The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap

Amazon.com

Did you ever wonder about the historical accuracy of those "traditional family values" touted in the heated arguments that insist our cultural ills can be remedied by their return? Of course, myth is rooted in fact, and certain phenomena of the 1950s generated the Ozzie and Harriet icon. The decade proved profamily--the birthrate rose dramatically; social problems that nag--gangs, drugs, violence--weren't even on the horizon. Affluence had become almost a right; the middle class was growing. "In fact," writes Coontz, "the 'traditional' family of the 1950s was a qualitatively new phenomenon. At the end of the 1940s, all the trends characterizing the rest of the twentieth century suddenly reversed themselves." This clear-eyed, bracing, and exhaustively researched study of American families and the nostalgia trap proves--beyond the shadow of a doubt--that Leave It to Beaver was not a documentary.

Gender, too, is always on Coontz's mind. In the third chapter ("My Mother Was a Saint"), she offers an analysis of the contradictions and chasms inherent in the "traditional" division of labor. She reveals, next, how rarely the family exhibited economic and emotional self-reliance, suggesting that the shift from community to nuclear family was not healthy. Coontz combines a clear prose style with bold assertions, backed up by an astonishing fleet of researched, myth-skewing facts. The 88 pages of endnotes dramatize both her commitment to and deep knowledge of the subject. Brilliant, beautifully organized, iconoclastic, and (relentlessly) informative The Way We Never Were breathes fresh air into a too often suffocatingly "hot" and agenda-sullied subject. In the penultimate chapter, for example, a crisp reframing of the myth of black-family collapse leads to a reinterpretation of the "family crisis" in general, putting it in the larger context of social, economic, and political ills.

The book began in response to the urgent questions about the family crisis posed her by nonacademic audiences. Attempting neither to defend "tradition" in the era of family collapse, nor to liberate society from its constraints, Coontz instead cuts through the kind of sentimental, ahistorical thinking that has created unrealistic expectations of the ideal family. "I show how these myths distort the diverse experiences of other groups in America," Coontz writes, "and argue that they don't even describe most white, middle-class families accurately." The bold truth of history after all is that "there is no one family form that has ever protected people from poverty or social disruption, and no traditional arrangement that provides a workable model for how we might organize family relations in the modern world."

Some of America's most precious myths are not only precarious, but down right perverted, and we would be fools to ignore Stephanie Coontz's clarion call. --Hollis Giammatteo

Customer Reviews:

A bit biased.......2007-07-03

I have just finished reading this book. Throughout the entire reading, I often felt that the author was taking her point too far to the left. And I'm a liberal democrat! I believe 100% in the rights of women to work... but I also believe that same right applies to those who wish to stay at home with their children.

The author seems to downplay the importance, and the value, in staying home with children. While she is correct in the assertion that our nostalgia for bygone days clouds our vision of the truth, there is something to be said for taking responsibility.

In the author's call for more social action and responsibility, there seems an underlying hint that the problems in the American family come from without rather than within. I disagree with this completely and think that we should stop blaming the media, the schools, our neighbors, the government, and our children's social group for the ills within our own homes. While it is an honorable endeavor, helping society clean up it's act, we must first start in the home. We must first start with ourselves, and with our children, before we can have any hope of helping someone else.

Overall a good read, but this author is a product of her generation and her writing should be viewed as such.

34
Liberal
Military Spouse
Homeschooling Mom

Life was never perfect in any era.......2007-03-20

The tendency of people to look back on their past and see only the good and not the bad is all too evident in the agendas of conservatives and so-called advocates of so-called traditional families.

Those of us who lived through the perfect era when dads worked, moms vaccuumed in pearls and kids have perfect lives behind white picket fences remember it far differently.

We remember when domestic violence was considered a "private family matter" and battered women had no escape except a casket. We remember the days before Rape Crisis Centers, and when the law required the victim to first prove herself innocent at her accuser's trial. We remember women who gritted their teeth and stayed in bad marriages until their children were grown because they knew they'd have no property rights in the divorce. We remember the days before Title 9, when the boys got the gym and the girls got the cafeteria. We remember the girls who were sent away for the summer to an aunt, a euphemism for an unwed mother's home. (Check out Ms. Fessler's "The Girls Who Went Away" for more on this) and the women who could only quit their jobs while their sexual harasser was free to move on to his next victim.

