Theodore Zeldin. Intimate History of Humanity, An

Intimate History of Humanity, An
byTheodore Zeldin




Intimate History of Humanity, An
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Intimate History of Humanity, An
byTheodore Zeldin
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Top positive review
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2 people found this helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsProfound
ByPhilip J. Salemon August 5, 2011
This book is wonderful to read and profound. Each chapter begins with a brief sketch of a French woman or women as exemplars of the central theme in the chapter. Zeldin weaves scientific research with historical research to help us understand humanity, both the learned and genetic foundations of human behavior. Communication - the thinking about it, the feeling about it, and the actual performance of it - are at the center of each chapter. The book presents wonderful demonstrations of how the smallest talk can have profound consequences. The chapters are not so much linear as organic, weaving different pieces of data into information and "aha" moments of knowledge and wisdom. I carry this book when I travel, and I find something new every time I read it.

This book could use an update, but it is not necessary. It stands on it's own. A must read for anyone interested in what makes humans human.
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Top critical review
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4 people found this helpful
2.0 out of 5 starstoo anechdotic
ByDr. J. A. Delzottoon December 20, 2010
This book is written in the way of "Reader's Digest". Every single concept is refered to as an anechdote, making the reader feel as a moron ("The rain makes the plants grow: a farmer in Illinois...") I've read foreign critics tag all US literature like this, but I don't agree to that. But this work, oh, boy, sponsors all that statement!
I've gone through about 20 pages; then in a renewed attempt, may be 20 more. But my friend, it is beyond my strenght.

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All reviewersAll starsAll formatsText, image, video
5.0 out of 5 starsProfound
ByPhilip J. Salemon August 5, 2011
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
This book is wonderful to read and profound. Each chapter begins with a brief sketch of a French woman or women as exemplars of the central theme in the chapter. Zeldin weaves scientific research with historical research to help us understand humanity, both the learned and genetic foundations of human behavior. Communication - the thinking about it, the feeling about it, and the actual performance of it - are at the center of each chapter. The book presents wonderful demonstrations of how the smallest talk can have profound consequences. The chapters are not so much linear as organic, weaving different pieces of data into information and "aha" moments of knowledge and wisdom. I carry this book when I travel, and I find something new every time I read it.

This book could use an update, but it is not necessary. It stands on it's own. A must read for anyone interested in what makes humans human.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA great read for any of us interested in the present human condition and road to it
Bythinkeron March 16, 2014
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
Zeldin does a monumental work of gleaning relevant information from vast readings and applying them to create an understanding of the origins of how humans relate. A fine resource for anyone interested in human realations.
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4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars
ByAutomatingon May 1, 2017
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
Pretty good, but it often read like a translation
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4.0 out of 5 starsZeldin on humanity.Provoking our human reflections
Bygnosis7on June 12, 2011
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
This is a book to read for a time,taking in the pen portraits of many people, then evaluating insights and blindspots which any of us may show.There is no rush to push on to the next section, because we can let Zeldin's ideas percolate!
Coupled with an understanding of our personal journeys,exploration of some psychology and philosophy,our self examinations and reflections can continue, possibly by talking with others who have read this book.
A very worthwhile read!
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4.0 out of 5 starsa different perspective
ByJ. talcotton April 5, 2013
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
To take history from more of a personal & sociological view brings it alive in a new and different way. It is well written.
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5.0 out of 5 starsCivilization 101
Byguy gravensonon October 2, 2013
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
Zeldin is an accomplished social historian. He writes fluidly and forcefully. His sentences are powerful units of thought. And when they add up in a paragraph or two, one need to stop and process his insightful management of ideas. There is more here than can possibly be absorbed by one reading. And in fact, I advise readers to read the book in reverse, starting with the final chapters and working frontward, since the conclusion encompasses the scope of the book better than its introductory chapters.
This book was written in 1994, prior to the great explosion of the Internet and social media. It needs to be updated and brought, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century.
GG
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5.0 out of 5 starsGood stories about common people
ByMoniPenion August 1, 2011
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
Found this book at the library, read it and loved it so much I just had to buy it. Got it for an excellent price and I'm really happy with it.
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5.0 out of 5 starsInteresting read
Bynobodyon October 26, 2009
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
This book is an excellently written book. It is an insightful look at people on the whole.
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5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
ByAsifon June 2, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
The best book i ever read !!
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2.0 out of 5 starstoo anechdotic
ByDr. J. A. Delzottoon December 20, 2010
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
This book is written in the way of "Reader's Digest". Every single concept is refered to as an anechdote, making the reader feel as a moron ("The rain makes the plants grow: a farmer in Illinois...") I've read foreign critics tag all US literature like this, but I don't agree to that. But this work, oh, boy, sponsors all that statement!
I've gone through about 20 pages; then in a renewed attempt, may be 20 more. But my friend, it is beyond my strenght.
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4.0 out of 5 starsEngaging and Intriguing, but Not Flawless
ByA. P. Bullardon February 27, 2015
Format: Paperback
Theodore Zeldin is the President of the Oxford Muse Foundation, an English philosopher, sociologist, historian, writer, and public speaker. He has a long list of credentials, but he is most famous internationally as the author of An Intimate History of Humanity, written in 1994. This book takes readers on a journey through the personal preoccupations of people in a wide variety of different civilizations, both ancient and present. Zeldin takes the reader through different aspects of history, combining them with the curiosities and emotions of mankind. He uses specific examples to illustrate his points, whilst maintain a narrative of wit and a bit of humor.


