German character was
reflected and magnified in his [Luther's] passionate temperament, its
tenderness and violence, its coarseness in vituperation and old-fashioned
Biblical piety ... its conviviality and asceticism, its homely common sense and
morbid self-scrutiny, its paroxysms of contrition and heady self confidence.
H A L FIsR
Reformation Europe 1517-1559 (1963) by G R Elton. Provides a thorough historical account of the origins and early
development of the Reformation in Europe.
Reformation and Society (1966) by A G Dickens. A well-illustrated text which covers the principal themes of the period. The
author explains the popular appeal of the Reformation with reference to the social conditions of the period and the role of the
printing press in the dissemination of ideas.
Luther: His Life and Work (1963) by Gerhard Ritter. A leading German scholar explains not only the life and theology but
also the popular appeal of Martin Luther.
Martin Luther: Selections from his Writings (1961) edited by John Dillenberger. Luther's writings still retain, even in
translation, a strong and emotive power.
John Calvin (1975) by T H L Parker. An introduction to Calvin's life and work which explains his theology in simple and
straightforward terms.
Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany (1987) by R W Scribner. A collection of essays which
analyse the progress and impact of the Reformation from the point of view of popular belief, hierarchy, and social
anthropology.
The Catholic Reformation (1971) by Pierre Janelle. A Catholic scholar traces the history of the Catholic or CounterReformation and discerns its origins in a movement for reform within the Catholic church which actually predates
Protestantism.
The Dutch Revolt (1977) by Geoffrey Parker. From the middle of the 16th century onwards, the conflict between
Protestantism and the revived Catholicism of the Counter-Reformation led to military contests in Germany, France, and the
Low Countries. This book traces the history of the most violent of these confrontations.
MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY
Glyn Redworth
The transformation of Europe between the Reformation and the 20th century is impossible to contain in one list. The period is
characterized by the growth of powerful nation-states, whose antagonism had bloody consequences. It is also the age when
capitalism came of age, and was too often unrestrained by notions of the common good. The democratic liberties championed
during the French Revolution were not to be matched by economic and social liberties until this century.
And which is the first of these rights? That of existence. The first
social law is, therefore, that which assures every member of society of
the means of existence; all other laws are subordinate to it.
MAXIMILIEN ROBESPIERRE
The Perspective of the World (1979) by F Braudel. The third volume of this monumental work deals with the 15th to 18th
centuries, and is no means confined to Europe. A masterpiece, it sets the scene for the economic and global setting of the rise of
modern Europe.
The Thirty Years' War (1987) by Geoffrey Parker. Well illustrated, especially with maps, this gives an account of a conflict
which still can claim to herald the beginning of a new phase in European politics. After 1648, wars are fought for secular rather
than religious reasons.
The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age (1987) by Simon Schama. A
breathtaking essay on an and representation in the first affluent culture of modem Europe.
Origins of the French Revolution (1980) by William Doyle. Recognized as the best introduction to the epoch of liberty,
fraternity, and equality.
Spain: 1808-1975 (1982) by Raymond Can. More wide-ranging than it appears. Liberalism was invented in early-19th-century
Spain, and this account is an excellent introduction to efforts, in vain in Spain's case, to face the challenge of modernization.
The Russian Empire 1801-1917 (1967) by H Seton-Watson. A classic account of Russia's expansion of influence both in the
Balkans and, territorially, into Asia. Its readability and authority make it a classic.
The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (1969) by C A Macartney This period is examined in detail, though the poignancy of the
Dual Monarchy is nowhere more vividly brought alive than in the novels of Joseph Roth.
Selected Writings of Karl Marx (1977) edited by David McLellan. This makes the works of the father of communism
accessible. After all, Harold Wilson claimed he could never get beyond the first page of Das Kapital. A close study of Marx's
own works reveals a more humane and sympathetic figure than the pronouncements of latter followers might suggest.
20TH-CENTURY EUROPE
M R D Foot
By the beginning of this century, Europe was the world's dominating continent; by the end of it, it had been displaced by North
America, of which the predominance in turn was under threat from east Asia. Two European civil wars each spread into a
world war, in 1914-18 and 1939-45, with catastrophic effects within Europe and out-side it. From World War II, the partEuropean colossus of the USSR emerged strengthened, till its own internal contradictions destroyed it later in the century. At
the western end of the continent, the French and the Germans, long opposed as enemies, formed the core of a European
common market of which the principal aim was to prevent any more major European civil wars. Minor national differences can
still make fierce trouble, as the current crisis in Bosnia shows: the catastrophe of 1914 began at Sarajevo, and it is unclear
whether more such catastrophes can ever be stopped. At least European powers no longer own many colonies.
Other regions' claims to displace Europe in the centre of our world picture are impressive. Africa, despised and disordered,
boasts antiquity of human settlement; Asia encloses mature civilizations; North America is commercial by its economic might,
South America by its rapid development; the Pacific rim by economic promise and achievement alike. All this competition has
shrunk
Europe's share of the map but has also forced Europeans into an increased dependence on each other and an enhanced
European solidarity. They can no longer afford the internecine squabbles of the era of European world hegemony.
FELIPE FERNANDEZ-ARMESTO
Millenium (1995) by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto. Explains how Europe secured its temporary predominance over the other
continents; it ranges far back in history - so much the better.
The Rise and Fall of Great Powers (1988) by Paul Kennedy. Also goes back, though only half as far as Fernandez-Armesto,
before the 20th century; more diplomatic and less cultural in its coverage.
Europe 1880-1945 (1967) by John Roberts. An unusually lucid account of the diplomatic and political wrangles that attended
the turn of the century and the two world wars.
The Myriad Faces of War (1986) by Trevor Wilson. Outstanding among the shelves-full of books that cover the Great War of
1914-18, which brought down four European empires and precipitated two revolutions in Russia.
A History of the Modern World (1983) by Paul Johnson. Begins with Lenin's revolution in Russia, and runs on into the early
1980s: Europe in these years cannot be considered in isolation from the rest of the world.
Lenin: Life and Legacy (1994) by Dmitri Volkogonov. Turns three generations of belief and misbelief upside down: a
masterpiece of revisionist history.
The Oxford Companion to the Second World War (1995) edited by I C B Dear. Presents current scholarship on its formative
subject.
The Age of Terrorism (1987) by Walter Laqueur. May well make its readers' hair stand on end: perils remain around us.
The Century of Warfare (1995) by Charles Messenger. Not confined to Europe, this is nevertheless Eurocentric.
THE HOLOCAUST
David Cesarani
The Holocaust was the first and only time that a state set out to annihilate every man, woman, and child of a designated group,
wherever they lived, and however long it took. No other genocide has approached the intensity of the genocide against the
Jews. Yet Nazi racial thinking had terrible consequences for other groups, too. There are varying explanations of why it
happened, and why the Jews and the free world responded as they did. These are issues that haunt us today since genocide is
clearly not a thing of the past. The Holocaust also lives on in the experiences of the survivors and has become a subject for
artists, filmmakers, and novelists.
I could understand the desire to dissect history, the strong urge to close in
on the past and the forces shaping it; nothing is more natural. No question is
more important for our generation which is the generation of Auschwitz,
or of Hiroshima, tomorrow's Hiroshima. The future frightens us, the past fills
us with shame: and these two feelings, like those two events, are closely linked,
like cause to effect. It is Auschwitz that will produce Hiroshima, and if
the human race should perish by the nuclear bomb, this will be the punishment
for Auschwitz, where, in the ashes, the hope of man was extinguished.
ELIE WIESEL
The Racial State - Germany, 1939-1945 (1991) by Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wipperman. A superb dissection of Nazi
racial policy and practice, revealing how Jews, black people, Gypsies, gays, as well as other German men, women, and youth,
were all adversely affected by Nazi race-thinking.
The Holocaust. The Fate of European Jewry (1990) by Leni Yahil. The most comprehensive one-volume account. Rich in
detail, yet easy to read.
The Holocaust in History (1989) by Michael Marcus. A concise work that effortlessly blends an outline of the Holocaust with
a discussion of how the study of the subject has evolved, including accounts of the main controversies.
Atlas of the Holocaust (1988) by Martin Gilbert. A valuable work of reference which, like his epic chronicle The Holocaust
(1987), draws on survivor testimony to give a shocking blow-by-blow record of the catastrophe.
The Terrible Secret (1982) by Walter Laqueur. A precise and damning examination of how much the free world knew about
the `final solution' and how politicians, the press, and public opinion responded to the news.
The War Against the Jews (1975) by Lucy Dawidowicz. Although the account of Nazi policy is dated, this classic short
history sympathetically explained Jewish responses for the first time and has hardly been bettered.
Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp (1994) edited by Yisrael Gutman and Michael Berenbaum. The latest scholarship
gathered together to unravel the complex history of the largest concentration camp and killing centre which has come to
symbolize the Holocaust.
Out of the Whirlwind - A Reader of Holocaust Literature (1976) edited by Albert Friedlander. A fine collection of stories,
extracts from novels, memoirs, and poetry by survivors that takes us as close as possible to the `heart of darkness'. It includes
extracts from the writing of Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel.
One by One by One. Facing the Holocaust (1990) by Judith Miller. For the survivors the Holocaust did not end in 1945: it
echoed on in their lives, touching their children, too. Every country involved in World War H had to confront its role in the
`final solution', a much delayed and painful process that is explored in perceptive essays on six different countries.
FRANCE
M R D Foot
France emerged gradually from the wreck of Charlemagne's empire. It was threatened by the Viking dukes of Normandy, who
became lungs of England, and at one stage of the Hundred Years' War owned about half of France's present territory, but were
expelled by force of arms. Another threat came from the dukes of Burgundy, with whom the French crown eventually secured a
marriage alliance. Religious wars in the 16th century were succeeded by a strong monarchy, run in turn by Cardinal Richelieu,
Jules Mazarin, and Jean-Baptiste Colbert; which, late in the 18th century, ran out of cash. Revolution followed; so did terror;
resolved by Napoleon Bonaparte's empire, which died of military overextension in 1814-15. The 19th century saw seven
different regimes in France; for the last quarter of it, the Third Republic was relatively stable, as industrial development began.
An immense historical literature, most of it in French.
The Princess [Mathilde] was a portly little lady, with a startling
resemblance to her uncle Napoleon. `If it weren't for him, I'd rather be
selling oranges in the streets of Ajaccio,' she would say, in the gruff,
plebeian voice of the Bonapartes. She sat, wearing a string of black pearls,
in a humble armchair to which her presence somehow gave the air of a
throne. She liked to feel that she was no stickler for etiquette, and would
allow the ladies only to begin the movements of a curtsey before pulling
them up by main force for an embrace; while the gentlemen, once they had
shown their intention of kissing her hand, would receive an informal handshake.
GEORGE D PAINTER
The Earliest Times (1927) by F Funck-Brentano (translated by E F Buckley). Provides an old-fashioned medievalist's guide.
The Middle Ages (1922) by F Funck-Brentano (translated by E O'Neill). Does the same.
France, Mediaeval and Modern (1918) by Arthur Hassell. Also has an old-fashioned ring today.
The Ancien Regime and the Revolution (1856, several recent translations) by Alexis de Tocqueville. Though much older, has
a much more modem ring - the author fore-saw the growth and the perils of democracy - and is still well worth reading.
France (1898) by J E C Bodley. Long the standard work. Begins at the revolution of 1789.
France (1969) by Douglas Johnson. A much more modem treatment, but also deals mainly with events since 1789.
Marcel Proust (1959) by George D Painter. Though it runs over from the 19th century to the next, this is one of the best of
biographies, and gives a splendidly complete picture of the society of its day.
The Development of Modern France 1874-1959 (1940; revised edition 1967) by D W Brogan_ Remains much the best
account of its subject; affectionate, sometimes wayward, always interesting.
Grandeur and Misery of Victory (1930) by Georges Clemenceau. Covers the virtual dictatorship that saved France from
Germany in 1917-18.
De Gaulle (1992) by Jean Lacouture. In two volumes, a life of France's saviour in the following world war.
GERMANY
Bob Moore
The study of 19th-century German history really began to flourish in the 1970s and 1980s when historians began to look for the
origins of the country's turbulence in the 20th century. The amount of literature is enormous and the choices inevitably highly
selective, but the following do represent a cross-section of the best standard works in the period and its leading personalities.
Germany is a queer country: one can't regard it dispassionately. I alternate
between hating it thoroughly, stick stock and stone, and yearning for it fit to break
my heart. I can't help feeling it a young and adorable country - adolescent - with
the faults of adolescence.
D H LAWRENCE
German History 1770-1866 (1989) by James Sheehan. On the history of Germany before unification, one cannot do better
than this book which surveys the development of the Germanic states through the final years of the Holy Roman Empire and
through the Napoleonic period into the 19th century, charting both the successes and the failures. Essential if one is to
understand the federal nature of the post-1871 German Empire and the role of Prussia within it.
A History of Germany 1815-1985 (1987) by William Carr; Germany 1866-1945 (1981) by Gordon Craig. Overlapping or
adjoining the previous book are two other survey histories. Both have long timespans and have their own particular strengths.
Again, one of these two should be considered essential reading.
Origins of the Wars of German Unification (1991) by William Can. Provides a comprehensive account of the political and
military circumstances which brought the German Empire into being. It includes all the debates, including the role of Otto von
Bismarck and the fiendishly complex Schleswig-Holstein question which so bedevilled statesmen of the period.
Imperial Germany 1871-1914: Economy, Society, Culture and Politics (1994) by Volker Berghahn. This is exactly what the
title suggests, namely an all-embracing survey of the `Second Empire'.
Bismarck: The White Revolutionary (1990) by Lothar Gall. No reading list on 19th-century Germany would be complete
without a biography of its leading statesman, Otto von Bismarck. There are many available, but the outstanding one of the
present era is undoubtedly Gall's. Similarly one cannot ignore the Emperor Wilhelm II. As one of the key figures in late-19thcentury Germany, both his life and times demand attention. The following two titles are recommended: The Kaiser and His
Times (1964) by Michael Balfour, and The Kaiser and his Court (1994) by John Rohl.
The Peculiarities of German History (1984) by David Blackbourn and Geoff Eley. This gives a more detailed insight into the
debates on late-19th-century German history and beyond.
ITALY
Glyn Redworth
The geographical or cultural idea of Italy has existed since classical times, but it was only at the end of the 19th century that
Italy became a political reality as well. Italian history is a series of invasions and betrayals, and it is perhaps little wonder that
Italy gave birth to Machiavellianism.
There is, in fact, no law or government at all,
and it is wonderful how well things go on without them.
LORD BYRON
Italy and her Invaders ten volumes (I880s) by T Hodgkin. This work has not been superseded as an enthralling account of the
various barbarian invasions which followed the decline of Rome.
History of the Popes (1886-89; translated 1891) by Ludwig Pastor. Another 19th-century masterpiece. Not easy to find, but a
good library will be able to help. This work cannot fail to be readable owing to the colourful lives of many of the Roman
pontiffs.
Kingdom of the Sun (1970) by John Julius Norwich. A lovingly penned account of some of Italy's less well-known invaders,
the Normans, whose empire based on Sicily was one of the most fascinating of medieval societies.
The Prince (1513; translation by G BW1 1970) by Niccolo Machiavelli. Available in Penguin, as well as many other editions.
His Discourses (1531) on Roman history are possibly even more shocking to the 20th-century moralist, but it is worth
remembering that Machiavelli himself was a remarkably unconventional civil servant who was chastised by his superiors for
being long-winded.
The Bourbons of Naples (1956) by Harold Acton. A fascinating account of one of Europe's most hedonistic dynasties.
Italy in the Age of the Risorgimento 1790-1870 (1983) by Harry Hearder. Deals with the period in which Italian nationalism
led to the creation of a united and independent state.
Mussolini (1981) by Denis Mack Smith. A well-written life of II Duce by Britain's leading historian of modern Italy.
A Political History of Italy: The Post-War Years (1983) by N Kogan. Bravely tackles the almost impossible.