There was no perfect era, there was no perfect home, there was no perfect family. Time we realized it, and stopped looking for an easy fix to real problems.

What you think you know may be wrong.......2006-08-17

This book provides exhaustively documented evidence that our cultural myths, such as the idealized nuclear family of the 50's, were not typical of American history after all, and that some of today's problems are not new. It's slow going for most readers (unless you majored in sociology). It made me look again at my own memories of earlier times of my life. The end notes would be helpful to scholars in American history, sociology or even social work.

Suberb and important work- Gets a grip on the reality of the American Family.......2006-02-25

Coonz dissects piece by piece the ideal of the "normal" family and lifestyle that neoconservatives frequently point to, as a solution to society's ills. Coonz's research is meticulous, and this book is a potent antidote to the fallacy that too often guides policy making in Washington and statehouses across the nation. i.e. that only the reestablishment of the "normal" traditional nuclear family is the path to our salvation. A+

Some interesting tidbits, but not worth the time to read fully.......2006-02-15

The first thing I did when I got this book was to look up what the author had to say about the Moynihan Report (thinking that based on the subject of the book the author would have many interesting criticisms). Alas, all that existed was a few sentence dismissal. After that I couldn't take the book very seriously and just jumped around to various things that I found interesting. Some things were interesting, others were foolish.

Average customer rating:

On The Homesickness Of Modern Man
Exile's disease

The Future of Nostalgia
Svetlana Boym
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0465007082

Book Description

What happens to Old World memories in a New World order? Svetlana Boym opens up a new avenue of inquiry: the study of nostalgia.

Combining personal memoir, philosophical essay, and historical analysis, Svetlana Boym explores the spaces of collective nostalgia that connect national biography and personal self-fashioning in the twenty-first century. She guides us through the ruins and construction sites of post-communist cities--St. Petersburg, Moscow, Berlin, and Prague--and the imagined homelands of exiles--Benjamin, Nabokov, Mandelstahm, and Brodsky. From Jurassic Park to the Totalitarian Sculpture Garden, Boym unravels the threads of this global epidemic of longing and its antidotes.

Customer Reviews:

On The Homesickness Of Modern Man.......2002-11-30

"How to begin again? How to be happy, to invent ourselves, shedding the inertia of the past? How to experience life & life alone, "that dark, driving, insatiable power that lusts after itself?" These were the questions that bothered the moderns. Happiness, and not merely a longing for it, meant forgetfulness & a new perception of time."

"The modern opposition between tradition & revolution is treacherous......"

So opens the second chapter of Svetlana Boym's "The Future Of Nostalgia" after she has traced the roots of the concept from being identified as a DISEASE of Swiss exiles into a recognition of the problem of all mankind at the start of the 21st century.

I hope I'm not wrong in saying that I think that this book may be an important new cornerstone in art, poli-sci & philosophy. I like this book THAT MUCH....

Ms. Boym's book fell into my hands quite serendipitously as I was researching material for my own novel; I was doing a search on "hypochondria" for a character I was trying to delineate with a certain kind of homesickness, and up popped the heading "Hypochondria Of The Heart" for an interview with Ms. Boym in a newspaper from Harvard University where she is a professor of Slavic Literature. The premise for her book deeply intrigued me since she elucidated some similar points that I had been trying to frame in my own work. I hurriedly ordered her book from our local library, anticipating something groundbreaking.

I wasn't disappointed. This book traces a link between poetry, philosophy & politics in the modern age which is rooted in nostalgia, the longing for home & the feeling of loss due to a disctinctly modern concept of time.

However, this is no futile deconstructionist tract, nor is it a conservative tome yammering on about the pervasive influences of the enemy in a "See? We told you so!" smug-but-ineffective posturing.

What Ms. Boym does is show both healthy & unhealthy effects of nostalgia on history & memory. The first part of the book lays out what the modern conception of time has done to modernity, popular culture, conspiracies & collective memory, et. al. This clarifies the reality of the problem of modern life not as meaningless, but a somatization of symptoms attributed to to fractured parts of humanity, cultural & individual.

She doesn't stop there, however. Boym is savvy enough to show examples of her position in parts two & three of the book.