Within An Intimate History of Humanity, Zeldin works to take our fixed assumptions about the truth of humanity and, through an intricate exposition of engaging historical examples, reveals them to be far less static than we have previously assumed. As he states:


“Nothing influences our ability to cope with the difficulties of our existence so much as the context in which we view them; the more contexts we choose between, the less do the difficulties appear to be the inevitable and insurmountable.”


That is the thesis of Zeldin’s text; he wants to provide his readers with the tools and inspiration to look beyond narrow cultural and social ideologies and imagine, instead, and entire new way of being. This includes new forms of politics, ethics, and moral code. Essentially, he presents an optimistic humanitarian viewpoint.


While the writing is remarkably engaging, An Intimate History of Humanity is quite formulaic. Introduction to outline intent precedes chapter after chapter of the same structure: Pick an overall theme, provide modern example to pave the way for discussion of said theme, and then delve into other possibilities that are supported by examples randomly – and vaguely – picked throughout history. Examples of chapter headings:


How men and women have slowly learned to have interesting conversations


How new forms of love have been invented


How respect is more desirable than power


They go on like that. Each chapter focuses on a particular emotion, and is done in a non-specific way that allows the text to be open to discussion. The concluding sections provide essential context that the introduction thoroughly lacked. They truly illuminated the value of Zeldin’s approach to showcasing his objectives, rather than making it seem simplistic and formulaic. The introduction seemed too brief, and did not hold the contextual information that should have preceded the rest of the text. The book was already engaging, but this would have served to make it even more so.


That being said, the ideas presented within An Intimate History of Humanity are anything but boring. Rather, they are intoxicating and engaging. While hardly being flawless in his execution of these ideas, the approach Zeldin takes within this book was groundbreaking for the time (1994) it was published in. I wonder how he feels about these ideas today, and whether or not his paradigm as shifted over the years.


Consequently, the text does a wonderful job of showing the ways in which emotions, relationships, inquiries, and fears have evolved over the centuries, and how things could have gone differently. This deep and philosophical read is not without its flaws, as previously mentioned, but it is something I do recommend reading and re-reading. I have kept my copy for years, and am glad I won that store “giveaway”. I give An Intimate History of Humanity 4 out of 5 stars.


Book Review by A. P. Bullard,
Triskele Reviews
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1.0 out of 5 starsWhat a waste of time and money!
ByJaysonrexon February 22, 2013
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I have no doubt that the "masterpiece" was recommended by some 'reviewers' in a fit of perverse vengeance (against innocent readers) for having been taken in by Theodore Zeldin and his rather insignificant number of 'admirers'.