RUSSIA TO THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY
Martyn Rady
A Russian principality, with its capital in Kiev, reached during the early Middle Ages from the Baltic Sea almost to the Black
Sea. Kievan Russia was destroyed. how-ever, by the Mongol-Tatars in the 13th century. In the 15th century, petty princelings
from Moscow (Muscovy) began to extend their power across northern and central Russia, defeating other Russian princes and
eventually overcoming the Mongol-Tatars themselves. Ivan III (1462-1505) is commonly considered the fast ruler of Muscovy
to have assumed the title of tsar, or emperor. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the tsardom of Muscovy extended its territory
across Siberia and into the Ukraine. It was not until Peter the Great (1682-1725), however, that Muscovite Russia became a
European power. Peter not only engaged in substantial military and diplomatic activity across Europe but sought to reform the
Russian state to make it akin to the states of western Europe. Although Peter built a new, Western looking capital in St
Petersburg and obliged the nobles to shave their beards and dress in European fashions, he did not abolish the institution of
serfdom. Nor did he establish any representative organs which might limit the autocratic powers of the tsar. Despite its major
role in the defeat of Napoleon, Russia remained until the end of the 19th century economically backward and with a despotic
system of government.
I have begun to sense what Russian writers have long revealed: that
this is a place where the human spirit is made to struggle, thereby
becoming fuller as well as more repressed.
GEORGE FEIFER
A History of Russia (1993) by Nicholas V Riasanovsky. A comprehensive account of Russian history which includes chapters
on Russian culture, economy, and society.
Russia under the Old Regime (1974) by Richard Pipes. A thematic treatment of Russian history which seeks to explain the
origins of Russian autocracy, serfdom, and economic backwardness.
Pipes, Richard, American, 1923- .
The Russian Revolution. Rec: National Review
The Russian Chronicles: A Thousand Years that Changed the World (1990) edited by Tessa Clark; more than 30
contributors. A survey of Russian history from the earliest times which is supported by extracts from contemporary documents
and by illustrations.
Medieval Russia: A Source Book, 850-1700 (1991) by Basil Dmytryshyn. Provides useful extracts from Russian law codes
and chronicles as well as descriptions given by contemporary visitors.
Prince A M Kurbsky's History of Ivan IV (1965) edited by J L I Fennell. A con-temporary account of the life of Ivan IV
(1533-84), reputedly the most brutal and ruthless of the tsars of Muscovy.
Peter the Great: His Life and World (1981) by Robert K Massie. A vivid and comprehensive biography by a leading popular
historian.
The Cossacks (1969) by Philip Longworth. A history of the Cossacks of the steppeland and of the Ukraine, whose freebooting
way of life fell victim to Russian expansion in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Journey for Our Time: The Journals of the Marquis de Custine (1953) by P P Kohler A French account of a journey to
Russia in 1839 with some very telling observations on the nature of the Russian state and society.
Reed, John, American, 1887-1920.
Ten Days That Shook the World. Rec: Boston PL NYPL
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Simon Baskett
The two countries that now make up the Iberian peninsula have experienced a turbulent history, at time overlapping and
intertwining, at others completely separate. The physical diversity of the peninsula has contributed to a many-stranded history,
and its geographical location in Europe has led to an almost unique intermingling of cultures from Europe itself, Africa, and the
Mediterranean. From the time of the first settlers arriving from N France in the early Stone Age, the peninsula has been
exposed to the influence of a whole host of different peoples, from the Greeks and Romans to the Visigoths and the Moors,
each leaving behind a distinct legacy.
In particular the Moorish conquest and subsequent Reconquista left an indelible imprint upon the whole peninsula. Both
countries have experienced imperial grandeur followed by rapid decline, both have laboured under long-lasting dictatorships in
the 20th century, and both have had to undergo the traumatic transition to democracy. The imperial past of the two countries
has meant that they have been a shaping force in the histories of five continents: Africa, North and South America, Asia, and, of
course, Europe. There is little doubt that the subject of Portuguese history has been relatively neglected in terms of Englishlanguage books and this is reflected in the book list.
A dry, barren, impoverished land. A peninsula separated from the continent of Europe by the mountain barrier of the Pyrenees isolated and remote. A country divided within itself, broken by a high central table-land that stretches
from the Pyrenees to the southern coast. No natural centre, no easy
routes. Fragmented, disparate, a complex of different races, languages,
and civilizations - this was, and is, Spain.
J H ELL1oTT
For a century and a half, from the mid-15th to the late 16th century,
Portugal was the supreme power across the oceans of the earth. Its wealth,
from its dominions and monopolies across the globe, was dazzling, the
grandiose effect of the grandest of causes: discovery.
MARION KAPLAN
The Quest for El Cid (1989) by Richard Fletcher. An illuminating study of the 11th-century nobleman and soldier-genius. It
provides an essential background to Moorish Spain and paints a vivid picture of Spain at this time.
Islamic Spain 1250-1500 (1992) by L P Harvey. A richly detailed account of this pivotal period in Spain's history from the fall
of Seville to the Reconquista. It covers matters political, social, diplomatic, and cultural. Scholarly and comprehensive.
Spain 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict (1991) by Henry Kamen. An extremely thorough and up-to-date survey of Spanish
history between these dates. It deals with the rise and fall of the imperial greatness of Spain. Kamen highlights the problems
and tensions within Spanish society, and manages to create a fully integrated picture of all aspects of Spain at this time.
Imperial Spain: 1469-1714 (1990) by J H Elliott. The standard work on the Spanish Golden Age. It is elegantly written,
highly readable, and is characterized by thorough research throughout.
Philip II (1995 3rd revised edition) by Geoffrey Parker. Entertaining, accurate, and revealing portrait of the most powerful man
of his age, based upon Philip's personal papers and memoranda. Philip is brought to life in this compelling biography.
The Golden Age of Spain (1971) by Antonio Dominguez Ortiz. Interesting back-ground on the literature, the arts, religion,
economy, and society as well as the politics of Golden Age Spain.
The Spanish Armada (1988) by Colin Martin and Geoffrey Parker. A fascinating and impressive book vividly recreating the
story behind the Armada. It makes use of the latest research and lays some of the old myths to rest. Well illustrated and a
thoroughly good read.
The Portuguese Seaborne Empire (1991) by C R Boxer. An entertaining account of the deeds of the pioneers of maritime
expansion, and the missionaries, soldiers, colonists, and merchants involved in the whole enterprise. Alternatively, A World mi
the Move: The Portuguese in
Africa, Asia and America 1415-1808 by A J R Russell-Wood provides an equally fascinating study of the first and one of the
greatest colonial empires.
A Concise History of Portugal (1993) by David Birmingham. Highly accessible and true to its title - concise; running through
Portuguese history up to the 1990s. Includes sections on Brazilian wealth, the wine trade, ties with England, and membership
of the European Community, as well as the more obvious political history of topics such as the era of the liberal monarchy and
the Antonio Salazar dictatorship.
They Went to Portugal Too (1990) by Rose Macaulay. An enduring account of Portugal as it once was; it deals with British
travellers to Portugal, combining some excellent stories and entertaining anecdotes interwoven with the history of the country.
THE LOW COUNTRIES (NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM)
Bob Moore
The history of the Low Countries has not generally been well served by books in the English language. For many years, there
was no great publishing tradition among Dutch academics and even when books did start to appear, publishers seldom saw the
need to produce English editions. As a result, many of the key texts listed here have been written by 'foreigners', with English
and North American authors leading the way. Another distortion has been the immense interest in the Golden Age of the 17th
century and the relative neglect of more recent periods. Obtaining a balance does mean that some of the cited works have been
available for a long time, but this does not detract from their importance or readability.
I know some Persons of good sense and even of Quality that have no
clearer notion of `em tho' they are next door to us, than they have
of the Mandarins in China; and what u worse, think themselves no
more obliged to know the one than the other ...
BERNARD MANDMI.LE
The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness and Fall 1477-1806 (1995) by Jonathan Israel. A volume from the Oxford History
of Early Modern Europe. A comprehensive history which incorporates the latest scholarship but with a lightness of touch. An
ideal, if not essential, starting point.
Rise of the Dutch Republic (1856) by John Lothrop Motley. A great book, not so much for the analysis which has been
undermined by subsequent scholarship, but for its descriptions. His account of the siege of Leiden is a real classic. No recent
edition but its early popularity means that copies can still be found in libraries and second-hand bookshops.
The Dutch Revolt (1979) by Geoffrey Parker. Just to set the record straight. The best recent scholarship on this colourful and
turbulent period.
The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age (1988) by Simon Schama. How does
one begin to provide reading on the Golden Age? Schama has his own inimitable style and a particular way of examining his
subject which is always entertaining and often thought-provoking.
Culture and Society in the Dutch Republic During the 17th Century (1974) by J L Price. A more straightforward analysis
of the period but a work which has stood the test of time.
Daily Life in Rembrandt's Holland (1962) by Paul Zumthor. Delivers some solid detail on everyday Dutch society in the
Golden Age.
Plain Lives in a Golden Age (1990) by Adriaan van Duersen. A more recent work covering some of the same ground, and
widely recommended by specialist historians and art historians of the period.
The Dutch Seaborne Empire (1965) by C R Boxer. A series of essays on maritime expansion, which was an essential element
in the history of the Dutch republic.
The Low Countries 1780-1940 (1978) by E H Kossman. By far the best example of a common approach used by many Dutch
and Flemish historians of the 19th and 20th centuries to combine the history of both the Netherlands and Belgium.
The Politics of Accommodation: Pluralism and Democracy in the Netherlands (1968) by Paul R Waibel. A work of political
science, but one which provides an under-standing of how contemporary Dutch politics and society are organized.
Literature of the Low Countries: A Short History of Dutch Literature in the Netherlands and Belgium (1971) by Reinder P
Meijer. Perhaps the only general survey on Dutch and Flemish literature.
EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE (TO THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY)
Martyn Rady
East-Central Europe is the term frequently used nowadays to refer to the lands lying between Germany and the historic Russian
(later Soviet) frontier. It thus includes modem Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and the Balkans.
East-Central Europe is mainly Slavonic-speaking, but it also has large pockets of German, Hungarian, Romanian, and Albanian
speakers, as well as Jews and Gypsies (Roma). Although during the Middle Ages, the territory of East-Central Europe included
a number of independent kingdoms, it was dominated from the 14th century onwards by the empires. The Ottoman Turkish
empire occupied the Balkans, while modern-day Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, and parts of Romania and
Serbia were ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs.
At the end of the 18th century, the independent Polish state was partitioned between Prussia, Russia, and Habsburg Austria.
During the 19th century, the peoples of East-Central Europe were strongly affected by the ideology of nationalism and sought
to establish their own independent nation-states. Nationalism led to several abortive uprisings in the region, most notably in
1848. Several independent states were established in the Balkans during the late 19th century, but the rule of empires persisted
in most of East-Central Europe until the end of World War I.
Historical Atlas of East Central Europe (1993) by Paul Robert Magocsi. Contains not only maps and tables but brief
explanations of the principal historical developments in the region.
East Central Europe in the Middle Ages (1994) by Jean Sedlar. A thorough, thematically arranged survey of the region
during the medieval period.
A History of the Habsburg Empire 1273-1700 (1994) by Jean Berenger. Traces the origins and growth of the Austrian
Habsburg monarchy in East-Central Europe.
Eastern Europe, 1740-1985: Feudalism to Communism (1986) by Robin Okey. A valuable and comprehensive introduction
to the more recent history of the region.
The Fall of the House of Habsburg (1963) by Edward Crankshaw. Traces the history of the Habsburg monarchy in the 19th
century with particular reference to the fortune and fate of the ruling dynasty.
Hungary: A Short History (1962) by C A Macartney. A thorough account of Hungarian history from the earliest times.
Czechoslovakia at the Crossroads of European History (1990) by Jaroslav Krejci. Written before the split-up of
Czechoslovakia, this remains the first substantial English-language history of the country to be written since World War II.
God's Playground: A History of Poland (1981) by Norman Davies. A masterful and entertaining account of Polish history.
Arranged chronologically, the volumes are divided by the late-18th-century partition.
History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (1983) by Barbara Jelavich. Despite its title, this work
provides substantial historical material on the medieval and early modern periods. The bulk of the text is devoted to the wars of
national liberation fought against the Ottoman Turks in the 19th century.
Danube (1989) by Claudio Magris. A travelogue which by its historical and cultural references yields a mine of observations
and insights into the region.
A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia (1995) by David Crowe. Provides the first detailed history of one of
East-Central Europe's largest and most neglected minorities.
The Everyman Companion to East European Literature (1993) by R B Pynsent and S I Kanikova. Gives biographies of
East-Central European authors, and guides to the major literary trends in the region.
The Bridge on the Drina (1959) by No Andric. A historical novel about a bridge in Bosnia, set between the 15th and the 20th
centuries.
BRITAIN: CELTIC HISTORY
Martin Henig
The three lists on early British history (Celtic, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon to Norman) cover a period approximately from the 7th
century BC until the 12th century AD. Nevertheless they cannot be entirely chronological. Celtic languages and an survived the
Iron Age and Celtic culture reached its apogee in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in the early Middle Ages. Although the
traditional date for the end of Roman Britain is around AD 410, the provincial population can still be recognized, especially in
western England, long afterwards, and besides traces of political continuity the Christian church seems to have had some
Romano-British roots. The Normans - Vikings who had been settled in northern France for little more than a century - failed to
extirpate the distinctive language and an of the Anglo-Saxons. The books selected here are ones I have found exciting to read
and consult or, in two cases, to write. If there is a bias it is towards the cultural aspects (art, language, and literature) which
define the `souls' of these heterogeneous peoples.
Although people speaking Celtic languages had probably been present in Britain at least from the beginning of the 1st
millennium BC, it is only with the arrival of the La Tene art style in the 5th century with its characteristic and familiar Sscrolls, and with brief notices by Romans and Greeks from the 1st century BC onwards, especially Julius Caesar, Tacitus, and
Dio Cassius, that they can be said to enter the light of history. Caesar shows us that Britain was fragmented into tribes often at
war with one another and the position had not changed a century later. Nevertheless, despite their bloodthirsty ways and a
religion which included human sacrifice, the abstract art of British smiths had reached a high level of virtuosity and beginnings
had been made in introducing a monetary economy and in founding oppida, the precursors of Roman cities, at such places as
Camulodunum (Colchester), Verulamium (by modem St Albans), and Calleva (Silchester).
All the Bretons dye their bodies with woad, which produces a blue colour, and this gives them a more terrifying appearance in
battle. They wear their hair long, and shave the whole of their bodies except the head and the upper lip.
JULIUS CAESAR
Iron Age Communities in Britain (1974) by Barry Cunliffe. This is the standard work on the subject, especially good on
settlement and the economy.
Iron Age Britain (1995) by Barry Cunliffe. A more concise and accessible version of Professor Cunliffe's views, even better
illustrated.
The Celtic World (1995) edited by Miranda J Green. This is a massive compendium by numerous authors discussing all
aspects of the Celts, but very properly with an insular bias. It is, perhaps, an encyclopedia for library use rather than for the
general book buyer but it will be consulted with profit for years ahead.
Exploring the World of the Celts (1993) by Simon James. Although the production is sometimes irritatingly trendy, this is the
best general book on the Celts in all their aspects in Britain and beyond.
The Pagan Celts (1986) by Anne Ross. Dr Ross is a passionate enthusiast for all things Celtic, with a wide knowledge of later
insular literature. Her wide learning is very apparent in this book, originally published in 1970 with the more accurate title of
Everyday Life of the Pagan Celts.
Pagan Celtic Ireland. The Enigma of the Irish Iron Age (1994) by Barry Raftery. Although `Irish' and `Celtic' sometimes
seem to be the same thing today, La Tene culture was evidently an imported phenomenon, confined to the northern half of the
island. Whatever the language of Ireland previously, culture and for the most part the population shows strong continuity from
the Bronze Age past. This is a very important book showing that invasion is not necessary for cultural change.
The Druids (1968) by Stuart Piggott. Here is the classic study of the well-known priestly caste and its place in Iron Age
society, together with the story of the reinvention of the Druids by romantics and mystics in much more recent times.
Celtic Art from Its Beginnings to the Book of Kells (1989) by Ruth Megaw and Vincent Megaw. This is the best book on
Celtic art in general, including insular art. It is superbly illustrated.