Part two shows the impact of longing for return on Moscow, St. Petersburg, Berlin & Europe in general. This cements evidence for the concept of modern time on TRADITION, by showing
what particular post-Communist cities do to reinstill history after years of trying to synthesize it.

Part three cleverly goes to the other side for a balance by showing the longings of exiles like Nabakov,Brodsky & Kabakov.
In this mode, the idea of nostalgia affecting historical tradition is expanded to included the revolutionary INDIVIDUAL going against the grain & what they expected their hopes to gain them apart from their homelands.

All of this could be very boring however, except that Ms. Boym exhibits a clear & rich style, making this book a terrific read. I found myself wanting to read it again, not because of confusion, but because of the wealth of insights that flow forth from her.

This is the first book I've read to give any useful & pragmatic perspective on our seemingly fracturing globe these days, not because it points out what is going on, but because it takes the idea of "home is where the heart is" and shows what might have happened to the heart.

I feel that this book is universally useful to all political stripes and many different fields of the humanities. I'll wager that this may turn out to be one of the first most important books of the 21st century. Why? Because I feel a wiser & more articulate human being from reading it.

Exile's disease.......2001-06-23

This amazing book has been efficiently described by its Editorial Reviews. It is ingenious, absorbing, and by turns difficult and thrilling. Do not be misled by the kitschy or simplistic associations you might have to the term "nostalgia." Exile, either voluntary or forced - no small thing either way - is its precondition.

Many, but far from all, of the examples and references are Russian and Eastern European. Each of the seventeen chapters is an essay of depth and precision. They are greatly satisfying: rich and dense with associations and references from art and literature, and the entire span of recorded human history.

Boym names Part One "Hypochondria of the Heart," and variously introduces her kaleidoscopic interests in nostalgia - as an "epidemic." Nostalgia, she asserts (and proves convincingly) is "the disease of an afflicted imagination." It afflicts those who would become assimilated to their new worlds - as well as those who (variously and often highly individualistically) resist. The second section, "Cities and Re-invented Traditions" contains five chapters that focus on Russian and European conceptions and realities. The final part, "Exiles and Imagined Homelands" is my favorite. Its chapters cover among other things the excess of souvenirs to be found in immigrants' apartments (knickknacks of identity and remembrance that would not ever be displayed back home); cyberspace, which "makes the bric-a-brac of nostalgia available in digital form"; the persistence of immigrant eccentricity; the preservation (and transformation) of attitudes, and various phenomena of adjustment. Some of the personages discussed (for there is never mere name-dropping in this book) are Adam and Eve ("the first exiles") Ovid, Telemachus, Oedipus, Odysseus, Walter Benjamin, Freud, Hanna Arendt, painter Ilya Kabakov, Joseph Brodsky, and Vladimir Nabokov - to name a few.

I loved this book. There isn't a slow page in it. Boym is passionately interested in art, history, psychology, signs and symbols, literature, urbanism, politics, and people. She's a deep thinker who is guided by her considerable ability to keep several balls in the air at once, to teach with clarity, and to really understand what makes people tick. There's a good index and over thirty pages of notes that enable a lot of further reading in this big and interesting subject.

Book Description

The Smithsonian Institution and Radio Spirits have united to bring you the very finest from radio's golden age. Each radio broadcast has been digitally restored and remastered from original recordings for superb sound quality. The 60-page book is filled with rare photographs and insightful commentary about the shows, the performers, the medium and the genre and features a foreword written by David Kogan, writer/creator of The Mysterious Traveler & Murder by Experts. Experience the finest in classic entertainment with this unprecedented series from the Smithsonian Collection of Old Time Radio.

Customer Reviews:

Not Applicable.......2006-11-10

Your records are incorrect. I did not order this collection because of the time it took to ship it.

A great glimpse of pre-TV entertainment.......2006-10-12

From spooky to absolutely hokey, this collection of radio mysteries from the 1940s is a wonderful glimpse into entertainment before the advent of the tube. Almost as interesting as the mysteries themselves are the commercials and public service announcements (such as the one for War Bonds by Orson Welles).

An excellent collection, with performances by Richard Widmark, Orson Welles, Edmond O'Brien, Dinah Shore, Basil Rathbrone and Jack Webb.

