“Without self-absorption; Tall traces the self’s emergence in a place which she recognized from the start as her testing place.â€â€”Seamus Heaney “In the literature of place; Deborah Tall’s book stands out for its delicacy; range of learning; and refreshing frankness.â€â€”Phillip Lopate In her third book of nonfiction; Deborah Tall explores the genealogy of the missing. Haunted by her orphaned father’s abandonment by his extended family; his secretive; walled-off trauma and absent history; she sets off in pursuit of the family he claims not to have. From the dutiful happiness of Levittown in the 1950s to a stricken former shtetl in Ukraine; we follow Tall’s journey through evasions and lies. Reflecting on family secrecy; postwar American culture; and the urge for roots; Tall’s search uncovers not just a missing family but an understanding of the part family and history play in identity. A Family of Strangers is Tall’s life’s work; told in such exacting; elegant language that the suppressed past vividly asserts its place in the present.Deborah Tall is the author of four books of poems; most recently Summons; published by Sarabande Books after Charles Simic chose it for the Kathryn A. Morton Poetry Prize. She has also published two previous two books of nonfiction; The Island of the White Cow: Memories of an Irish Island and From Where We Stand: Recovering a Sense of Place; and co-edited the anthology The Poet's Notebook with Stephen Kuusisto and David Weiss. Tall has taught writing and literature at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and edited its literary journal; Seneca Review; since 1982. She lives in Ithaca; New York; with her husband David Weiss and their two daughters.
#794592 in Books imusti 2002-05-16 2002-05-16Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 5.30 x 1.20 x 8.50l; 1.13 #File Name: 0192802917384 pagesOxford University Press; USA
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Gellately is very good in pointing out a PR pointBy MeyatiThis is a well-researched book that looks at Hitler and the 3rd Reich from the view of Public Relations. For example; in the 1930s; the Nazis released artists; authors; dissenters from concentration camps; while saying the Nazis didn't believe in oppression. Then a few months later; the Nazis rounded up the same people and sent them back to concentration camps. The public decided that the dessenters were trouble makers.Gellately is very good in pointing out a PR point; and then how it didn't work out. Hitler promised to put women back into the home and kitchen; which would reduce crimes against women. The wages and work opportunities went up for the men; so the women quit work. Then with total war; the women were in the factories working night shifts. Then add that the SS were able to rape any woman they wanted without it being a crime.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Charles G.some like to claim the people did not know. Must be guilt1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. PersuasiveBy E. MercuriGellately is able to present evidence that shows that evil that is not hidden can still be accepted by a people who in different times would not consider the actions acceptable. A sobering description showing the extent that the Nazis were mindful of public opinion and were able to lead opinion by reflecting beliefs that had become legitimate.