`The Work of Angels': Masterpieces of Celtic Metalwork 6th-9th Centuries AD (1989) edited by Susan Youngs. This is the
catalogue of one of a series of exhibitions which really brought the past alive. No better proof is needed than this one that the
greatest achievements of the Celts lay in post-Roman times. Included are works of art produced by the Picts of Scotland,
Britons in western England and Wales, and of course Irish artists.
The Roman Conquest of Britain (1993) by Graham Webster. This is a classic trilogy to compare, for example, with that by
Steven Runciman on the Crusades. Dr Webster explores through archaeology and historical sources the epic clash between
Celts and Romans. It comprises revised editions of The Roman Invasion of Britain 1980, Rome against Carataeus 1981, and
Boudica 1978.
ROMAN BRITAIN
Martin Henig
The Roman period begins with the invasion of four legions of the Roman army at the behest of the emperor Claudius, but quite
quickly the leaders of native society were led to see the benefits of being incorporated into an empire which was generous in
granting citizenship and political rights and encouraged the amenities of civilized life, including baths and banquets. With the
exception of a serious outbreak of revolt among the Iceni tribe led by their ferocious queen Boudicca, aimed as much against
other Britons as the Romans themselves, there was little trouble except in the frontier regions. Archaeology has revealed the
prosperity of town and country, the flourishing of the arts, and a vibrant intermixture of Roman and native religion. In the 2nd
century and beyond, virtually everyone thought of him- or herself as a Roman. When, from a combination of external
circumstances, the Roman Empire disintegrated in the early 5th century, the Britons were one of the fragments that considered
themselves heirs to the empire.
They create a desolation and call it peace.
PUBLIUS CORNELIUS TACITUS
The Oxford Illustrated History of Roman Britain (1993) by Peter Salway. This is the revised and illustrated edition of a
book first published in 1981. This is the fullest and most readable overview of the subject, with many photographs in black and
white and colour, although regrettably these lack scales.
Roman Britain (1995) by Martin Millett. Dr Millett is less concerned with the traditional version of Roman Britain centred on
the doings of the army and more interested in the more subtle processes of cultural change. The book is both thoughtful and
accessible.
Agricola (AD 97) by Cornelius Tacitus (translated 1970 as The Agricola and the Germania). One of the great classics of Latin
literature. Tacitus' encomium on his father-in-law offers a near-contemporary account of one of Roman Britain's most
influential governors.
Hadrian's Wall (1987) by David J Breeze and Brian Dobson. This is a lively account of Britain's most famous Roman
monument. It deals with life on the Wall as well as military topics and should be in the luggage of any visitor.
The Towns of Roman Britain (1974) by John Wacher. Towns were the most characteristic institutions of the Roman Empire.
This book has proved its worth over the years by bringing together all the evidence from place names, topography, inscriptions,
and archaeology.
The People of Roman Britain (1988) by Anthony Birley. By means of a skilled use of inscriptions and other written sources,
Professor Birley introduces us haltingly and fleetingly to the actual inhabitants of the province. This book gives a surprising
insight into social history.
Religion in Roman Britain (1995) by Martin Henig. In this book I have tried to show that Roman tolerance towards and
encouragement of religion was a profound agent of cultural change. Religion reflects both popular beliefs and profound faiths,
some of which struck root in Britain.
Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 500 (1981) by Charles Thomas. In this very important work Charles Thomas assembles
the evidence for Christianity in the province and makes an unassailable case for continuity into the so-called Dark Ages.
The Art of Roman Britain (1995) by Martin Henig. Until recently most scholars were content to disparage or at least ignore
the an of Roman Britain. I have attempted to show that it has the same dynamism and originality as Celtic and Anglo-Saxon an
and that it is one of the best indicators of the pagan, literary culture of the 4th-century British gentry.
The Age of Arthur (1973) by John Morris. Ever since it was published this book has been controversial. The story he tells is
of the resistance of the Britons to the barbarians which crystallized around 'Arthur', and kept alive something of the spirit of
Rome.
ANGLO-SAXON TO NORMAN HISTORY
Martin Henig
The coming of the English was not a single organized act. Groups of settlers from NW Europe (Netherlands to south
Scandinavia) arrived in the 5th century, generally settling in deserted lands but sometimes involved in conflict with Britons or
other Saxon groups_ While large parts of western Britain, including Cumbria, Wales, and Cornwall, remained British-speaking,
culturally England became Anglo-Saxon; however, the church may have kept Latin alive and it was certainly augmented (if not
reintroduced) with the Augustinian mission of AD 597. Thereafter the Anglo-Saxons became highly cultivated, themselves
sending missionaries to convert the heathen. In the late Saxon period there were constant problems of Viking raiding, conquest,
and settlement.
In some respects the Norman Conquest of 1066 may be regarded as the final act of this drama. However, despite the ruthless
suppression of English political freedom, which was made possible through the Norman military and fiscal regimes,
Englishness continued to be apparent in art and ultimately the English language would supplant Norman French.
When we compare the present life of man with that of which we have no
knowledge, it seems to me like the swift flight of a lone sparrow through the hall ...
This sparrow flies swiftly in through one door, and out through another.
BEDE
Civitas to Kingdom: British Political Continuity 300-800 (1994) by K R Dark. Like John Morris's book, this deals with the
Roman inheritance of western Britain and shows the extent to which the Britons of the early Middle Ages were legatees of
Rome.
The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms (1989) edited by Steven Bassett. Diverse essays by different authors showing that not
all kingdoms had the same origin, and showing the part played by indigenous elements as well as the Germanic newcomers.
A History of the English Church and People (731; 1955) by Bede (revised 1990 as The Ecclesiastical History of the English
People). Bede, born about AD 673, less than a century after the mission of St Augustine, demonstrates how quickly the AngloSaxons became civilized. This is a warm and moving account of politics and religious conversion by a great and highly
readable historian.
The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900 (1991) edited by Leslie Webster and Janet Backhouse.
Here, in a catalogue to a British Museum exhibition, is all the visual evidence for Bede's world and beyond, down to the reign
of Alfred. There are excellent introductory essays.
The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art 966-1066 (1984) by Janet Backhouse, D H Turner, and Leslie Webster. Although the late
Saxon period was troubled, its cultural achievements, partly the legacy of King Alfred, were stupendous. This is another very
important offering from the British Museum.
Anglo-Saxon Art: A New Perspective (1982) by C R Dodwell. This book looks at what the Anglo-Saxons achieved in its
European context. It is one of those books that make one marvel at how those barbarian settlers in 5th-century Britain became
(like the Irish) standard-bearers of culture, expressed in the most refined art.
The Anglo-Saxons (1982) by James Campbell, Eric John, and Patrick Wormald. This is a fine, illustrated general study of the
Anglo-Saxons written by three of the leading authorities on the subject.
Alfred the Great. Asser's Lsfe and Other Contemporary Sources (1983) by Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge. This is a
collection of texts, the most important of which is Asser's Life of Alfred. Here is the story of a king who is unique in being
called `Great' because his subjects loved him, because he fought off military catastrophe rather than because he undertook vast
conquests, and because he educated his countrymen. Very Anglo-Saxon.
Viking Age England (1991) by Julian D Richards. A concise and well-written account of the Northmen who harried and
invaded but also settled and traded in England. Recent excavation notably at York has very much brought them to life.
William the Conqueror (1964) by David C Douglas. This is the classic account of the Conqueror, a great warrior and
administrator who changed the face of England.
English Romanesque Art 1066-1200 (1984) by George Zamecki, Janet Holt, and Tristram Holland. This is the catalogue of an
exhibition held at the Hayward Gallery, London, and still the most succinct account of the Norman artistic achievement.
Introductory essays include one on architecture by Richard Gem, a worthy summary of one of the most obvious Norman
contributions to the face of England.
MEDIEVAL BRITISH HISTORY
Simon Hall
The major questions in conventional British medieval history remain similar today to those which exercised 19th-century
medievalists: whether the Saxon invasion of Britain was peaceful or violent, whether the Norman conquest introduced a new
social order, whether the loss of the Angevin territories in France was a blessing or a disaster, how far the Hundred Years' War
isolated England from the culture of late medieval Europe, how far the Scots, Irish, and Welsh managed to preserve their
distinct identities. Progress, however, has been great, both from the cross-fertilization of history and archaeology and from the
impact of new historical methods.
Here I am destitute of all help; I feel the palpable darkness of ignorance,
and I have no lantern of an earlier history to guide my footsteps.
Wn.t iAnA OF MALMESBURY
The Oxford History of England: The English Settlement (1985) by J N L Myres;
The Oxford History of England: Anglo-Saxon England (1971) by Frank Stenton;
The Oxford History of England: From Domesday Book to Magna Carta (1955) by A L Poole;
The Oxford History of England: The Thirteenth Century (1962) by Maurice Powicke;
The Oxford History of England: The Fourteenth Century (1959) by May McKisack;
The Oxford History of England: The Fifteenth Century (1961) by E F Jacob.
The standard, large-scale, conventional guide to the whole field of English medieval history.
English Historical Documents volumes 1-5 (1953-75) edited by David C Douglas et al. A monumental, accessible and always
fascinating collection of the major (and some minor) primary sources.
The Anglo-Saxons (1982) by James Campbell. A sumptuously illustrated introduction to all aspects of Anglo-Saxon England,
filled with new ideas and insights.
The Norman Empire (1976) by John Le Patourel. The magisterial culmination of the career of the greatest modern authority
on the world of the Normans.
From Memory to Written Record (1979) by M T Clanchy. An analysis of the development of literacy and a literate mentality
which demonstrates that the most exciting new approaches to medieval history are not necessarily French.
Henry II (1973) by W L Warren. An outstanding biography of one of the most important medieval kings of England.
An Age of Ambition (1970) by F R H DuBoulay. An excellent thematic approach to later medieval England.
Domination and Conquest: The Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales 1100-1300 (1990) by Rees Davies. A good
starting point for the history of the non-English kingdoms of medieval Britain.
TUDOR AND EARLY STUART ENGLAND
Glyn Redworth
England from the accession of the Tudors in 1485 to the early 17th century witnessed remarkable changes. Not only was unity
in religion broken with the Reformation, but with the doubling of population in the space of 100 years, the stresses and strains
of early modem society grew increasingly evident.
Political disharmony went hand in hand with ideological diversity. The turbulence of the age is reflected in the writing of
history. Older books stress the power of the state, especially over the spread of Protestantism, but more recent `revisionist' work
has stressed the importance of grass-roots movements.
This Realm of England is an Empire, and so hath been accepted in
the world, governed by one supreme head and king, having the dignity
and royal estate of the Imperial crown of the same.
ACT OF APPEALS 1533
England Under the Tudors (1974) by Geoffrey Elton. This classic textbook first appeared in the 1950s and portrays a Tudor
state which is effectively ruled by, in the main, exceptionally strong monarchs.
Tudor England (1990) by John Guy. Incorporates the latest research and gives a greater insight into the mechanics of Tudor
government.
Peace, Print, and Protestantism (1977) by C S L Davies. A wonderfully succinct account of English history from the Wars of
the Roses to the mid-16th century, which reveals how early Tudor history is best studied with an understanding of the Middle
Ages.
The Crisis of Parliaments (1971) by Conrad Russell. Also takes a less than usual overview of the period, and tackles
developments in English life from the Reformation to the Civil War.
Bosworth Field and the Wars of the Roses (1966) by A L Rowse. A thoroughly well-written account of how, by fair means
and foul, the Tudors seized the English throne.
The English Reformations (1993) by C A Haigh. A so-called revisionist account of the Reformation not as an event but as a
series of processes. This work encapsulates the new consensus.
The Court of Henry VIII (1985) by David Starkey. A well-illustrated and vividly written account of the behind-the-scenes
history of the king's reign. By emphasizing faction and not policy, Starkey brings alive the cut and thrust of the age.
Thomas More (1985) by Richard Marius. A highly controversial account of the martyr's life. Seeing him as much as sinner as
saint, this is one of the more engaging of psychobiographies.
The Causes of the English Civil War (1990) by Conrad Russell. A forensic account of early Stuart history, where this son of
the philosopher Bertrand Russell dissects what we mean by causes.
THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR
Glyn Redworth
England's great civil war of the mid-17th century continues to divide modem historians just as much as it did contemporary
observers. Did it have long-term causes, or was it really the result of Charles's political incompetence? Even the Marxist
interpretations of the 1960s were foreshadowed by 17th-century writers, some of whom felt that the transference of land and
power to the gentry after the Dissolution of the Monasteries left the crown at the mercy of its enemies. In the past 20 years,
revisionists have eschewed deep-seated reasons for the conflict, but in recent years a return to old-fashioned `telling the story'
has reasserted the notion of constitutional conflict between the crown and Parliament.
Having by our late labours and hazards made it appear to the world at how high a cost we value our just freedom, and God
having so far owned our caused as to deliver the enemies thereof into our hands, we do hold ourselves bound in mutual duty to
each other to take the best care we can for the future, to avoid both the danger of returning into a slavish condition and the
disagreable remedy of war.
THE AGREEMENT OF THE PEOPLE, 1647
History of England from the Accession of James 1 to the Outbreak of the Civil War (1880s) by S R Gardiner. These ten
volumes remain the best (and best-written) account of the lead-up to the Civil War. Gardiner's stock rises and falls, but
successive generations of historians can never quite escape from his shadow. Not easy to find, but a good library will be able to
help.
The Fall of the British Monarchies 1637-1642 (1991) by Conrad Russell. A bold attempt to use narrative detail to explain the
Civil War partly as a short-term failure but also to show how difficult it was for Charles I to rule together an Anglican England,
a Presbyterian Scotland, and a largely Catholic Ireland.
The Reign of King Pyre (1941) by J A Hexter. Remains a powerful account of one of Charles I's most brilliant opponents.
Despite its age, it reveals the complexities of the age.
Charles I and the Popish Plot (1983) by Caroline Hibbard. Details not only the fears of antipopery in England, but also
Charles's somewhat naive attempts to have a diplomatic rapprochement with Rome.
Oliver Cromwell (1991) by B Coward. The most fair-minded and unsensational account of a character who still arouses much
controversy.
The Rise of the New Model Army (1979) by Mark Kishlansky. This is the new military history at its best, explaining how
military studies cannot be divorced from a wider understanding of politics and society.
The English Bible and the Seventeenth Century Revolution (1994) by Christopher Hill. A subtle study of the role of
ideology by the greatest Marxist historian of the 1960s.
The Menial World of Stuart Women (1987) by Sara Heller Mendelson. Though not strictly speaking on the Civil War, this
does help us understand how, in any time of historical crisis, women come to the fore in society.
Charles I on Horseback (1972) by Roy Strong. A fascinating account of the image of a king.
Divine Right and Democracy (1986) edited by D Wooton. A comprehensive selection of writings, ranging from James I's views
on kingship to the radical thoughts of the interregnum.
RESTORATION TO HANOVERIAN HISTORY
Glyn Redworth
The period after the return of Charles lI to the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 saw England finally transformed from a
rural monarchy to an industrialized democracy. The foundations were laid for the Industrial Revolution as well as for a
worldwide empire overseas. A new national identity was painstakingly, and not wholly successfully, created as the notion of
Britishness' evolved.
In every party there are two sorts of men, the Rigid and the Supple. The
Rigel are an intractable race of mortals, who act upon principle. These are
persons of a stubborn, unpliant morality. The Supple, who pay their homage
to places, are as ready to change their conduct as their fashion.
ABRIDGED FROM THE TATTLER, 1710
Court and Country 1658-1714 (1978) by J R Jones. An excellent introduction to the politics and culture of the age.
The Restoration (1987) by Ron Hutton. A highly intelligent account of the return of the House of Stuart.
Queen Anne (1984) by Edward Gregg. Deals with a much neglected monarch, in whose reign the relative decline of the
monarchy is particularly apparent.
George L Elector and King (1978) by Ragnhild Hatton. Probes how a Hanoverian monarch came to occupy the British throne
and how his distance from the minutiae of English politics was a fillip to the growth of parliamentary government.
Jacobitism and the English People (1989) by P K Monod. Analyses the role of those who never quite came to terms with the
Glorious Revolution and also casts much light on Scotland's absorption into the British kingdom.
English Politics and the American Revolution (1976) by John Derry. Deals with the loss of the American colonies and the
divisions in England which precipitated it.