Not what I expected.......2004-09-27

I thought that this collection of stories were going to be "mysteries," something more along the lines of detectives, crimes, and sleuthing. What it turned out to be was a collection of good radio dramas that were more accounts of "strange happenings" and "thrillers." The audio quality was good and the stories were well done, I just think that the CD's were a bit misleading in their titles.

Fantastic!.......2003-09-20

If you're a lover of old time radio, this collection of mysteries is fantastic. Commercials are even included which adds to the fun.

I like this collection because it isn't interrupted by modern day narration recounting the history of the shows like some other collections are. The sound quality is also far superior to other non-Smithsonian collections.

Others may be less expensive, but I don't believe that you get the quality you get here. Definitely worth the money.

Greats in the crime, supernatural, and suspense genres.......2001-08-04

No science fiction unless you count Escape's great adaptation of "Country of the Blind". And only one detective type which classifies as mystery because of the mysterious "Fatima". Still, a great collection. Top of the heap is the "Suspense" classic, "The Hitchhiker" with the great Orson Wells at his greatest. "Escape" is represented as mentioned above with "Country of the Blind", a H. G. Wells story, spotlighting the terrific use of sound effects and music in telling the story. Then, there's not one, but two examples of the great Arch Oboler. First, there's "Cat Wife" on "Everyman's Theater", an admittedly preposterous supernatural story, but made one of the most entertaining entries here because of the Oboler genius of use of the voices. The "Lights Out" episode, also featuring Oboler's talent, was the lesser of the two, but quite interesting because of the dramatic acting by singer Dinah Shore and tough voiced Gloria Blondell. "The Whistler" and "Inner Sanctum" were two of the best loved mystery series, and the theme music of the former, and use of the organ in the latter definitely are masterful. But the episode which I found most interesting and surprising personally was the story, "Killer, Come Back to Me" on Molle Mystery Theater, a gangster story by a fledgling author by the name of Ray Bradbury while he was still writing for the detective pulps, before he found himself in the horror and science fiction genres which made him famous. I am sure that while many Bradbury stories were dramatized on radio, this was undoubtedly the first. The classic "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" from the Weird Circle series was good though I could've wished for a less familiar literary classic. All in all, this is a great collection which shows how sound effects, music, distinctive voices, stories with twist endings, were all used to create the beloved old time radio mystery.

The Shadow: The Golden Vulture" and "Crime (Shadow (Nostalgia Ventures))

Average customer rating:

The Shadow back in print at last!
The Golden Vulture and Crime Insured
Great return of an old Hero

The Shadow: The Golden Vulture" and "Crime (Shadow (Nostalgia Ventures))
Lester Dent , and Walter Brown Gibson
Manufacturer: Nostalgia Ventures
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1932806482

Customer Reviews:

The Shadow back in print at last!.......2007-07-08

The Shadow is back after a long absence from book shelves, movies and television. The Shadow has been out of print since the early 1970's, when Pyramid books published 23 paperback reprints of the classic pulps, with beautiful Jim Steranko covers.
Now we have a fine series of reprints, with two novels for the price of one, reprinted with the original covers and interior illustrations. If you have never read a novel of the Shadow, then "Crime, Insured!" is a great introduction to the series. It is among the most fast paced and well written of the series which consisted of about 325 novels, mostly written by Walter Gibson, under the pen name Maxwell Grant.
For those who only know the Shadow from the old radio series, or the mediocre 1994 Alec Baldwin film, then prepare to meet the true Shadow. No mental powers which "cloud mens minds" here, just detective skills, muscle, and twin automatics. You'll also be intoduced to one of the most mysterious characters in popular fiction bar none.
Pulp fiction at its best. Buy it and read it. You won't regret it!

The Golden Vulture and Crime Insured.......2007-03-26

Make sure you have time because when you start this book you will not stop until finished. The plots are viable today. I love the informative features regarding the writers.

Great return of an old Hero.......2007-01-08

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
The Shadow Knows!

The Shadow is a classic hero from the 1930's and 40's. He hasn't been seen since the 1994 film.

Well, now The Shadow is Back! in all his dark and mysterious glory! This book contains two full Shadow Novels from the original 1930's pulps.

