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ENEMIES OF SOCIETY

Name: ENEMIES OF SOCIETY
Author: Paul Johnson
ISBN: 0297772945

by Paul Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1977

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Freedom and civilization are the products of middle-class values and activities, and those who question those values are enemies of society'—such is the tired and outworn conclusion of this tired and pretentious tract. Johnson, a former editor of The New Statesman, begins with a historical argument that appears promising, if eclectic and rather superficial. He traces European history from the Greeks to the Industrial Revolution, arguing that each stage in this development was propelled by the innovations and dynamism of the urban middle class, and that each stage declined or fell with the circumscription of middle-class freedoms. With the full development of a market economy, Johnson proceeds, the middle class has been able to avoid this fate in the modern epoch—at least until now—and has produced a sustained period of development and growth. This interpretation is certainly debatable—and worth debating—but any logical basis for discussion becomes utterly lost when Johnson abandons history and move to his real task: the defense of our received civilization against its enemies, whom Johnson simple-mindedly classifies as Freudians and Marxists. Taking up, as a cudgel, Karl Popper's conception of scientific verification through the criterion of falsifiability (The Logic of Scientific Discovery), Johnson attacks his opponents for their quasi-religious irrationality. His prose degenerates into ugly rhetoric such as student Fascist Left, and he adopts vaguely racist epithets like witch-doctor when referring to his targets. Like his hero Popper (in the latter's The Open Society and Its Enemies), Johnson is unable to distinguish between theories and variously attacks Herbert Marcuse, Marshall McLuhan, Ivan lllich, Freud, Levi-Strauss, and sociology tout court, employing the same insubstantial criticisms throughout. Occasionally slipping into hysterics, this book merely updates Popper's questionable work without adding any sustained theoretical content.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1977

ISBN: 0297772945

Page Count: 294

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1977

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
EISENHOWER
by Paul Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
STALIN
by Paul Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
MOZART
by Paul Johnson

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NUTCRACKER

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

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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

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

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

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

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

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.