The Transformation of England (1979) by Peter Mathias. Remains the best introduction into the problems behind the notion
of an industrial revolution.
A Polite and Commercial Society (1989) by P Langford. This has become almost an instant classic, as he deals with the social
transformation of England.
Selections from the Tatler and the Spectator (1982) edited by A Ross. The liveliness of journalistic commentary in its first,
golden, age is apparent on every page of these short extracts from the two leading journals of the 18th century.
19TH-CENTURY BRITISH HISTORY
Peter Martland
Nineteenth-century British history has something of a `bad' reputation, partly because too much of the work achieved by
historians has concentrated on the political aspects of the period. As a result they have succeeded in producing rather dry and
complex accounts. That the 19th century holds considerable interest is clear in the continued popularity of its great writers Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy - and good history can only further this. The books that follow are intended
to represent this, providing readable coverage of all facets of a remarkable century of innovation and change.
The history of the Victorian Age will never be written: we know too
much about it. For ignorance is the first requisite of the historian ignorance, which simplifies and clarifies, which selects and omits, with
a placed perfection unattainable by the highest art.
LYTTON STRACHEY
British History 181.-1906 (1991) by N McCord. Another superb work from the exemplary Short Oxford History of the
Modern World series. The frequent use of headings and subheadings makes the narrative very easy to follow and absorb;
couple this with a comprehensive bibliography and useful appendices and one gets the ideal introduction to 19th-century
British history.
The Age of Improvement 1783-1867 (1959) by Asa Briggs. Standing the test of time, this seminal work is still `total history'
at its most accessible. Starting from the premise that the Industrial Revolution initiated an age of progress, Professor Briggs
writes in what can only be described as an optimistic style, touching on fields as diverse as science and literature to produce a
comprehensive overview of the period.
The Crisis of Imperialism 1865-1915 (1974) by Richard T Shannon. A lucid rendering of a period full of imperial
confrontations and complicated diplomacy, helped by a very useful chronology and biographical notes on the major figures in
foreign affairs. In spanning the centuries Shannon is able to show the failure of those involved to adapt their strategies to the
changing situation, thus turning the great game of imperialism into one with consequences as catastrophic as World War I.
Aristocracy and People 1815-65 (1979) by Norman Gash. A very readable account of British political history, going beyond
the major characters to produce a fascinating insight into the working of a political system. Particularly strong on the author's
specialities in this period, notably popular unrest and Robert Peel.
Portrait of an Age: Victorian England (1953) by G M Young. When a historical work begins with `A boy bom in 1810 ...'
one knows that one is in for a treat and Young does not disappoint. Written from an insider's point of view, it charts the rapid
developments in all spheres of life during the Victorian era, creating in the reader's mind a mental picture which only the
greatest of writers can produce.
The Origins of Modern British Society I780-1880 (1969) by Harold Perkin. Thoroughly researched and convincingly argued,
this is an engaging approach to social history and its bearings on political events. Stating that an industrial revolution initiated a
concomitant social one, Perkin expounds the theory that just as technology is one step ahead of industry, so was society ahead
of political action in the 19th century.
Gladstone 1809-74 (1986) by H C G Matthew .Towering like a leviathan over the second half of the century, Gladstone
provided in his copious diaries rich pickings for the biographer. The merit of Matthew's account is his ability to make a
complex man understandable without ever divorcing him from his age.
The Making of Victorian England (1962) by G Kitson Clark. Distilled from a course of lectures, this series of essays retains
the rhetorical flair that made Kitson Clark such a sought-after speaker. At times overscholarly, this is still a stimulating book,
although not one to be tackled without some knowledge of the period.
20TH-CENTURY BRITISH HISTORY
Peter Martland
Historians faced with assessing Britain in the 20th century are liable to be over-come by the wealth of evidence they have to
work with and the plethora of approaches open to them. It is undoubtedly a challenge but one well worth con-fronting, offering
insight into the current state of Britain and even welcoming prediction. Working so close to one's own time does carry the
pitfall of partiality, but in the recommended reading that follows, the emphasis is very much on history and not on current
affairs. It is too early to draw up a definitive list of topics that have shaped Britain in this all too unstable century, but attention
should be directed away from the `high' areas of parliamentary politics towards the growing power of society.
Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role.
DEAN ACHESON
Empire, Welfare, Europe: English History 1906-1992 (1993) by T 0 Lloyd. A well-structured book covering the
predominant historical themes in chronological order. Ideal as an introduction, with a comprehensive bibliography and a very
useful set of factual appendices.
English History 1914-1945 (1976) by A J P Taylor. Taylor's outstanding answer to his critics' accusations of `popularism', a
book to be savoured rather than dismissed. The erudition shines through without ever obscuring a fascinating story of rapid
political change, told in Taylor's always readable style.
The People's Peace: British History 1945-1990 (1992) by K 0 Morgan. A rare example of recent events being treated as
historical occurrences rather than current affairs. Morgan's objectivity never wavers, producing a lucid and entertaining account
of Britain after World War II.
The Development of the British Economy 1914-1980 (1993) by Sidney Pollard. A book which makes economics
understandable without recourse to complicated theories. Very strong on economic data, at times distractingly so, it charts the
relative decline of Britain's economy in all too vivid detail.
Churchill: A Life (1991) by Martin Gilbert. To produce a multivolume biography of Churchill was a labour of love; to mm it
into a comprehensive single edition must rank as a magisterial work of revision. This elegant account throws light both on
Britain's most eminent politician of the century and on the overseas affairs in which he made his reputation.
British Society since 1945 (1982) by Arthur Marwick. A stimulating analysis of Britain's fluctuating social structure, charting
the erosion of social class in the face of economic segregation.
The Eclipse of a Great Power: Modern Britain 1870-1975 (1983) by Keith Robbins. An excellent account of the demise of
the British Empire and the various positions Britain adopted in an attempt to keep its place on the world stage. Major
involvements are described in clear terminology, making the interests of Britain clear at all times.
State and Society: British Political and Social History 1870-1992 (1994) by Martin Pugh. An interesting work which places
the main streams of political and social thought into a chronological framework. A sense of Britai 's inexorable decline
pervades the book, leading to assertions which can best be described as debatable.
USA: FROM THE 17TH CENTURY TO THE CIVIL WAR
Peter Martland
Understanding American history before the dawn of the modem era is fraught with difficulties. The colonial period (between
1607 and 1776) can be seen as a chronicle of settlement, expansion, and exploitation of the eastern hinterland of what became
the USA. Against a background of social and economic development, the great cities of colonial America - Williamsburg,
Philadelphia, and New York - were created, as were the institutions, like the slave trade, that dominated and eventually
consumed the southern USA. Cutting across these developments were political moves - based on an ideology of reason and
enlightenment - that led eventually to independence in 1776. The enduring interest in the Revolution, the founding fathers, and
the first formative decades of the Union continues to inspire historians to research and produce books of both scholarly and
general appeal. Those listed below reflect a tiny proportion of the most interesting, readable, and enjoyable.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
THOMAS JEFFERSON (DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 1776)
Colonial British America (1984) edited by J Greene and J Pole. A comprehensive set of essays covering both the issues and
the contrasting approaches to them. The editors' introduction and conclusion gives the work a structure often lacking in
collections of essays, while a useful index provides summaries of the major texts cited.
Red, White and Black: The Peoples of Early America (1974) by Gary B Nash. An outstanding work in the field of
indigenous culture which has so dominated American history in the last few decades. As the title suggests, this book deals with
issues concerning Native Americans, settlers, and blacks and their all too antagonistic relations without ever resorting to
generalizations or dogma.
The Economy of Colonial America (1980) by Edwin J Perkins. By comparing the English and American economies, Perkins
is able to provide arresting angles on economic development which would be lacking from a more orthodox history of the
economy.
America at 1750 (1971) by Richard Hofstadter. Limiting oneself to a fixed date can often be disastrous in historical analysis
but Hofstadter carries it off with aplomb, catching the American Zeitgeist through a heady mix of primary sources and
anecdotal evidence.
Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England (1982) by J Demos. Combining biographical,
psychological, sociological, and historical approaches, this work weaves an inescapable spell, the lure of speculation having
been avoided through concentrated original research.
The Urban Crucible (1979) by Gary B Nash. Good history is often achieved through novel approaches. This is certainly true
in this book. For Nash, by eschewing the agricultural base of early America and concentrating on the significant growth in the
mercantile sector, brilliantly succeeds in presenting detailed argument without losing the reader's attention. At times overtly
Marxist in interpretation, it is nevertheless a work which demands at the very least recognition and partial acceptance from Al
quarters.
The Glorious Cause (1982) by Robert Middlekauff. A superb narrative of the complicated events which together form one of
the most fascinating areas of American historical research: the Revolution. The extraordinary detail within this book never
impinges on the story being told, this asset most apparent in Middlekauff's descriptions of the military encounters.
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913) by Charles Beard. This timeless seminal work
emphasizes the weight given by the founding fathers to economic interests as forces in politics and in the formation of laws and
constitutions.
The Era of Good Feelings (1963) by George Dangerfield. Covering the period from Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson,
this is a very well-written account, highlighting the change in both policies and personalities that occurred between their
presidencies.
Liberty and Slavery: Southern Politics to 1860 (1983) by W J Cooper. Concentrating on the area of `high' politics in the
Southern states, Cooper's account conveys the sense of an enclosed world, a feeling that is instrumental to understanding the
Civil War.
Journey to America (1833; 1959) by Alexis de Tocqueville. This celebrated early 19th century account of American political
and social institutions has successfully weathered the passage of time. It is as relevant to our understanding the America of
today as it is to understanding the times in which it was set.
FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO 1945
Peter Martland
In the 80 years between the outbreak of the US Civil War in 1861 and the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 (which brought the
USA into World War II), the nature of the country underwent a fundamental transformation, changing it from a predominantly
rural society with an economy based largely on agriculture, into a mainly urban society underpinned by what had by 1941
become the world's most powerful manufacturing and financial base. These dramatic changes were set against the back-ground
of the Civil War and its aftermath, the opening up of the West and the influx of more than 25 million European immigrants
seeking a better life. In an attempt to under-stand this extraordinary period of dynamic change, historians have over the years
produced a wide array of books aimed at both the academic and general reader. The list below provides merely a small sample
of recent and classic texts of this time.
Speak softly and carry a big stick.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, ON THE ART OF DIPLOMACY.
The Origins of America's Civil War (1981) by Bruce Collins. Although designed primarily as a guide for students, this is an
instructive work, covering both events and issues in a concise style which never strays into patronizing the general reader. As
well as very helpful biographical notes and chronologies, it also sports a comprehensive reading list.
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Era of the Civil War (1988) by J M McPherson. This is an example of that rare kind of history
which transports one back to the age it is describing, so vivid is the picture which McPherson paints. It is `total' history at its
best, covering numerous fields and achieving an almost seamless mix of popular and scholarly style.
Why The South Lost the Civil War (1986) by Richard E Beringer, Herman Hathaway, Archer Jones, and William N Still.
This work demonstrates the relationship between military success, morale, and will and the weakness of Confederate nationalism when undermined by battlefield defeat.
The Age of Reform (1955) by Richard Hofstadter. This Pulitzer-prizewinning account covers the period from 1880 to 1940
and it makes compulsive reading. Hofstadter's premise is that the prominent political ideology during this half-century of
dramatic change remained a constant one of conservative individualism, a bold statement but one that puts a new perspective
on much of American policy.
Invisible Immigrants (1972) by Charlotte Erickson. The act of emigration led many ordinary working people to record their
actions and attitudes. Charlotte Erickson's meticulous - though highly accessible - scholarship reveals a host of insights into the
greatest movement of people the world has ever seen.
The United States Since 1865 (1960) by John A Krout. This standard college text has inspired two generations of students to
know and understand their country. Structured as a survey of the period between the end of the Civil War and the end of World
War II, this work is highly readable by either students or the general reader.
Theodore Roosevelt: Culture, Diplomacy and Expansion (1985) by Richard H Collins. In this book Collins attempts to reevaluate the presidency of America's first larger-than-life imperial president: Theodore Roosevelt. Specifically, the creation of
an American empire to reposition the USA internationally. Collins also chronicles Roosevelt's domestic legacy, from the
creation of the National Park Service to trust-busting.
The Origins of the Second World War: American Foreign Policy and World Politics 1917-f1 (1975) by Arnold A Offner. A
brave book which confronts the widely held view that American foreign policy was isolationist and self-interested. Through a
close analysis of America's relationship with the other world powers, it shows that even the prewar world was a close-knit one
in which America was unable to stand as alone as perhaps it would have liked or tried to make it seem.
The Great Depression: America, 1929-41 (1985) by R S McElvaine. The strength of this work is its appreciation of the
effects that abstract economic concepts have on the lives of all those who work for a living. It manages to transfer figures into
feelings and provides a sobering read without ever straying into wild accusation.
FROM WORLD WAR II TO THE PRESENT
Peter Martland
It seems almost as if the USA, during the past 60 years, has been on a fast-moving roller coaster. It began with the triumph of
World War II, continued through an age of boundless self-confidence which collapsed in the agonies of the fight for civil rights,
political assassinations, the searing trauma of the war in Vietnam, the political scandal of Watergate and the politics of Ronald
Reagan and beyond. To encapsulate this period of dramatic events and other equally rapid changes in American society is
enough to tax the skills of even the greatest of historians. Below are some of the best and most readable works of this period.
As a bibliography it is designed primarily to stimulate the reader into looking anew at the nation which more than any other
defines the society we live in today.
Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what
you can do for your country.
JOHN F KENNEDY
In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan (1983) by William E Leuchtenburg. Although he died in
1945, the legacy Franklin Delano Roosevelt left behind has dominated the American political landscape. In this highly readable
book, William Leuchtenburg assesses and analyses that legacy in terms of Roosevelt's successors.
Since 1900: A History of the United States in Our Times (1959) by Oscar Theodore Barch Jr and Nelson Manfred Blake. By
describing America's political, economic, social, diplomatic, and military history, this narrative succeeds in explaining the
American experience of the first six decades of the 20th century.
The Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order America 1930-1980 (1991) edited by Steve Fraser and Gary Gersthe. In the wake
of Ronald Reagan's watershed triumph in 1980, Fraser and Gersthe intended this work as an historical autopsy. In fact they
attempt to identify and account for two generations of political thought and activity in the USA. However, in the end, the focus
of the work has to be the decline and fall of the New Deal order.
A History of Our Time: Readings in Post War America (1983) edited by William H Chafe and Harvard Sitkoff. Arguing that
contemporary America arose as a result ofchanges that have taken place since the beginning of World War II, the contributors
of this scholarly work chronicle and interpret various aspects of modern American history. The themes evaluated include the
sources of the Cold War, McCarthyism, the civil-rights movement, and the politics of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Unfinished Journey: America since World War II (1986) by William H Chafe. Set against the background of the
_USA's emergence as the world superpower at the end of World War II, Chafe's book charts in a highly distinctive manner the
radical changes in American society after 1945, the Cold War, the movement towards civil rights, and the agony of Vietnam.
American High: The Year of Confidence: 1945-1960 (1986) by William L O'Neill. By using the novel - though controversial
- device of juxtapositioning US national policy with social developments between 1945 and 1960, O'Neill succeeds in
reinterpreting American history and placing it in a fresh perspective.
The Struggle for Black Equality: 1954-1980 (1980) by Harvard Sitkoff. This book is concerned with one of the most
significant developments in American history: the struggle for racial equality and justice waged between 1954 and 1980. A
highly read-able narrative, placing as it does the civil-rights movement into a clear perspective. An excellent bibliographical
essay at the end of the book provides a helpful jumping-off point for further reading.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
David Lowe and Ruth Brown
Histories of Australia and New Zealand after the white settlement have in common the themes of British peoples exploring,
landing, carrying out ever-expanding economic activity, and developing political systems, and all this with consequences for
the respective indigenous populations. For a short time late in the 19th century, when New Zealanders took part in discussions
leading to the federation of Australia's separate states, it seemed that their destinies would be more closely entwined, but New
Zealand did not, in the end, join. In the 20th century the two countries have had very different experiences of immigration, of
indigene-white relations, and relations with other states within the Asica-Pacific region.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
IN THE 19TH CENTURY
How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk with
their heads downwards! The Antipathies, I think ... Please, Ma'am,
is this New Zealand or Australia?