The first novel, "Crime, Insured", introduces experienced and new Shadow fans to his brand of crime fighting, and also introduces quite a few of the people that are in his network of agents. The Shadow's agents are people who he has saved at some time in the past and they agreed to help him when he asked for it. The agents in this story are some of his most common and frequently used people. The story basically revolves around an insurance agency who thought of a new insurance scheme, where they insure the criminal for the crime they plan to commit! This is a great introduction to the shadow, and is full of action that shows how the Shadow operates. How the story wraps up adds a great surprise twist at the end!

The second story, "The Golden Vulture", was written by Lester Dent, and then edited by Walter Gibson. This story mixes the technology tricks that Doc Savage fans will recognize as Lester Dent's forte with the mysterious methods of The Shadow. This was the story that won Lester Dent the contract to write Doc Savage! A Great Shadow Story by two great authors!

If you like fast-driving action, mystery and heroic action, you'll love this book. If you are a fan of the Dark Knight, come see one of his first inspirations!

Doc Savage: Fortress of Solitude" and "The Devil Genghis"" (Doc Savage (Nostalgia Ventures))

Average customer rating:

The Return of Doc
Two Excellent Doc Savage Novels
A Great Read!
An Awesome Return of The Man of Bronze!

Doc Savage: Fortress of Solitude" and "The Devil Genghis"" (Doc Savage (Nostalgia Ventures))
Lester Dent
Manufacturer: Nostalgia Ventures
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lester Dent's Zeppelin Tales

ASIN: 1932806490

Customer Reviews:

The Return of Doc.......2007-09-10

Doc Savage has returned!

It is great what Nostalgia Ventures is doing and that FINALLY someone is starting to reprint all these classic tales of adventure. I agree with the other statements, Doc is indeed the first superhero. These stories are timeless and the action is unbelievable. Can't wait for the rest of the series to follow.

Two Excellent Doc Savage Novels.......2007-03-23

The books gathered here come later in the Doc Savage run, just before the stories started to lose some of their steam. It was almost as if Lester Dent (writing as Kenneth Robeson) became insprired by the idea of someone breaking into The Fortress of Solitude and getting away with it! I actually read The Devil Genghis first in 1967 when I bought a copy of the original pulp, before the Fortress of Solitude came out. It took me about two years to get the original pulp, but by then I had read the Bantam edition of THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE.

Doc may seem quaint these days, but Dent's punchy writing style and loopy descriptions still save the day. I recommend all of the Doc Savage books in this run. I'm hoping Doc will find a new audience in the 21st century. He was, and still is, the greatest adventure hero of them all. Above Doc is Superman. There's no one in the middle of those two. Blazes!

A Great Read!.......2007-02-20

I couldn't put this book down. It's not only a fun trip into the early days of PULP, but also a great read.
The original format is preserved; the look and fell of the book itself is cool.
From its action cover to the last page this story was a blast. I also enjoyed the historical notes throughout the book.

An Awesome Return of The Man of Bronze!.......2006-11-04

Doc Savage was the first superhero. He was the inspiration for Superman, Batman and many other of the heroes everyone knows today. An interesting thing to note is Doc Savage's first name is Clark, and Kenneth Robeson's Real last name was Dent. Put them together and you get Clark Dent. HMM. . . Where have I heard that name before?

If you enjoy Science fiction, action, adventure, or just a good old mystery, these books are for you. Written is a fast paced manner, they read very well and keep the action moving as fast as you can read. Unlike many books today, where the author adds so much detail that a minute's worth of dialogue and activity takes 6 pages to read, these novels keep you moving at the speed of an action movie, not a documentary.I have been a fan of Doc Savage since about 1978. I grew up reading and collecting the Bantam editions. In college, I lost my focus and missed the last years of the series and have been trying to find them, ever since. I was excited when I heard this was coming, but after reading my copy, I can only say one thing. Awesome!

This book is printed in the original pulp magazine style. in the 1930's entire novels were printed on 7X10 paper with illustrations and extra articles and such. This edition is a true book, with quality covers, printed spine and heavy paper. Even the original illustrations have been used, along with the original cover paintings from the first editions. Additional articles about the author and the series add interest over and above the enjoyable stories.

Buy yours today! You won't regret it.

