A unique and fascinating look at violent political change by one of the most profound thinkers of the twentieth century and the author of Eichmann in Jerusalem and The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt’s penetrating observations on the modern world; based on a profound knowledge of the past; have been fundamental to our understanding of our political landscape. On Revolution is her classic exploration of a phenomenon that has reshaped the globe. From the eighteenth-century rebellions in America and France to the explosive changes of the twentieth century; Arendt traces the changing face of revolution and its relationship to war while underscoring the crucial role such events will play in the future. Illuminating and prescient; this timeless work will fascinate anyone who seeks to decipher the forces that shape our tumultuous age.
#263420 in Books 2006-12-26 2006-12-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.12 x .60 x 5.07l; .35 #File Name: 0143038664224 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy kenneth e. coreyThis is a useful read in light of the recent Charlottesville; Virginia and Confederate monuments events.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Flawed but readable short life of LeeBy Jordan M. PossRoy Blount Jr.’s short biography of Robert E. Lee is an idiosyncratic book. It’s broadly organized into two parts: a biography; running a brisk 160 pages; and a 45-page section of appendices.The biographical half of the book is good. Blount’s account is readable and nicely summarizes Lee’s life; beginning with the legacy of his wastrel father; a one-time comrade-in-arms and friend of George Washington. Blount depicts Lee’s father casting a shadow over the entirety of Lee’s life; a point explored by other biographers but made central to the story here. Blount even ascribes to Lee an oedipal complex at least twice--about which more shortly.Blount moves quickly through the early stages of Lee’s life: the difficult circumstances of his youth; his time as a cadet and young Army officer; the Mexican War and his tenure as commandant of West Point. The longest section; as in most Lee bios; is that on the Civil War. This section is very good given its brevity. Given the constraints of space and a general readership; Blount has to pick and choose and--mostly--chooses well. He avoids bogging down in the nitty gritty of the Civil War campaigns and includes a lot of telling personal details throughout--Lee's heart problems; his pet chicken; his self-abnegation; his platonic fondness for ladies; his affection for his children and his concern for their discipline and morality--drawing a decent sketch of Lee as a man.The book is writerly; Blount’s interests as a writer and raconteur peek through in a lot of odd ways; including numerous references to Faulkner and Robert Penn Warren and a meditation on Lee’s spelling. Blount may be no historian but the book is; again; readable; often witty; and only occasionally marred by errors of fact. As just one example; Blount blunders in describing the Battle of Antietam as “the war’s bloodiest†battle (105). That dubious distinction belongs to the three-day Battle of Gettysburg; Antietam was the bloodiest single day of the war. An understandable slip; but a slip nonetheless.The book has two serious flaws. The first is Blount’s endless psychoanalysis of Lee. And I use “psychoanalysis†deliberately; Blount drags a lot of outdated Freudian theory into the scene to try to make sense of the unknowable Lee. Blount winks at it several times; suggesting to the reader that he finds what he’s writing faintly ridiculous; but he writes it anyway. The most ludicrous moment comes in Blount’s rumination on how Lee came to lose at Gettysburg:“[Union General] Meade’s headquarters was a thousand yards or so from the Baltimore Pike. Lee’s was about the same distance from the Mummasburg Road. When Light-Horse Harry Lee was just about Lee’s age at Gettysburg; he came to grief in Baltimore. It was a man known to history only as ‘a giant of a man named Mumma’ who tried to cut off his nose.“Maybe something in Harry’s son decided; this is the place. To win his war or lose it; to resolve his oedipal conflict or not†(132).Fortunately this kind of thing is sparse within the body of the biography itself; but its presence is silly and pulls the narrative up short whenever it intrudes.Tied to the psychoanalytic strains of the biography are the strangest parts of the book; the three appendices that make up the last forty pages. These three sections are independent essays on different facets of Lee’s personality and are of wildly varying quality. The second; “Lee’s Humor;†is full of personal tidbits that could have been sprinkled into the narrative--or excised entirely without damaging the book. It shows a more human side of Lee; a man capable of joking and acting silly with his family. The third; “Lee’s Attitude Toward Slavery;†is essential to understanding the man and it makes no sense to have affixed it as an appendix. This is material that should have been incorporated into the main text.But the most idiosyncratic; ridiculous passages of the entire book are in the first appendix; “Speculation.†Much of it is taken up with idle conjecture. Lee had small feet; Blount notes. He liked it when his children tickled them. He requested fresh socks a lot in letters. Could it be; Blount suggests; and one involuntarily imagines a wry grin; that Lee had a foot fetish? Could it have been an oedipal thing too? “Robert was presumably pleased to ease his mother’s aches by massage†(167). Blount brings in the psychology of “gifted children;†titters over the contents of a Richmond prostitute’s diary; compares Lee to other “mother’s boys†like Elvis; rates actors who have depicted Lee on film; and ponders how other men’s admiration of Lee’s looks affected him as “a young heterosexual man†(181). It’s a freeform dump of non-information that offers next to nothing beyond prurient leering at a dead icon.That’s my deepest reservation--the psychologizing and the rambling appendices detract from this otherwise fun and engaging short biography. When Blount rises to the level of his subject; the book is excellent. Some of the discursive passages provide enlightening new angles from which to view Lee. But the book’s flaws don’t recommend it.Recommended only to those already familiar with Lee and seeking a little distraction.6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Excellent short biography of LeeBy John A. La Boone IIIThis book is highly readable and fascinating in its insights. For a short biography; it is packed with information that one would not find in a more encyclopedia-type treatment. Blount's narrative style flows nicely and he includes enough humor to make the book sparkle. In fact there is a section at the end just on Lee's humor. Blount does a good job of explaining Lee's upbringing; marriage and early adult life; and especially his relationships with other people; both in and out of the military. By the time we get to the Lee's leadership in the Civil War; a great deal of his behavior and decision-making becomes clearer. Blount pays appropriate attention to Lee's considerable talents and achievements but also goes into the famous man's shortcomings and personality quirks. The result is a believeable picture of Lee that is; like with all other great people; a mixture of amazing abilities and personal failures. Along the way; Blount gives some fascinating vignettes of other memorable people such as JEB Stuart; US Grant; Stonewall Jackson; Lee's children and especially Lee's father Light Horse Harry Lee. I wish the book had told a bit more about Lee's life after the Civil War but to keep within the length limits of the short biography series; I'm sure that wasn't possible. It does give some interesting information on that five-year period; though. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Lee; the Civil War or the psychology of notable people under great historical pressures.