LEWIS CARROLL
Pastiche I: Reflections on Nineteenth-Century Australia (1994) edited by Penny Russell and Richard White. An excellent
collection of essays on early Aboriginal-colonial, social, cultural, political, and economic history of Australia, which also
delves deep into the whole exercise of constructing histories of this period.
A Land Half Won (1980) by Geoffrey Blainey. A classic and influential account of the expansion and (imitations of Australain
capitalist endeavour, especially in the 19th century.
The Australian Colonists: An Exploration of Social History 1788-1870 (1974) by K S Inglis. A very good, readable survey
of Australian social history in the 19th century, charting the development of the colonies and the changes to white Australian
society after its convict origins.
The Australian Legend (1958) by Russel Ward. The classic and much debated account of the bush-worker inspired
egalitarianism and mateship in Australian society, the legacy of which remains today.
The Oxford History of Australia volume 2 1770-1860: Possessions (1992) by Jan Kocumbas. The first volume in the Oxford
series after white settlement is a good introduction to a thematic but integrated account of Australia's convicts' and colonizers'
founding years and directions of expansion.
The Oxford History of Australia volume 3 1860-1900: Glad, Confident Morning (1992) by Beverly Kingston. Kingston
sees the second half of the century as one of the most creative periods for the building of Australian institutions and beliefs.
Her chapters on beliefs and the nature of politics are especially good.
Frontier: Aborigines, Settlers and Land (1981) by Henry Reynolds. A pioneering attempt to reconstruct the Aboriginal
perspective of Aboriginal-European contact. Reynolds has also written on other dimensions of this contact, and is the most
influential historian in this field.
Old New Zealand (1863) by F E Manning. A personal account by a timber trader who lived among the Maoris in the early
days of white settlement, who wrote with an affection for the time and the people with whom he lived.
The Long White Cloud (1898) by W P Reeves. A highly readable account by a prominent politician and historian who wrote
with classical 19th-century Whiggish optimism. New Zealand is proclaimed to be God's Own Country and a working man's
paradise.
The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict (1986) by James Belich. In lively style, Belich
dismantles the Victorian conviction that Britain always won its battles against `savages' in the Maori wars. He shows that only
overwhelming numbers enabled the British to defeat the tactically superior Maoris.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Australia is not very exclusive ... On the visa application they still
cask if you've been convicted of a felony - although they are willing to
give you a visa even if you haven't been.
P J O'RouRttE.
When I was there, it seemed to be shut.
CLEMENT FREUD ON NEW ZEALAND
A Nation at Last? The Changing Character of Australian Nationalism 1888-1988 (1988) by S Alomes. A readable romp
through the meanings and experiments of Australian nationalists who, for most of this century, had to contend with the
formidable norm of the independent Australian Briton'. Alomes finds, perhaps harshly, that much so-called nationalism left a
lot to be desired, or was stifled by Australian imperial cronies.
Australia in Peace and War (1991) by T B Millar. A very digestible history of Australia's overseas relations, including
involvement in both world wars, Korea, and Vietnam. The balance is even, if mildly conservative, and this book serves as an
excel-lent introduction for those wishing to explore further in this field.
A Nation for a Continent (1977) by Russel Ward. Three-quarters of 20th-century Australia through the eyes of a nationalist
historian, concerned especially with politics and economics.
Immigration (1991) by James Jupp. The best introduction to one of the greatest themes in 20th-century Australia's history.
This is a well-rounded account, not avoiding the `white Australia' policy nor other hard questions that immigration has posed,
but convincingly optimistic about the consequences of immigration for Australia.
After Mabo: Interpreting Indigenous Traditions (1993) by Tim Rowse. A very important interpretation of the consequences
of the Australian High Court's recent ruling on the validity of Aboriginal legal title to areas of land. Aboriginality, politics, land,
and even sovereignty are discussed.
The Oxford History of Australia volume 4 1901-1942: The Succeeding Age (1986) by S Macintyre. One of the best
volumes in the Oxford history series. Macintyre is especially strong on social and economic themes between federation and the
early years of World War IT.
The Oxford History of Australia volume 5 1942-1988: The Middle Way (1990) by G Bolton. The final instalment in the
Oxford series is very good on expansion and prosperity after World War H, and on the periodization of modem Australian
history.
The End of Certainty: The Story of the 1980s (1992) by Paul Kelly. An account of how Australia's certainties, such as a huge
social welfare net, a `white' immigration policy, protection for local industry, and high fixed wages, were dismantled during the
political-economic revolution of the 1980s. Kelly's `certainty' that the new deregulated direction is the only path for the future
is also challenging.
The Bone People (1984) by Keri Hulme. Winner of the Booker Prize in 1986, and probably the most famous New Zealand
novel. It is a rich mixture of colloquial and mandarin styles, of unreal magic and harrowing violence, but most of all it is
imbued with Maori spirituality.
To the Is-Land (1982) by Janet Frame. The first of a three-part autobiography, this is an evocative and often very funny
account of growing up in New Zealand between the world wars, capturing especially the school fare of Romantic poetry and
empire worship in that period.
HISTORY OF AFRICA
David M Anderson
Since its birth as an academic subject in the early 1960s, the field of African history has blazed pioneering trails in historical
method and inquiry. New sources are constantly being found, unearthed in archaeological excavations, collected as oral
literature and histories, and recovered from libraries and archives, which deepen our knowledge of the African past and raise
yet new questions to be answered. The scope and variety of research and writing is simply breathtaking, as many of the
following titles indicate.
The heroism of African history is to be found not in the deeds of kings but in the struggles of ordinary people against the forces
of nature and the cruelty of men.
JOHN ILIFFE
History of Africa (1989) by Kevin Shillington. A very readable general introduction to the African past. A good starting point.
African Civilisations: Precolonial Cities and States in Tropical Africa (1987) by Graham Connah. A lucid synthesis of the
many complex societies of precolonial Africa, with plenty of illustrations and good maps.
Paths in the Rainforest (1993) by Jan Vansina. A classic work from one of the founding fathers of the academic study of
African history, which reconstructs the history of political traditions across the vastness of equatorial Africa.
The African Poor: A History (1987) by John Iliffe. This wonderfully engaging book spans medieval to modem Africa to argue
that the nature of poverty has been gradually changing as demographic patterns adjust the balance between land and labour.
Way of Death (1989) by Joseph C Miller. The best account of the Atlantic slave trade, richly textured and beautifully written.
It deals with the history of the trade from Angola.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972) by Walter Rodney. This polemical account of European economic pillage
remains essential to any discussion of the impact of colonialism.
The Making of Contemporary Africa (1984) by Bill Freund. A succinct history of Africa since 1800, thematically organized
to emphasize the social changes brought about by colonialism.
Magomero: Portrait of an African Village (1987) by Landeg White. A microhistory of the village where David Livingstone
set up the ill-fated mission to central Africa, this beautifully crafted book brings the experience of Africans to life.
The Scramble for Africa (1991) by Thomas Pakenham. This big, stylishly written book provides a colourful account of the
European conquest of Africa at the end of the 19th century.
Studies in the Economic and Social History of the Witwatersrand 1886-1914 (1982) by Charles van Onselen. Essays on the
astonishingly rapid transformations thatshook the Witwatersrand after the discovery of gold. The author is South Africa's
leading historian.
20TH-CENTURY AFRICA
David M Anderson
There is hardly a country in Africa that has not been beset by immense civil traumas of one kind or another in the final quarter
of the 20th century. Among Africans themselves, and in the writings of those in the Western world, it is not surprising that the
search for the causes and the cures of these crises should dominate all else. But alongside the image of modern Africa as a
continent of famine, war, and suffering are other images too: images of rich cultural diversity, of artistic creativity, of
innovation, of astonishing endurance, and of personal and collective dignity.
The question is not whether there is a crisis in rural Africa,
but what its nature really is.
MICHAEL MORT1MORE
Africa (1995) edited by Phyllis Martin and Dan O'Meara. These essays offer an excel-lent introduction to the history and
contemporary society of the African continent.
The Invention of Africa (1989) by V Y Mudimbe. Africa's best-known philosopher here discusses the multiple layers that
form the foundation of contemporary African society. A thoughtful, erudite, and at times very surprising book.
In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture (1992) by K Antony Appian. Another study which ranges widely
through Africa's historical experience and sociological heritage to present an interpretation of the distinctiveness of African
culture.
Siaya (1989) by Atieno Odhiambo and David W Cohen. This highly original book takes cameos of life in a rural district of
western Kenya to reflect upon the wider sociology, politics, and culture of modem Africa.
The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly (translated 1993) by jean-Francois Bayart. Originally published in French, this
brilliant and challenging work analyses the dynamics of political culture in modern Africa.
Africa in Crisis: The Causes and Cures of Environmental Bankruptcy (1985) by Lloyd Timberlake. Hard-hitting populist
polemic, published by the pressure group Earthscan, advocating a wholesale reappraisal of economic and environmental
policies in Africa.
More People, Less Erosion: Environmental Recovery in Kenya (1994) by Mary Tiffen, Michael Mortimore, and Francis
Gichuki. An important book which presents significant evidence of innovation in African agriculture to counter the pervasive
view of decay and productive decline.
Conservation in Africa: People, Policies, Practice (1987) edited by David Anderson and Richard Grove. These essays,
mostly written by social scientists, deal with aspects of the conflicts between the conservation of wildlife and habitat and
economic development.
The Anti-Politics Machine (1990) by James Ferguson. This influential and very readable critique of the development process
takes projects in Lesotho as its focus.
Twentieth-Century South Africa (1995) by William Beinart. The best available account of modem South Africa, telling the
story of segregation, apartheid, and liberation struggle up to the elections of 1994.
HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Edward Fox
When we speak of the history of the Middle East, we are almost certainly speaking of the history of Islam, which emerged in
Arabia in the 7th century AD and rapidly expanded through military-political conquest and conversion for the next two
centuries. It is easy to see Islamic history in the form of a tree, which grew from a single stem and then branched out into the
separate histories of the states that emerged as central authority in the Islamic empire weakened, particularly in Turkey and
Iran. Although it is a common error nowadays to speak of Islam as a single thing, like `Christendom', because of its huge
cultural variety, the Islamic tradition and its history give a unity to the Middle East, north and Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and
parts of the Indian subcontinent. To understand the Islamic religion, it is important to have a familiarity with its early history,
and its early political and doctrinal splits.
History is a discipline cultivated widely among nations and races. It is
eagerly sought after. The men in the street, the ordinary people, aspire to
know it. Kings and leaders vie for it. Both the learned and the ignorant are
able to understand it. For on the surface history is no more than information
about political events, dynasties, and occurrences of the remote past, elegantly
presented and spiced with proverbs ... The inner meaning of history, on the
other hand, involves speculation and an attempt to get at the truth.
IBN KHALDOUN
Muhammad (1971) by Maxime Rodinson. Stimulating work by a French Marxist on the Prophet's life and the founding of the
original Islamic state.
The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization three volumes (The Classical Age of Islam, The
Expansion of Islam in the Middle Period, The Gunpowder Empire and Modern Times) by Marshall G S Hodgson. A penetrative
and detailed interpretive history of Islamic civilization, from the time of Muhammad to the Ottoman era.
A History of Medieval Islam (1965) by J J Saunders. Gives a good sweep of the development of Islamic civilization covering
the time of the Prophet, the `rightly guided Caliphs' who succeeded him, the empires of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs, the
Fatimid anticaliphate, the Seljuk Turks, the Crusades, and the Mongol invasions, which culminated in the Muslim defeat in the
sack of Baghdad in 1258.
The Crusades through Arab Eyes (1984) by in Maalouf. One of Lebanon's best living writers compiled this account from
contemporary Arabic sources.
The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam (1967) by Bernard Lewis. The best avail-able book on Hassan Sabah, the `Old Man of
the Mountain', and his faction of the Ismaili sect.
The Ottoman Centuries (1977) by Lord Kinross. A good one-volume history of the Ottoman Empire.
Mystical Dimensions of Islam (1975) by Annemarie Schimmel. The best single-volume account of Sufism, the mystical
tradition of Islam.
A History of Islamic Philosophy (1983) by Majid Fakhry. A detailed historical survey which discusses the legalism,
rationalism, and mysticism of Islamic thought.
An Anthology of Islamic Literature: From the Rise of Islam to Modern Times (1964) edited by James Kritzeck. An
anthology representing a wide range of literary traditions.
THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Edward Barratt
Following the collapse and carving up of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, and the abolition of the caliphate - the symbol
of Muslim unity - by Mustafa Kemal Atatiirk, the Arab world was left destabilized. British and French suzerainty between the
World Wars was replaced by Cold War rivalry, with the USA supporting Israel and the USSR the Arab nations. Ethnic conflict
flared between Arabs and Israelis in 1948119 after Israel's foundation as a state in Palestine, and erupted again in 1967 (the Six
Days War) and 1973 (the Yom Kippur War). The economic power of Arab states was demonstrated in the world-wide oil crisis
precipitated after the 1973 war, and Pan-Arabism and Islamic fundamentalism were touted as genuine Arab alter-natives to the
Western-style national structures created after World War I. However, the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980's and the contribution of
most Arab nations to the defeat of Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War of 1990-91 demonstrated these ideas' limited practical
usefulness. Whether the 1993 PLO-Israeli peace agreement demonstrated a new realism remains to be seen.
The tormenting dilemma of the Middle East is this: either
we have one people too many, or one state too few.
AFIF SAFIEH (PLO REPRESENTATIVE)
The Near East Since the First World War (1991) by M E Yapp. Clear narrative account focussing on individual national
histories and their relation to the international and economic dimensions.
The Longman Companion to the Middle East Since 1914 (1987) by Ritchie Overdale. Short introduction to the major topics
and a comprehensive reference section dealing with economic and social statistics, religion, and politics. In-depth guide to
further reading.
Politics in the Middle East (1992) by Elie Kedourie. Analysis of the different ideological bases of Middle Eastern attitudes.
A Peace to End All Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East, 1914-22 (1989) by David Fromkin. Account of the creation of
the modern states system after World War I.
Into the Labyrinth: The US and the Middle East 1945-1992 (1995) by H W Brands. Examines the role played by US
interest in oil, antipathy towards the USSR, and support for Zionism in influencing events in the Middle East.
The Gulf Conflict 1990-91 (1993) by Lawrence Freedman and Efraim Karsh. Definitive account of the Gulf War, covering its
origins, course, aftermath, and implications.
Visions and Marriages: The Middle East in a New Era (1995) by John Roberts. Discusses the prospects for peace following
the 1993 Israeli-PLO peace agreement; also looks at individual nations with assessments of the wider ideological and economic
situation.
The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict (1985) edited by Walter Laquer and Barry
Rubin. Gathers together all the principal documents of the Israeli-Arab conflict, in the framework of a clear and concise
narrative.
INDIAN HISTORY
Burjor Avari
The earliest records of Indian history date back to the Indus Valley culture, about 5000 BC to 1500 BC. India's oldest religion,
Hinduism, originated during that period; but the finest of the Hindu religious literature dates after 1500 BC. A glorious and
enriching Hindu-Buddhist Jain civilization flourished in India between about 500 BC and AD 1000, and it exercised a major
cultural and intellectual influence upon its immediate and distant neighbours. Islamic influences became more marked after AD
1000, and Islamic political power reached its apogee under the great Moguls between 1526 and 1707. The British followed the
Moguls and, through the instrument of their Raj, Western civilization impacted upon India. The modern republics of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal are therefore heirs to a long and brilliant Asian civilization.
Not by wars and conquest has India influenced the outside world, but in the
subtler and deeper realms of imagination and thought.
PERCNAL SPEAR
The Penguin History of India (1990) by Romila Thapar and Percival Spear. These two short volumes are a useful
introduction for the beginner. Elegantly written by two of the greatest historians of India in the 20th century, they provide a
concise narrative of the entire span of Indian history.
The Wonder That Was India (1954; 1985) by A L Basham. A book that should be compulsory reading for all who are
obsessed with the superiority of European culture. With the help of a rich array of sources, the author explores the social,
cultural, andintellectual history of pre-Islamic India and provides evidence of the depth and width of Indian cultural influence
in the world at that time.