Smithsonian Collection Superman vs. Atom Man on Radio

Average customer rating:

On of the best Superman stories of all time
Very Overated
Superman's finest radio series
One of the Best Superman Stories of all time
Tremendous exciting radio for Superman fans of ALL ages!

Smithsonian Collection Superman vs. Atom Man on Radio
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Radio Spirits
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General Broadcasting | Radio | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1570190976
Release Date: 2002-04-02

Book Description

"Has the one and only survivor of the amazing civilization that once flourished on the planet Krypton finally met his Match? Superman-whose strength was beyond measure, whose impenetrable skin turned back the sharpest steel, whose unfailing devotion to truth and justice struck fear into those who preyed on their fellow men- has he become the victim,of that strange, mysterious power, atomic energy?"

The Smithsonian Institution and Radio Spirits proudly present the classic 1945 radio broadcasts that pitted Superman against his deadly foe, Atom Man, a radioactive Nazi agent within whose veins flowed deadly kryptonite. this action-packed collection stars Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel and Mason Adams as the Kryptonite-wielding Atom Man.

These original recordings have been digitally restored and remastered for superb sound quality and pure listening enjoyment. This collection includes a 60-page historical book filled with rare photos and behind the scenes commentary and features a foreword by Mason Adams. 38 thrilling episodes.

Customer Reviews:

On of the best Superman stories of all time.......2005-09-01

Every historian should listen to this serial. It gives a glipse into the mindset of the America before our time and how it related to the Second World War just after War's End. It is also a very exciting Superman story. I wish all of the Superman on Radio stories were made available. Anyone reading this who can help this happen?

Very Overated.......2002-10-19

I have purchased the CD version of this Radio Series and I have to say that the only worthwile feature of these episodes in the sound quality. Having said that the serial is [very weak].

I was so disgusted by it that I have thrown the lot in the dustbin where they belong. a total waste of money if ever.

There is no music or intro music to set the mood and pace of the serial and the sound effects are hopeless. As a real fan of both radio and film serials I have to say the Superman Vs. Atom Man is the most useless series I have come accross,... The only reason I have given this CD set 1 star is because I have no choice if I am to get my views on this site.

Superman's finest radio series.......2000-05-06

I have several collections or Superman on radio, and this is the cream of the crop. Superman gets to test his might against a true super-villain. The Atom Man has Kryptonite flowing through his veins, which gives him mighty atomic power. Bodies begin to pile up, including both Superman's allies and enemies. Superman is powerless simply standing next to him.

I have to admit that some of the Superman radio shows can be a little cheesy, and are best heard through a filter of nostalgia. This one is really exciting. I was actually in suspense as to how, or even if, Superman would survive.

One of the Best Superman Stories of all time.......2000-01-12

"Superman vs. Atom Man" is a powerful and exciting radio drama. It's full of suspense and adventure. In this classic story, Superman has to face off against the kryptonite powered Atom Man who has the power to destroy stadiums and level forests with his atomic kryptonite. The story is extremely suspenseful as it slowly builds up to its climax, a battle between Superman and the Atom Man with thousands of lives at stake. The end battle has to be one of the most dramatic sequences in radio thanks to the amazing acting and sound effects. This is a must have for any fan of old time radio shows or any Superman fan in general.

Tremendous exciting radio for Superman fans of ALL ages!.......1999-11-03

The serial is regarded as the greatest story line in all of juvenile kids radio. And it lives up to that lofty billing. Superman vs. Atom Man is truly exciting radio, well written and extremely well acted. Bud Collyer as Superman/Clark Kent and Mason Adams as Henry Miller/The Atom Man are superb. Just exciting radio that would be great for the entire family to listen to.

Chikanobu: Modernity and Nostalgia in Japanese Prints

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Chikanobu: Modernity and Nostalgia in Japanese Prints

Manufacturer: Hotei Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 9074822886

Book Description

Chikanobu. Modernity and Nostalgia in Japanese Prints is the first monograph in English on the Meiji print artist Yoshu Chikanobu (1838-1912), well known for his depictions of women and scenes of Japanese history and legends. Author Bruce A. Coats presents a detailed overview of Chikanobu's life and works, placed within the historical and artistic context of Meiji Japan, when its rapid modernization and westernization created an interest for 'old' Japan among the Japanese and when the arts underwent significant changes as well.

Essays by Bruce A. Coats, Allen Hockley, Kyoku Kurita and Joshua Mostow draw upon various topics related to Chikanobu's work, such as Meiji literature and the heroic ethos in the late Meiji period.

Customer Reviews:

Engrossing slices of recent American psychoanalytic history........1998-09-29

-- Spleen and Nostalgia exemplifies the passionate and forthright approach of one of the most prolific living thinkers in the psychoanalytic field. The list of Gedo's books and articles runs to eight pages as an appendix to the book. John Gedo shares Freud's passion for the psychoanalytic field but does not romanticize it. Although psychoanalysis has many contributions to make, Gedo does not think it contains the central keys to unlocking our human universe. Throughout his long life in psychoanalysis, Gedo, like a few of his Chicago colleagues, has welcomed the contributions of advances in other fields such as biology, artistic creativity and systems theory. He never regarded psychoanalysis as embodying a boundless and exclusive world view and has viewed collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines as occurring on equal terms. Gedo sees his account as psychoanalytic both because it tries to speak the truth and because it proceeds in an associative manner. Any suspicion that analysts display far more than their share of hubris is vindicated in this memoir. His experience with the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute from when he trained there (1956-1961) to the present time together with his involvement with the American Psychoanalytic Association brought him into contact with many other prominent psychoanalysts. In particular, Gedo explores his close relationship with Heinz Kohut in detail. Gedo emigrated from Hungary with his parents, arriving in the US in 1941. He found his analytic training at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis during the golden age of psychoanalysis in the fifties to be mostly very pleasurable. Gedo was taught how to fight by his combative training analyst, Max Gitelson who became prominent in the politics of American psychoanalysis. Gedo describes his training in an engaging and detailed way, including his unhappy experiences in supervision with Joan Fleming who, as dean, was able to blackball Gedo for some years making Gedo an `internal exile'. This was partly because of his disposition which disapproved of the self-satisfied psychoanalytic community. His dissatisfaction with the scientific complacency and imperialism that he saw as endemic not only in the Chicago Institute but in American psychoanalysis in general meant that he did not fit well in an institute he likened to a papacy corrupted by worldly ambition, a charge he levelled at American psychoanalysis in general. The titles of two of the book's chapters, `Cosa Nostra' and `Machine Politics' convey the flavour of Gedo's view of American psychoanalysis, and the Chicago Institute in particular. Under George Pollock as director, in Gedo's view the Chicago Institute 'deteriorated into a political machine`. Unfortunately, he is not far off the mark. From my own research on American psychoanalysis (KirsnerUnfree Associations: Inside Psychoanalytic Institutes , Process Press, 1999). I can only confirm the accuracy of Gedo's perspective on these matters. Gedo describes his experiences as a longtime member of the American Psychoanalytic Association's Committee on Institutes, and concludes that the educational standard of the American institutes is `shamefully poor', on the level of community colleges rather than research universities. But Gedo clearly found very valuable his involvement with The American Psychoanalytic Association's research organisation of analysts, The Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Studies, which meets annually at Princeton. Between 1955 and 1994 when he retired, Gedo had a full analytic practice, which for much of that period was not unusual in Chicago. His hierarchical theory of psychoanalysis, adumbrated with Arnold Goldberg in their Models of the Mind), was to form the nub of much of his intellectual development thereafter. In Gedo's opinion, `The future of psychoanalysis will be based on the hierarchical model of mental functions, that is on the simultaneous legacies of all previous developmental phases'. This should include `the progressive hierarchical organization of cerebral functions'. Gedo argues that therapeutic psychoanalysis should aim at the expansion of psychological skills. This implies that previously missing procedural (apraxic) skills should be acquired in treatment. This is `beyond interpretation` since the elucidation of mental contents is not sufficient and biology needs to be integrated into psychoanalysis. Although there is some explication of Gedo's scientific contributions in this memoir based on his recollections and observations about psychoanalytic institutions, readers must study some of his major books to understand them. In the middle and arguably the most controversial section of his book, Gedo details his side of the problems in the relationship with Heinz Kohut which culminated in a difficult break with the self psychology group over the Casebook. Gedo had initiated this book but later withdrew from after a major fight with another member of the group working together on the book. Kohut told Gedo that his withdrawal over the crisis amounted to his `declaration of independence'. 'My rupture with Kohut', Gedo writes, `was the most difficult contingency of my adult life, there was no turning back to a pre-Kohutian safe haven and I felt my intellectual isolation keenly' (p. 173). Thereafter, Gedo took a `solitary path' (p. 174) and saw himself in the terms of his much respected Boston colleague Arnold Modell as 'a school of one', a position adopted by every serious contributor to contemporary psychoanalysis in Modell's view. This is certainly a `warts and all' memoir which is an accurate expression of Gedo's passion, intelligence and wit. This is a controversial book; there is much that many would disagree with in it, especially with Gedo's accounts of Kohut and self psychology. Nevertheless, anybody who knows John Gedo appreciates the unique combination of passion and brilliance that makes him someone worth listening to no matter how much one might disagree with him. Gedo has had the courage to put it all down, saving no-one, not even himself. This book comprises rich and engrossing slices of the last fifty years of American psychoanalytic politics and history, of institutional and professional analytic life, by one of the leading theorists and dissidents in American psychoanalysis.