The Arts of India (1981) edited by Basil Gray. A comprehensive survey of the art styles of India, covering sculptures, temples,
and paintings from the earliest period of the Indus Valley culture to the late 20th century. The book examines the richness of the
native tradition and the skill with which foreign influences are blended in that tradition.
Al-Hind: The making of the Indo-Islamic World volume 1 (1990) by Andre Wink. Examines the first encounter of Islam
with India. This fascinating first volume looks at the four centuries between the 7th and the 11th centuries, the period before
the rise of Islamic military and political power in India but during which the commercial and cultural connections were already
beginning to draw India into the Islamic sphere of influence.
The Great Moghuls (1971) by Bamber Gascoigne. A sensitive study of the first six rulers of India's premier Muslim dynasty,
their pride and vanity, wealth and pomp, wisdom and justice, but, above all, their sophisticated culture and horrendous cruelties. Anyone planning a tour of Mogul Indian sites will be well advised to read this book. There is also a TV series in six parts.
The Raj: India and the British 1600-I947 (1990) edited by C A Bayly. Contains valuable essays on a variety of social,
cultural, and intellectual themes that highlight the British presence in India. More than 500 illustrations of paintings,
photographs, furnishings, textiles, and artefacts further help to deepen our understanding of the British connection over nearly
350 years.
The Splendours of the Raj: British Architecture in India 1660 to 1947 (1985) by Philip Davies. The remarkable
architectural achievement of British India, in the shape of monuments and buildings, bridges and railway stations, military
headquarters and hill stations, gateways and gravestones, is brought to life in this book. The vision and motivation, style and
design, functions and usage, which guided the architects and builders are explained, with the help of numerous original
photographs.
Hobson fobson: a glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases and of kindred terms, etymological, historical,
geographical and discursive (1886) by Henry Yule and A C Burnell. Republished 1994 with a brilliant historical perspective by
Nirad Chaudhuri, the highly iconoclastic Indian writer of modern times. This volume of 1,000 pages is a mine of information
on how words of Indian and Oriental origin crept into English and how English words acquired new meanings in the Indian
context.
Divide and it (1964) by Penderel Moon. A first-hand description, by a member of the imperial Indian civil service, of the tragic
catastrophe that engulfed millions of people when British India was partitioned in 1947. A book to be read if we are to
understand the background of hostility between India and Pakistan.
Gandhi: The Traditional Roots of Charisma (1983) by Susanne Rudolph and Lloyd Rudolph. There is a vast literature on the
life and works of Mahatma Gandhi, the most influential Indian leader of this century. This slim but thought- provoking volume
argues that through the force of his ideas on courage, self-control, sacrifice, and morality Gandhi not only bequeathed to his
people a sense of worth about themselves but also helped to modernize them.
20TH-CENTURY INDIA
Mark Tully
India is the home of one of world's oldest civilizations, a civilization which still survives. It is the cradle of an ancient family of
religions. It has produced some of the greatest religious thinkers of all times, from the Buddha to Mahatma Gandhi. Its thought
is regarded by many scholars as deeper than European religion and philosophy. India has always been an important trading
centre. It has never been isolated, and has shoum a remarkable ability to absorb the thought of other parts of the world with-out
surrendering its own originality. It has been conquered but its civilization has never been overcome. It is one of the few
countries to emerge from colonization a stable democracy. With their education to freedom of speech and of thought, their
achievements in science and technology, their skills as traders, and their new- found freedom from bureaucratic socialism,
Indians are set to make their nation one of the great economic powers of the 21st century.
India has, more fully than any civilization on earth, past or present, explored, embodied the highest, the most all-embracing
realization of our human scope.
KATHLEEN RAINS
The Wonder That Was India (1954; many editions) by A L Basham. Still the best introduction to the foundations of Indian
civilization.
The Hindu View of We (1927; many editions) by Radhakrishnan. A concise and readable summary of the religion which is so
difficult to understand for those brought up in the tradition of Semitic religions.
The Ramayana (1982) and The Mahabharata (1978) by R K Narayan. Easily accessible retellings of the two great Hindu
epics.
Indian Muslims (1985) by M Mujeeb. A scholarly book on one of the world's largest Muslim communities and its interaction
with Indian thought.
The Men Who Ruled India (1985) by Philip Mason. A sympathetic history of British rule in India by a Briton who served in
the Indian civil service.
The Penguin History of India (1990) by Romila Thapar and Percival Spear. A concise history.
Jawaharlal Nehru (1975 onwards) by Sarvepalli Gopal. A biography in three volumes. Essential for understanding the conflict
that dominated the independence movement between the Indian thought of Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru's Western ideologies.
Essential also for understanding why Nehru's dream of an India modernized by European thought, political structures, and
technology failed.
Raag Darbari (1992) by Shrilal Shukla. A satirical novel written originally in Hindi, about the rural Hindi heartland and the
flaws in the political and administrative systems of independent India as they work in practice. Cynical but with the ring of
truth.
Stories about the Partition of India three volmnes (1994) edited by Bhalla Alok. This anthology of writing by Indian and
Pakistani authors looks at the event which still affects the politics of S Asia and the lives of millions of citizens nearly 50 years
after it took place.
Gandhi, Prisoner of Hope (1989) by Judith M Brown. A scholarly biography of one of the outstanding figures of the 20th
century. A useful compendium of Gandhi's thoughts on many subjects is The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi (1967), compiled and
edited by R K Prabhu and U R Rao.
CHINA
L B Lewis
European fascination with China began in the 13th century, when the Venetian Marco Polo visited the Far East. Interest is even
more intense today as we watch the developments of the world's most populous country - what will happen as China's
octogenarian leadership dies off, and when Hong Kong is returned to Chinese control in 1997? As a huge land with one of the
oldest continuous cultures in the world, China has much to see and much to understand. Reading Chinese history can become a
numbing procession of dates and dynastic changes, and the political and social chronology of the last 100 years is as complex
as that of any preceding period. Fortunately, it is much better documented. Recent events such as the Cultural Revolution
(1966-76) and the massacre of Chinese students in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, in 1989 provoke heated opinions which colour
most of the contemporary writing about China. Less controversial, Chinese art and literature (chiefly poetry), both dating back
more than 2,000 years, have attracted many Western admirers. Because of the differences between Chinese and European
languages, translation is particularly difficult. The words may be rendered more or less faithfu11y, but the distinctive style of
an author or a genre is often lost, and the economy of expression built into the Chinese language tends to make prose sound
simplified, like children's literature. Poetry may be more rewarding for the reader in translation.
Mao, the emperor, fitted one of the patterns of Chinese history: the leader of a
nationwide peasant uprising who swept away a rotten dynasty and became a
we new emperor exercising absolute authority. ,.. He enabled the Chinese
to feel great and superior again, by blinding them to the world outside.
JUl~'G CHANG
Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China (1988) by Paul Theroux. There are two types of writing about travel in
China: the first cannot praise enough, and the second cannot damn enough. If one travels alone by train in the midst of ordinary
Chinese - as did the author - one is less insulated from sources of complaint than the pampered package tourist. Theroux
complains a great deal without giving the impression of hating every minute. He travelled for a whole year, over tens of thousands of kilometres, when China was in a period of particularly rapid and baffling transition - when mobile phones, discos, and
other trappings of Western commercial culture were just beginning to flood the country. He had the advantage of having made
a previous trip, in 1980, against which to measure change. This comparison blends with his superb general knowledge of
Chinese culture and history in a dryly funny, unsentimental, unsparing narrative, letting readers share the experience of seeing
China with an exceptionally observant and amusing guide.
Ancestors (1988) by Frank Ching. For the Chinese, there is nothing more important than family - not merely the relatives alive
in the present, but also the history of those who lived long in the past. Chinese-American journalist Frank Ching, whose family
fled China when he was five, experienced profound isolation growing up away from his native land and unacquainted with a
large family he had only heard about. In August 1973, as an adult, he entered China in search of his roots. Aided by priceless
family documents, he soon found the grave of his clan's founder, the famous Song dynasty poet Qin Guan, who had lived 34
generations earlier. The story follows the Qin family through 1,000 years of Chinese history and tells the life stories of more
than a dozen of its major figures of different generations.
Chinese Encounters (1979) by Arthur Miller, photographs by Inge Morath. The Pulitzer prizewinning American playwright
and his wife visited China in 1978, when the country was just beginning to open up to the West. In addition to taking official
guided tours, they were able to meet and talk quite freely with Chinese writers, actors, and artists. Thus they were among the
first to publish the bitter feelings of educated Chinese about the years of repression under Mao Zedong's communist regime
(culminating in the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76 and its wide-scale persecutions), and their hopes for the future. The text is a
stately and sympathetic accompaniment to the photographs, many of them protracts in black and white, which are intimate and
moving.
Dragon Lady (1992) by Sterling Seagraves. The Dowager Empress Ci Xi was long believed in the West to have been the real
power behind the Chinese throne at the end of the last century. She died in 1908, leaving her two-year-old nephew P'u-i, the
last Chinese emperor, in the hands of his weak regent father and a powerful clique of advisers. Within three years the empire
was overthrown and a republic established. Ci Xi has commonly been portrayed as lewd, corrupt, and ruthless, to the extent of
murdering P'u-i's predecessor, her adopted son; she was said to have bankrupted the Chinese navy to build herself a marble
pleasure boat, at a time when the navy desperately needed funds to fight the encroaching Western powers and internal rebels.
Sterling Seagraves presents a very credible and entertaining case in Ci M's defence - including the motives of various parties
for slandering her - while giving a clear account of the power struggles in the disintegrating 2,000-year-old empire that led to
civil war.
Red Star over China (1937; revised edition 1968) by Edgar Snow. The classic con-temporary account of the progress of the
Chinese revolution by an `old China hand' who personally knew many of its leading figures: Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, General
Zhu De. In the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, it is easy to dismiss the Chinese communist regime as
merely bloodthirsty and totalitarian. To understand the faith placed by the Chinese people in the Party - and the extent of the
betrayal at Tiananmen - it is necessary to know something about how the communists came to be in power, and the hope they
offered in the early part of this century, when starvation, extortion by landlords, and terror at the hands of bandits were the
daily lot of China's ordinary people.
Wild Swans (1991) by Jung Chang. The best-selling story of three generations of Chinese women, encompassing all the
upheavals of the 20th century, from the chaotic early days of the new Chinese republic, through civil war and the long years of
Mao Zedong's rule, to economic reform and the Tiananmen Square tragedy. The author was the first mainland Chinese to be
awarded a doctorate at a British university.
Plum Blossom: Poems of Li Qingzhao (1980) translated by James Cryer. Li Qcngzhao (1084-c. 1150) was China's greatest
woman poet and belonged to one of the oldest literary traditions in the world. Her speciality was a form based on old songs,
retaining therhyme, tone, and line length but adding new words. Most classical Chinese poetry was inspired by nature; Li
Qingzhao's poems are also filled with images from the natural world, but she was one of the few poets who wrote what is
clearly love poetry. The delicacy and vividness of her work is captured in this translation. A glossary explains some of the
literary allusions that occur throughout the poems and are unfamiliar to Western readers.
The Private Life of Chairman Mao (1994) by Li Zhisui. As personal physician to the chairman of China's Communist Party
for several decades, Dr Li Zhisui was closer to Mao Zedong than almost anyone else. He knew not only the Great Leader at the
centre of a volatile personality cult, whose portrait decorated millions of Chinese homes from 1950 to 1976; he was also
intimately acquainted with Mao's physical and emotional make-up, his strengths and weaknesses - and the illnesses that these
factors exposed him to. It is to be expected that Li's position - the modem equivalent of court physician to an absolute monarch
- was an uncomfortable one, and that this book could not be written until the cult of Mao worship was truly disbanded.
JAPAN
Toshio Watanabe
Japan is a fascinating but not an enigmatic country. The easiest way to get to know modem Japan is to find a Japanese and
build up a friendly relationship involving the family. In order to get more general or specific information on Japan there are
excel-lent encyclopedias on Japan, such as the Cambridge
Encyclopedia of Japan (1993) edited by R Bowring and P Kornicki, which also has an annotated list of further reading. The
following list is a personal one which aims to stimulate the reader.
It is hard to avoid the cliches about Japan, because both Japanese
and foreigners seem to feel most comfortable with them.
IAN BURUMA
The Japanese Achievement (1990) by Hugh Cortazzi. A wide-ranging and lucid account of the history of Japan from Bronze
Age to the present day. The author looks at all aspects of Japanese life, in particular the arts, literature, and religion. A good
starting point.
Zen in the Art of Archery (1953) by Eugen Herrigel. The best introduction to what satori, the enlightenment', in Zen means. It
has been criticized as hopelessly romantic, but he tries to be concise and avoids the usual abundance of florid adjectives
employed by Western writers. For further exploration of Zen, Daisetsu Suzuki and Alan Watts are the best guides.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (1880; 1984) by Isabella Bird. This book tells the story of an incredible journey to northern Japan
by an Englishwoman. It also shows Japan on the verge of modernization and gives a vivid insight into the lack of material
comfort in the Japanese hinterland which was eventually overcome in the 20th century.
Barefoot Gen (1987) and Barefoot Gen: The Day After (1988) by Keiji Nakazawa. Anybody concerned with nuclear
weapons should read this graphic novel depicting how the life of a very lively boy, Gen, is affected by the Hiroshima atom
bomb. The scenes depicted are appalling and not for the squeamish, but it is also an intensely humane story. Anybody still in
doubt should read the novel Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse.
A Japanese Mirror: Heroes and Villains of Japanese Culture (1984) by Ian Buruma. There are (too) many Western books
trying to explain contemporary Japanese culture, but this one is stimulating, brilliant, and most readable. This is a must for
anybody going to Japan.
Japan, Inc.: An Introduction toJapanese Economy (1988) by Shoaro Ishinomori. A graphic novel full of intrigues and even
love stories, but it gently gives information relating to complex economic jargon and explains specific economic situations.
Business people should find this book interesting. It represents an establishment view of Japan.
Underground in Japan (1992) by Ray Ventura. This is a real-life story of a Filipino illegal immigrant worker in Yokohama. It
shows the darker side of Japan, but is not a negative book. I particularly recommend this book to Japanese readers.
Kitchen (1993) by Banana Yoshimoto. Among the most accessible of the contemporary writers in Japan. As in the film
Tampopo, food and sexuality are intimately related in this novella. Those interested in the `modem classics' should read any
available works by Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima, Jun'ichiro Tanizaki., Kobo Abe, Shusaku Endo, or Kenzaburo Oe.
Oe, Kenzaburo, Japanese, 1935- . Nobel Laureate
Hiroshima Notes. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Points and Lines (1970) by Seicho Matsumoto. Japan has a flourishing crime and detective-story industry, though
unfortunately only a very few are translated into English. Perhaps the most senior figure is Seicho Matsumoto, who combines a
meticulous plot with social critique.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA: PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILIZATIONS
Colin McEwan
The last 30 years have witnessed remarkable breaktroughs in our understanding of the origins and accomplishments of preColumbian civilizations in the Americas. The great riverine networks of the tropical forest lowlands are now known to have
fostered the beginnings of agriculture, settled village life, and ceramic an as early as the 4th millennium BC. Archaeologists, art
historians, epigraphists, anethnohistorians have combined to make inroads into the interpretation of Classic Maya and other
Central American writing systems, documenting fierce dynastic rivalries and the rise and fall of city-states. In South America,
independent cultures evolved successful adaptations to the harsh Andean environment, culminating in the Inca empire with its
distinctive calendar, cosmology, and agricultural know-how from which we still have much to learn today.
There I saw the things brought to the Emperor from the new land of gold ...
and I have never seen anything in my whole life that has cheered my
heart as much as these objects. In them I found wonderful artistic work
and admired the subtle genius of the men from these strange lands.
ALBRECHT DURER, EXAMINING THE OBJECTS SENT BY HERN.4N CORTES FROM
MEXICO TO HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR CHARLES V
General:
The Ancient Americas: Art from Sacred Landscapes (1992) edited by Richard F Townsend. A fascinating and beautifully
illustrated collection of essays ranging from the southwestern USA to Bolivia, addressing the ways in which pre-Columbian art
mediates between man and nature.