Spleen, Venom, and Hatred.......1998-03-17

John Gedo's latest work attempts to describe the causes of his isolation from the main currents of psychoanalysis, and from its centers of power. His writing also strives to argue for the primacy and intellectual supremacy of his own psychoanalytic "model" and techniques. The book ended up being one that evoked great pity and sadness in this reader. Gedo's writing became an endless litany of rageful arrogance---often against those very persons who had once helped him, as well as against colleagues and mentors long dead and unable to defend themselves. Very few of his professional acquaintances escape the wrath of his (seeming) narcissistic rage in this book. One of Dr. Gedo's last observations in the book was that one of his alleged remaining personal difficulties is that he is still too modest, unable to forcefully assert his own true worth. In the face of the ever-present grandiosity and haughtiness in this book's writing, Dr. Gedo's comment seems to reveal the tragic extent of a major limitation to his own self-awareness. I would rate the book a "7" as a Vanity-Fair level tabloid memoir, a "9" for provoking me to a good amount of introspection, for an overall rating of "8".

fascinating insider's look at the world of psychoanalysis.......1997-11-29

This book was great fun to read. Gedo is a marvelous writer, and has lived a most interesting life. The book is autobiographical, focusing primarily on his life as a psychoanalyst. He gives an insider's look at the Chicago psychoanalytic scene over a number of decades, with special emphasis on his conflicts with Heinz Kohut. As Gedo becomes better known, he travels more and more widely, so expecially in the later chapters there are many interesting stories about his encounters with psychoanalysts outside of Chicago, including ones living in France, Germany, Italy and various other countries. My biggest frustration was with Gedo's self-imposed limitation on discussions of theoretical matters. For instance, in his conflicts with Kohut one gets a wealth of fascinating details about the personal side of the conflict, but only very brief statements of the theoretical issues involved. Gedo is always careful to supply references, so an interested reader can certainly find and read the relevant books and articles. But for me it was frustrating, and this limitation on full discussion of theoretical issues makes Gedo's conflicts and struggles seem almost entirely a matter of a conflict of personalities, when in fact there were (as Gedo states) issues of great importance and interest involved. Although I have met some of the people that Gedo writes about (Heinz Kohut, for example), I really didn't know any of them well enough to be in a position to judge how fair and accurate his portrayals of them are. But they are never dull. Gedo came across to me as a brilliant, highly cultured, highly principled man, with high standards for himself and others, but also a man that many found quite difficult. I would have loved to have had the chance to meet him myself.

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Nostalgia
Deborah Turbeville
Manufacturer: Editions Assouline
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Binding: Hardcover

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Nostalgia for the Absolute (Massey Lectures series)

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Nostalgia for the Absolute (Massey Lectures series)
George Steiner
Manufacturer: House Of Anansi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0887845940

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The decline of formal religious systems has left a moral and emotional emptiness in Western culture. George Steiner, internationally renowned thinker and scholar, pursues this and examines the alternative "mythologies" of Marxism, Freudian psychology, Lévi-Straussian anthropology, and fads of irrationality.

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