Central America:
The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya (1993) by Mary Miller and Karl Taube. The beginner's ABC guide
to the Mesoamerican pantheon. This illustrated dictionary is packed full of up-to-date information and makes it easy to crossreference subjects and themes.
The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art (1986) by Linda Schele and Mary Ellen Miller. Documents the
breakthroughs made by Mayan epigraphers in interpreting the significance of ritual bloodletting performed to celebrate
dynastic accession. Not for the faint-hearted!
Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path (1993) by David Friedel, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker. An
exuberant synthesis of new thinking on many aspects of Maya cosmology and creation myths.
Scribes, Warriors and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya (1991) by William L Fash. Summarizes recent
archaeological work at the site of one of the most powerful Classic Maya cities.
Teotihuacan: City of the Gods (1993) edited by Kathleen Berrin and Esther Pasztory. A well-illustrated, scholarly but
readable introduction to the singular nature of this great highland metropolis - one of the six largest cities in the world in its
hey-day during the early centuries AD.
South America:
The Incas and Their Ancestors (1992) by Michael E Moseley. The best recent introductory survey of the Andean cultures of
Peru for the general reader.
Chan and the Origins of Andean Civilization (1992) by Richard L Burger. A meticulous study of Chavin culture, the first
widespread art style in the Andes, focusing on one of the principal cult centres - Chavin de Huant:ar.
Ceramics of Ancient Peru (1992) by Christopher B Donnan. An attractive and accessible visual guide to the vibrant pottery
styles and technology of the best-known Andean cultures.
Inca Civilization in Cuzco (1990) by R Tom Zuidema. A demanding but rewarding concise guide to fundamental aspects of
Inca social organization.
The Tiwanaku: Portrait of an Andean Civilization (1993) by an L Kolata. An overview of the capital and ceremonial centre
lying at the heart of the pre-Inca Tiwanaku Empire, spectacularly located at an altitude of 3,600 m/12,000 ft on the Bolivian
Altiplano.
LATIN AMERICA UNTIL INDEPENDENCE
Joseph Harrison
The `discovery' and conquest of the New World by Spain and Portugal, followed by the destruction of the great pre-Columbian
civilizations of the Aztecs and the Incas, has attracted a considerable amount of scholarship. There is a good deal of literature
also on the administration of the two empires and the attempts at `enlightened' reform at the end of the 18th century, as well as
on the nature of the various independence movements. Above all, in recent years The Cambridge History of Latin America
(1984), volumes 1 and 2 edited by Leslie Bethell, offers unrivalled coverage of such topics as the Spanish and Portuguese
conquests of Latin America, the effect of con-quest upon Indian society, Africans in Spanish-American colonial society,
economic organizations, political organization, the church, population, intellectual and cultural life.
I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart
that can be cured only by gold.
HERNAN CORTES
The European Discovery of America (1971,1974) two volumes by Samuel Elliot Morrison. Contains enormous detail on the
early voyages of discovery, ships, crews, methods of navigation, and life at sea. The work is thoroughly researched by a naval
authority.
The Spanish Conquistadores (1963) by F A Kirkpatrick. Provides an excellent overall view of the conquest of Spanish
America.
The Vision of the Vanquished (1976) by Nathan Wachtal. A brilliant polemical account which analyses the ideological impact
of the conquest of Peru and the destruction of Inca society by the Spaniards.
Early Latin America: A History of Colonial Spanish America and Brazil (1983) by James Lockhart and Stuart B Schwartz.
An excellent outline account which concentrates on social factors and ethnic relations in the New World.
The Spanish Empire in America (1947) by C H Haring. Remains an invaluable survey of governmental institutions in
Spanish America.
The Colonial Background of Modern Brazil (1967) by Caio Prado Jr. A fascinating survey by a distinguished Marxist
historian.
Masters and Slaves: A Study in the Development of Brazilian Civilization (1956) by Gilberto Freyre. A classic work which
looks at the multiracial origins of Brazilian society and the role of slavery.
The Independence of Latin America (1987) edited by Leslie Bethell. Analyses the breakdown and overthrow of Spanish and
Portuguese colonial rule during the first quarter of the 19th century. There are individual chapters on the origins of Spanish
American independence, the independence of Mexico and Central America, the independence of Brazil and international
politics and Latin American independence.
The Spanish-American Revolutions, 1808-26 (1973) by John Lynch. Remains the best outline survey of the various phases of
the independence movement in Spanish America.
LATIN AMERICA SINCE INDEPENDENCE
Joseph Harrison
There is an extensive literature on the history of the subcontinent since its independence from Spain and Portugal during the
early 19th century. Above all readers are referred to the invaluable multivolume Cambridge History of Latin America (1984)
edited by Leslie Bethell. These volumes contain many excellent essays by specialist scholars. The series has now been reissued
in paperback form with volumes on specific countries. The region has acquired great fame for its revolutionary upheavals,
military strongmen, and repressive regimes. US involvement in the subcontinent, particularly since the end of the 19th century,
has also left a bitter legacy of anti-Americanism in many countries, not least in Central America and Cuba.
A people that loves freedom will in the end be free.
SIMON BOLIVAR
Modern Latin America (1992) by Thomas E Smith and Peter E Skidmore. A comprehensive and tidily written volume, strong
on interpretation, aimed mainly at the American undergraduate market.
Dependency and Development in Latin America (1969; translated 1979) by Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Enzo Faletto.
The classic formulation of dependency analysis which has dominated much of the writing on the subcontinent in recent times.
Spanish America after Independence c. 1820-c 1870 (1987) edited by Leslie Bethell. Offers general surveys on economy,
society, politics and ideology in Spanish America during the half-century after independence, followed by a series of case
studies on individual countries.
Latin America: Economy and Society, 1870-1930 (1989) edited by Leslie Bethell. Outlines the Golden Age of export-led
growth during the period 1870-1914, the arrival of the Great Depression in 1929, population growth, the rise of mass
immigration, especially in Argentina and Brazil, the impact of capitalist penetration in the countryside, urbanization, the
evolution of political and social ideas, and the role of the Catholic church.
Brazil: Empire and Republic, 1822-1930 (1989) edited by Leslie Bethell. Includes five chapters on the economic, social and
political history of Brazil from independence in 1822 down to the revolution of 1930. The persistence of slavery until the end
of the 1880s receives ample treatment.
Argentina Since Independence (1993) edited by Leslie Bethell. Deals with the economic, social, and political history of that
country in the period since independence from Spain. Peronismo and the Falklands War of 1982 are well covered.
Mexico Since Independence (1991) edited by Leslie Bethell. Contains six chapters on the economic, social, and political
history of the country, including works on the Porfiriato (1867-1910), the Mexican revolution (1910-20) and the rise and fall of
Cardenismo (1930-46).
Chile Since Independence (1993) edited by Leslie Bethell. Offers four chapters covering the economic, social, and political
history of Chile after 1830. The Allende regime (1970-73) and the military dictatorship of General Pinochet which followed are
nicely set in context.
Central America Since Independence (1991) edited by Leslie Bethell. Provides general chapters on the region covering the
periods 1821-70, 1870-1930, and 1930 to present, followed by chapters on each of the five Central American republics Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
Cuba: A Short History (1993) edited by Leslie Bethell. Outlines the history of the island since the mid-18th century. It deals
with the persistence of slavery until the end of the 1880s, independence from Spain after the Spanish-American War of 1898,
the growing political and economic dependency of Cuba on the USA, the corrupt Batista regime, and the impact of the
Castroite revolution of 1959.
Home and Garden
Many animals, many insects. make beautiful homes; but there is no evidence that any man derive aesthetic pleasure as well as
practical benefit from home-making, however fine. Despite Bacon's remark "Homes are built to be lived in, not to be looked
at" man is a voracious observer—we smile or shudder at other people's homes as well as at our own; we envy, we aspire, we
imitate. The books on this list, therefore, as well as giving practical advice, offer basking pleasure too: whether they prescribe
or reflect, their subject is comfort, and their tone (almost unique in the lists in this book) is uniformly relaxed and positive.
See ARCHITECTURE (Clifton-Taylor, Lancaster); FOOD (Beeton, Conran, Tannahill)
Berral, Julia J. An Illustrated Guide to the Garden (1966)
Authoritative accessible study of gardens through the ages, from that known as "Eden" to those being designed today for
garden lovers of tomorrow. Also: History of Flower Arrangement. See Crowe.
Bowles, E. A. My Garden in Spring (1914)
Winning combination of light, often funny, writing and botanical scholarship. Also: My Garden in Summer, etc
Bray, Lys de The Wild Garden (1978) a*.f Illustrated guide to weeds, of immense interest. After all, a weed is only a plant in
the wrong place at the wrong time—acceptability has as much to do with fashion as anything else.
Brittain' , J. (ed) Good Housekeeping's Step-by-step Encyclopaedia of Needlecraft (1979)
alcf
Sepia line drawings of stitches and techniques for embroidery, needlepoint, patchwork, crochet, macrame, weaving, sewing and
knitting. The "makes" are lively, colourful, well designed and up-to-date.
Bryd-Gnaf, Alfred Exotic Plant Manual (1974)
0 _I
Straightforward reference book of greenhouse and indoor plants.
Coats. Alice M. The Quest for Plants (1969)
Beguiling account of the lives of explorer-botanists of all ages and classes. Also: The Book ofFlowers
Conran, Terence The House Book (1974) 1a9 -I
Lavishly illustrated tome explains and displays Conran's own particular style of interior design as applied to every room in the
house. British orientation, but will enthuse and stimulate US readers too. Full of ideas to suit every type of budget. Also: The
Bed and Bathroom Book; The Kitchen Book. See FOOD
Crowe, Sylvia Garden Design (1958)
*J
Concise, thoughtful and beautifully written summary of the whole range and history of garden design. See Berral.
Dixon, Margaret The Wool Book (1979)
Guide to spinning, dyeing and knitting. Readable text; attractive illustrations.
Editors of Apartment Life Magazine The Apartment Book (1979) Useful, helpful information about creating a living space to
suit your lifestyle and your purse, presented with hundreds of photographs, illustrations and step-by-step instructions.
Encyclopaedia of Organic Gardening (1978)
af
Weighty, dependable, ingenious reference book compiled by the editors of Organic Gardeningmagazine. Everything is here,
presented in clear pictures and text. Valuable.
Free, Montague All about House Plants (1946)
0
Frewing, Nicholas J. (ed) The Reader's Digest Repair Manual (1972) 0 _I
Step-by-step diagrams for house repairs, decorating, restoring and renovating around the house and garden.
Grieve, Maude A Modern Herbal (1931)
Medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, cultivation and folklore of grasses, herbs, fungi, shrubs and trees.
Hay, R. and Beckett, K. A. (eds) Reader's Digest Encyclopedia of Garden Plants and Flowers (1964)
Hay, R., McQuown, F. R. and Beckett, G. and K. The Dictionary of Indoor Plants in Colour (1974)
Hellyer, Arthur The Shell Guide to Gardens (1977)
Concise historical account and guide to the gardens of Britain and Ireland.
Hessayon. D. G. and I. P. The Garden Book of Europe (1973)
1t e
Comparative facts and figures about European gardens, gardening styles.
Hillier, Harold Hillier's Manual of Trees and Shrubs (1971)
Innes, Jocasta The Pauper's Homemaking Book (1976)
a
Good drawings; hundreds of lively ideas for making the most of what you have. Jeffs, Angela (ed) Creative Crafts (1977)
Compendium of over 40 crafts ranging from embroidery to pottery, origami to metalwork and glass blowing. Stimulating; full
of sound advice. Also: Rugs from Rags; Wild Knitting
Itoh, Teiji, Japanese, 1922- .
The Gardens of Japan. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Jekyll, Gertrude Wood and Garden (1899)
The first and best of Jekyll's revolutionary books. She looked at plants with a painter's eye, recognized beauty in many new
forms and moulded the thinking of many of the best gardeners of the 20th century.
Jekyll, Gertrude, English, 1843-1932.
Home and Garden. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Johnson, Hugh The Principles of Gardening (1979) a * Described as "the science, practice and history of the gardener's art", a
superb book in every way. Also: The International Book of Trees, etc. See FOOD
Kron, J. and Slezin, S. High-Tech: The Industrial Style and Sourcebook for the Home (1978)
American best seller introduces the concept of high-tech interior design, using industrial products to domestic ends, tells where
to get materials and how to use them to the required effect—visual as well as practical.
Martensson, Aff The Book of Furniture Making(1979)
The author being of Swedish extraction, all the projects in this basically "practical" book show a distinct Scandinavian
influence—clean lines, plain wood or bright clear colours. Designs for every room in the house; emphasis on storage; sturdy
toys; complete guide to tools and how to use them. Also: Making Plywood Furniture; The Woodworker's Bible
Morse, Edward S., American, 1838-1925.
Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings. Rec: Counterpunch NF
Page, Russell The Education of a Gardener(1962)
Fine book on the philosophy of gardeningby one of the best garden designers of our time.
Phillips, C. E. Lucas The Small Garden (1952)
Wide learning and experience worn with ease and delivered with wit. Phillips, Derek Planning Your Lighting (1976)
One of a range of publications (all DesignCentre, UK; all recommended) about interior design and how to plan your home.
Also in series: Planning Your Kitchen; Rooms for Living; Children about the Home, etc
Reader's Digest Book of Sewing (1978) 0 *.., 528 pages of advice, information and guidance on all aspects of home sewing
and dressmaking.
Reader's Digest Practical Guide to Home Landscaping (1972) *..4'* Beautiful, useful, topically organized volume on every
kind of landscaping in every kind of climate and circumstance—from narrow city backyards to expansive suburban acres, from
the bleak north-east (US) to the desert southwest. An essential source.
Robinson, Julian The Penguin Book of Sewing(1973) a Good basic reference book for the not-too-creative. Subjects range
from toys and tailoring to upholstery; anyone with the least practical bent will find it invaluable.
Royal Horticultural Society The Vegetable Garden Displayed (1941) Yale
Useful and popular easy guide to growingvegetables in Britain; regularly updated. Also: The Fruit Garden Displayed;
Dictionary of Gardening Salisbury, E. J. The Living Garden (1935)
The background biology of gardening humanely examined by a Director of Kew Gardens, London.
Seymour, John The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency (1976)
II a .1
Seymour and his wife have proved that self-sufficiency can and does work, writing with authority and sensitivity about their
experiences and how their example can be followed. Beautifully illustrated. If you are interested in the countryside, rural life,
growing things and craft skills, an engrossing book. Also: The Gardener's Delight, etc
Sunset Magazine New Western Garden Book (1979) a _Pot Although intended for Californian gardeners, this is such a good
reference book with so much useful background information that it is well worth using, with due allowance for the different
climate, anywhere farther east.
Sunset Books, American, First pub. 1933.
Sunset Western Garden Book (By the Editors of Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine). Rec: Counterpunch NF
Thomas, Graham Stuart Perennial Garden Plants (1976)
A model of observation, conciseness and practical helpfulness.
Wilson, Erica Erica Wilson's Embroidery Book (1973)
a *_11
Also: The Craft of Crewel Embroidery; Erica Wilson's Quilts of America; More Needleplay, etc
Wright, Michael (ed) The Complete Indoor Gardener(1974) a f
If you are an aspiring urban gardener with no garden but potentially green fingers, this will guide you to success of jungle-like
proportions. Cacti, window boxes, house plants all excellently covered; good section on growing your own food without access
to the usual basic plot.
Humour
These are all funny books: classics whose funniness has weathered time, more recent books whose excellence seems set to
override topicality. Not a long list; but a merry one.
See ART (Adburgham); ARCHITECTURE (Lancaster); DRAMA (Aristophanes, Coward, Travers, Wilde);
FICTION/NOVELS (Amis, Beerbohm. Firbank, Gogol, Higek, Heller, Jarrell, Peacock, Rabelais, Waugh); FICTION/SHORT
STORIES (Runyon, Saki); FILM (Fields, Mast): HISTORY/BRITISH (George); MEDIA (Fisher); MUSIC (Hoffnung); SEX
(Southern); SOCIOLOGY (Rourke); TRAVEL (Wilson)
Allen, Woody Without Feathers (1972) * Allen's saturnine wit works marvellously on the page, uncluttered by the physical
slapstick which weakens some of his early films. Many of these pieces are from the New Yorker, the book also contains two
plays (Death and God), characteristically neat and sharp. Also: Getting Even
Benchley, Robert The Benchley Roundup (1956)
Benchley was a favourite 1940s actor and after-dinner speaker, a dry, bumbling wit in a long American line (Mark Twain, Will
Rogers, even Thurber). He writes with dry urbanity, and has a wonderful line in domestic fantasy.
Bissell, Richard Say, Darling (1957)
Bissell, secretary and stylist for a Chicago clothes company, wrote The Pajama Game. This book is an account of how it
became a hit Broadway musical. Backstage showbusiness, urbanely sliced.
Bruce, Lenny The Essential Lenny Bruce (1975)
Collection from Bruce's scabrous solo stage performances. Horrid, bilious humour, picking the scabs of Western decadence.
Chevalier, Gabriel Clochemerle (1936)
Saga of village pissoir in the Beaujolais avoids archness by precise characterization (especially of French officialdom), and
fast-moving plot. Subsequent volumes far less good: this one has staying power.
Daudet, Alphonse Lettres de Mon Moulin (1866)
Delightful stories of rural cunning and innocence, in barbed, poetic style. Resists translation; for full flavour, best read in
French. Also: Tartarin of Tarascon; Contes du Lundi, etc
Dennis, Patrick Auntie Mame (1955)
Interesting example of a splendid creation engulfed by its own success. Forget film, stage musical, turgid sequels: this novel of
an unprincipled, elegant dame d'affaires sends up WASP society brilliantly, affectionately.
De Vries, Peter Reuben, Reuben (1956)
De Vries has written wittily and well for the New Yorker (collection No, But I Saw the Movie, 1952); but his enduring fame
will rest on a series of fine novels outlining the comic desperation of Long Island Commuter Man. Elegant stories of the
ordinary aches of life, often (e.g. on crackerbarrel philosophy, picayune journalism and small-town politics) rising to
Juvenalian, galvanic wit. Also: The Mackerel Plaza; Comfort Me with Apples, etc
Frayn, Michael Towards the End of the Morning(1967)
Newspaper Man, Northwest London Man, Almost Middle-aged Man, deftly, sharply characterized. Frayn is a kind of
intellectual's Wodehouse (qv). In his best novel, The Russian Interpreter, he finds depth by writing about real people in a real
love affair. Also: The Tin Men; A Very Private Life
Gómez de la Serna, Ramón, Spanish, 1888-1963.
Greguerías. Rec: Ward
Ramón Gómez de la Serna was especially known for "Greguerías" - a short form of poetry that roughly corresponds to the oneliner in comedy. The Gregueria is especially able to grant a new and often humorous perspective.
Green, Michael The Art of Coarse Acting (1964) _I Documentary study of the problems and triumphs of Thespian life,
subtitled How to Wreck an Amateur Dramatic Society. The book causes strong men to break up on public transport: a painful
read. Also: The Art of Coarse Rugby, etc
Grossmith, G. and W. The Diary of a Nobody (1892)
* Fictional diary of humourless, aspiring Pooter, clerk in wouldbe-genteel Victorian London. The disasters and humiliations of everyday life (bootscraper; red bath; son Lupin's romance with
Daisy Mutlar) all risen above with sublime unsinkable dignity.
Hollowood, Bernard Pont (1969)
In 1930s Punch Pont captured the Britishness of the British in a set of drawings called "The British Character". Heavy-going
text should be ignored; selection of drawings is excellent.
Jerome, Jerome K. Three Men in a Boat (1889)
Three young men (to say nothing of the dog) take a boating-trip up the Victorian Thames. Quintessentially English humour?
Only if Leacock (qv) is parochially Canadian, Runyon (qv) parochially American. A marvellous, universal book. Also: Three
Men on the Bummel
Juvenal, Roman, ca. 60-ca. 140 CE.
Satires. Rec: Bloom Ward
Langley, Noel There's a Porpoise Close Behind Us (1936)
Gently whimsical story of two innocents on 1930s London stage. Will they lose their dewy eyes, their fresh faces, their ideals?
They will, they will. Also: Cage Me a Peacock (urbane mythological satire); Land of Green G inger (acerbic fantasy)
Lardner, Ring Roundup (1920) *
Lardner's bitter-sweet comedy—finally more bitter than sweet—verges on pungent social satire—a fact largely hidden by his
linguistic jokes. A great comic writer; a useful collection. See FICTION/SHORT STORIES
Larry Larry's Art Collection(1977)
Larry (Terence Parks) was one of the funniest British cartoonists of the 1970s. This tour of the art world is a superbly drawn,
side-splitting collection on a single theme.
Leacock, Stephen Nonsense Novels (1911)
Collection of pieces on dystopian Canadian life, when everything was raw, new and terrifying. Leac.ock's little men are the
ancestors of Thurber's (qv): a special, delightful view of life.
Loos, Anita Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925)
Memoirs of a wide-eyed flapper, the Girl Like I who knows just one thing for sure, that Diaminds are a Goil's Best Friend.
Milligan, Spike Rommel? Gunner Who ?(1974)
Sendup war memoirs. Ur-goon Milligan was one of the seminal British humorists of the 1950s and 60s: surreal, slapstick, selfdeflating. These memoirs are a kind of British Catch 22. See CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Morton, J. B. The Best of Beachcomber (1974) *tit, Morton was one of the best-ever British parodists, one of the few daily
journalists whose pieces look better between hard covers. The naming of names, Mr Justice Cocklecarrot and red-bearded
dwarves start here.
New Yorker Album of Drawings (1975)
Superb. Sample: two men in a bar (stock pose); one says, "Look, Nixon's no dope. If people really wanted moral leadership,
he'd give them moral leadership." Put in whatever name you like, it's funny.
O'Brien, Flann The Best of Myles Na Gopaleen (1968)
Irish whimsy, retailed with flint-eyed, diamond wit.
Perelman, S. J. The Most of S. J. Perelman (1979) *
Perelman wrote some of Marx Brothers' funniest lines, went on to become the world's most complete humorist, a seminal
influence on every comic writer since. He is his own anti-hero; his subject is the Hostility of Things, and none have done it
better. Also: Vinegar Puss; Eastward Ha!, etc
Persius, Roman, 34-62 CE.
Satires. Rec: Bloom
Petronius The Satyricon ( 1 st century AD) *
Marvellous sendup of Homer's Odyssey: Petronius' heroes search hard and unavailingly for sexual utopias in the tumbling,
raucous underworld of Nero's Rome. Good translation: Arrowsmith.
Petronius, Roman, d. 65 CE.
Satyricon. Rec: Bloom Rex Ward
Potter, Stephen Oneupmanship (1952)
Trouble starts in Yeovil, England, when Potter sets up a school for people who want to win life's race without actually cheating.
Also: Lifemanship; Gamesmanship, etc
Powell, Dawn, American, 1896-1965.
The Wicked Pavilion. Rec: Harvard
Two late novels show Powell's interest in the New York art world of the 1950s: The Wicked Pavilion (1954), an ensemble
portrait of the characters orbiting around the Cafe Julien (a fictionalized Hotel Brevoort) and a vanished or deceased painter
named Marius; and The Golden Spur (1962)
Queneau, Raymond Zazie dans le Metro (1959)
Coruscating "experimental" novel, about a wise-cracking, self-willed little girl and the luscious and ludicrous adults who look
after her. Monsieur Hulot stirred with the Dead End Kids. Best read in French (as puns and wordplay resist translation); but
Bray's translation (Zazie, 1960) very nearly comes off.
Rosten, Leo The Education of Hyman Kaplan (1937) rft
New York night-school teacher copes with unusual student. Fractured English is the joke; knowing Middle-European wisdom
the staying quality. Also: The Return of Hyman Kaplan; The Joys of Yiddish
Runyon, Damon The Best of Damon Runyon (1938) *
Hoods, marks, punks, guys and dolls swagger and fret in a fantasy New York. Like Chandler's, Runyon's invented world seems
to create, not reflect, reality. Don't the British think that allNew Yorkers behave and talk like this? See FICTION/SHORT
STORIES
Schulz, Charles Snoopy and It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (1971) One of the many cartoon collections about the lovable
beagle Snoopy, Charlie Brown and other friends.
Searle, Ronald The Penguin Ronald Searle (1960)
Searle is world-famous for one of his lesser works: St Trinians. This collection of drawings shows his true standing—satiric
stance, elegant draughtsmanship. "The Rake's Progress" (in this book) is an outstanding updating of Hogarth.
Saar, W. C. and Yeatman, R. J. 1066 and All That (1930)
Ina
Wonderful, English-schoolboy, Punchview of British history. The combination of Mrs Malaprop and Mr Chips works well. One
joke, endlessly varied; but a funny read, not to say a Good Thing.
Smith, Thorne The Bishop's Jaegers (1934)
The novel as Marx Brothers film. Surreal. priapic adventures in a fantasy New York filled with wandering underpants, bishops.
nudists, ferries and fog: Hellzapoppin' captured on the page. Also: Topper Takes a Trip; The Night Life of the Gods, etc
Steadman, Ralph America (1974)
Steadman is regarded by some as a modern Gillray: dyspeptic, spattered anatomies of modern life, writhing figures tortured
with satiric, emblematic force. Grosz, too, comes to mind: but he's not so funny. Also: Alice in Wonderland, etc
Steinberg, Saul Passport (1954)
Endless originality of theme and style, perfect draughtsmanship, humour that is both warm and acerbic. Few cartoonists under
45 are uninfluenced by Steinberg. This early collection shows his work at its most fertile and energetic. Also: All in a Line, etc
Thurber, James My World and Welcome to It (1942)• In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Thurber's typical henpecked hero
daydreams as he dances attendance on his wife, finally refusing a blindfold to face a firing squad. "Erect and motionless, proud
and disdainful, Walter Mitty, the undefeated, inscrutable to the last." Thurber is timeless, uniquely lateral—prose poems of the
indignity of man. Also: My Life and Hard Times; Men, Women and Dogs, etc
Thurber, James, American, 1894-1961.
A Thurber Carnival. Rec: Hungry Mind
Tinniswood, Peter A Touch of Daniel (1969)
At first glance, parochial and opaque: glum working-class household in the north of England, flat caps, pork pies and mushy
peas, racing pigeons, temperance bar and trams. But Tinniswood is up to something else: the human condition, no less. It
works. Also: I Didn't Know You Cared; Except You're a Bird, etc
Trudeau, Gary Call Me When You Find America (1973)
Perpetual 60s student attempts to deal with the establishment, and fails. All human life (US) is here.
Twain, Mark Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven (1903)*
Relatively little known but one of Mark Twain's funniest books. Takeoff of religious pretensions and, in fact, all pretensions—
Captain Stormfield discovers a heaven that makes so much sense it could never be sold to the faithful. Also: Innocents Abroad,
etc. See FICTION/NOVELS; FICTION/SHORT STORIES; HISTORY/AMERICAN; TRAVEL
Westlake, Donald A New York Dance (1978)
Caper comedies: bungling, endearing crooks (often lower-echelon Mafia) outfaced by traffic, supermarkets, unopenable
biscuits, the whole never-never-land of daily life. Slick as movie scripts, as pleasurable as ice cream. Also: Up Your Banners;
The Busy Body, etc
White, E. B. and K. S. (eds) A Subtreasury of American Humor
(1941) a Still the best collection of American humour, and a book it is almost impossible to put down. See CHILDREN'S
BOOKS; DIARIES (Garnett, White); REFERENCE (Strunk)
Wodehouse, P. G. The Inimitable Jeeves (1924)
* Whether you enter his world with Jeeves, Psmith, Mulliner or the Earl
of Blandings, the self-styled Performing Flea of English letters will charm and delight. Also: Leave It to Psmith; Summer
Lightning, etc
Wodehouse, P. G., English, 1881-1975.
The Inimitable Jeeves. Rec: NYPL
The Return of Jeeves. Rec: Smiley
Bertie Wooster Sees It Through. Rec: Smiley
Spring Fever. Rec: Smiley
The Butler Did It. Rec: Smiley
The Most of P. G. Wodehouse. Rec: Good Reading
Literary Criticism
Literary critics fulfil two main offices: those of commentator and guide. In the first place, they tell us what we have just read,
and what it meant: in the second, they tell us what we ought to read, and why. At his best (and it is for their excellence that
books are listed here) the literary critic has a brave, prescriptive and dynamic role to play, both in our reading of literature and
(often) in its writing. By explaining the recipe, he may just enhance our enjoyment of the dish.
See ANTHROPOLOGY (Dodds, Street); BIOGRAPHY (Bate, Coleridge, Edel, Green, Johnson, Nabokov, Starkie, Troyat);
DRAMA (Artaud, Braun, Brook, Esslin, Grotowski, Masefield, Roberts, Van Doren, Williams); FEMINISM (Millet); FILM
(Mast): HISTORY/AMERICAN (Wilson)
Abram, David, American, 1957- .
The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World. Rec: Utne
Abrams, M. H., American, 1912- .
The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition. Rec: ML Nonfiction
Our way of looking at art in the year 2000 is steeped in the Romantic mentality. The idea of the true poet as lone inspired
genius, starving in a garret, creating to express his (and it generally was 'his' in those days) inner turmoil or vision is so
ingrained that there almost seems no other possible standard. Yet as M.H. Abrahms points out in this scholarly, yet readable
work on Romantic poetry and theory, this view of art and the artist is only as old as the age of Coleridge and Wordsworth…
(amazon)
Adler, Mortimer J. and Charles Van Doren, American, 1902-2001 and 1926- .
How to Read a Book. Rec: Fadiman 3
Aristotle Poetics (4th century BC) 09a*
One of the most influential of all works of criticism, especially for its unique eliciting of principles from particular instances
(for example, the principles of tragedy from Sophocles' King Oedipus). All thinking about mimesis (imitation) and about
catharsis (the purging effect of tragedy) starts from here; yet essentially a modest and undogma tic set of notes. See
PHILOSOPHY; POLITICS
Arnold, Matthew On Translating Homer (1861)
al P
Penetratingly lucid about the principles of translation, with deft examples and comparisons. Written in "a prose such as we
would all gladly use if only we knew how" (Arnold elsewhere on Dryden). Not just for translators; of importance to all
interested in verbal nuance and resonance, in any literature. Also: Culture and Anarchy. See POETRY (Arnold, Homer)
Artaud, Antonin, French, 1896-1948.
Theater and Its Double. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Selected Writings. Rec: Bloom
Auden, W. H. The Dyer's Hand (1963)
a
Auden always had, in strict and sententious eyes, a reputation for technical genius and dubious seriousness; his literary essays
bring his expertise intelligently and practically to bear on other poets, from Shakespeare to Cavafy, and allow his unschematic
wit to play ingeniously and informatively among the great and the fugitive. Also: Forewords and Afterwords. See DRAMA;
POETRY
Auerbach, Erich Mimesis (1953)
Subtitled The Representation of Reality in Western Literature (no less), of massive range (from Homer and the Old Testament
to Virginia Woolf), and masterly presentation. Moves with assured ease from close stylistic analysis to generalizations on
literary and cultural history.
Auerbach, Erich, German, 1892-1957.
Mimesis: Representation of Reality in Western Literature. Rec: Counterpunch Trans
Barthes, Roland Writing Degree Zero (1953)
9* *
With Gallic urbanity—and to the outrage of some Anglo-American critics—Barthes offers a brusque dismissal of traditional
concepts of criticism: of discovering "the truth" or "meaning" of a work, of the evaluative function of the critic. He was an
influential and eloquent defender of experimental modern literature. Also: S/Z; Mythologies
Barthes, Roland, French, 1915-1980.
Mythologies. Rec: Counterpunch Trans TLS
Beckett, Samuel Proust (1931)
Indispensable to the study not of Proust, but of Beckett himself. 24-year-old Beckett is haughty, affected, unignorable. See
BIOGRAPHY (Painter, Pickering); DRAMA (Beckett, Johnson); FICTION/NOVELS (Beckett. Proust); FICTION/SHORT
STORIES (Beckett)
Benjamin, Walter Illuminations (1970)
P*
Perceptive, enigmatic thoughts on literature (Proust, Baudelaire, Kafka), philosophy and the social context of art from one of
the greatest, most humane writers of the century. Also: One-Way Street, Charles Baudelaire; The Origi