I bought the book from Amazon, read it patiently and finally threw it away since I have no space in my library for un-recycled garbage. Zeldin has very little to say and even that he does not know how to say it. An Intimate History of Humanity is anything but, sycophants like to like and promote and suckers (like myself) end up buying under false pretense. A totally ---------------------
5.0 out of 5 starsA History of How People Have Solved the Problem of Living
ByJeff Bennionon January 18, 1999
Format: Paperback
Everyone who's interested in history honors those who have lived in the past, how they have come to unique solutions to solve their problems. We try to guard against what C.S. Lewis calls "chronological snobbery" -- the notion that just because we were born later, we necessarily are smarter and wiser than those who have gone before us.
The older I get, the more I'm convinced that the ancients had it right all along. And this book is a powerful antidote against chronological snobbery. Aside from being truly uplifting, it's encouraging to see how people have faced, and overcome, dilemmas similar to our own. To see the many ways they have solved those problems is fascinating and liberating.
My only regret is that this book has received far too little attention. The scope is so wide ranging, the range of fascinating tiny details so vast, that it's difficult to review, and impossible to summarize, at least with my paltry expository skills. So just read it! And spread the word!
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5.0 out of 5 stars"My life is a failure."
ByJohn P. Jones IIITOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICEon October 11, 2010
Format: Paperback
Theodore Zeldin commences his brilliant, quirky, erudite, tour-de-force of the history of all humanity with the subject quote, made by a 51 year old French domestic servant. But why start a history, any history, by looking at admittedly one of life's very minor characters, and a self-confessed failure at that? But that is precisely one of Zeldin's principal points, and it certainly draws the reader in. Alistair Horne, another superb historian, used exactly the same technique in his equally excellent history, A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 (New York Review Books Classics) when he quotes British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan who referred to the Algerian town of Setif as "A Town of No Great Interest," and proceeds to prove exactly the opposite. So too with Zeldin, who after a brief vignette of the servant, Juliette's life, goes on to say: "My purpose is different. Behind Juliette's misfortunes, I see all those who have lived but thought of themselves as failures, or been treated as such. The worst sense of failure was to realize that one had not really lived at all, not been seen as an independent human being, never been listened to, never been asked for an opinion, regarded as a chattel, the property of another." Zeldin segues into a discussion of slavery, real and de facto, the fate of the vast majority of humanity, be it self-imposed or imposed by others: "And today, all those who prefer to do what they are told rather than think for themselves and shoulder the responsibility..." And to those who have ever suffered through corporate meetings, Zeldin continues his theme loud and clear: "There has been a waste of an opportunity every time a meeting has taken place and nothing has happened...In most meetings, pride or caution still forbids one to say what one feels most deeply." The theme of slavery, in its many forms weaves it throughout Zeldin's account. Consider much latter in the book, from today's headlines a section proclaiming that "people agree to be bullied if they can bully someone else," the author says: "In real life, for the last 5,000 years, the vast majority of humans have been submissive, cringing before authority and, apart from short-lived outbursts of protest, sacrificing themselves so that a small minority could live in luxury." Or again, in another section: "Thus an elite accumulated power, enabling it to live in high luxury, and to stimulate the flowering of the arts, but civilization was for many little more than a protection racket."


The above is just one of the many topics in which Zeldin provokes thought about "the record book," what passes for our tales and accounts of the past, and how we relate to each other today. There is much on male-female relations, so stimulating no Viagra is needed. Consider some sample chapters: "How men and women have slowly learned to have interesting conversations," "How new forms of love have been invented," and "Why there has been more progress in cooking than in sex." In the second of those mentioned chapters, the author says: "Attraction became explosive when ignited by fun. Ibn Hazm, the most famous Arab authority on love, said, `Of love the first part is jesting and the last part right earnestness.'" Zeldin erudition allows him to draw from the world's cultures, so he can address the Chinese fetish on "how deformed feet became sexually arousing," and the culturally transcendent fetish of stilettos.
And on economics, Zeldin traces some of the problems that are bedeviling us today to the 18th Century doctor of nervous diseases, Bernard Mandeville, who wrote The Fable of the Bees: And Other Writings Zeldin says: "The consumer society lost its sense of direction when it adopted two myths to guide it. The first was that private vices are the source of public prosperity. Avarice, pride, envy, and greed, rather than friendliness and kindness, are the necessary bases of a successful economy..." Zeldin has another section on astrology, and the enduring power of totally irrational beliefs on our behavior.


Zeldin is British, and has spent much of his life writing about the French, so it is only natural that his historical examples are skewed toward the French experience. Being an intellectual there, he comments: "Personal vendettas and power struggles have, of course, been endemic in France's intellectual life..." He quotes Antoinette Fouque, who wrote for the publishing house "Seuil,": `Why did Beauvoir not join the Resistance, instead of cycling around the country, having affairs?' Figure that is a double pay-back. But then in a twinkle, he is in Japan, discussing The Tale of Genji: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition), written between AD 1002 and 1022, and says: "Those who say Japan can only imitate will be astounded by this extraordinarily readable and intelligent precursor of Proust, Murasaki Shikibu."


If you've read only one history book, and are looking for the second, I'd highly recommend this one, which is our past from a refreshingly different, thought-provoking perspective, and is rich in endless nuggets of "the history you do not know." I must add Zeldin to my small, but growing list of 6-star books.
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3.0 out of 5 starsinteresting, but could have amounted to more
ByShamayimBlueon January 20, 2008
Format: Paperback
In 'An Intimate History of Humanity', Theodore Zeldin undertakes an ambitious project. He takes a broad look at a side of history often neglected in standard textbooks - the history of people's interior lives and interpersonal relationships. His hope is that people today can improve themselves and the world by gleaning lessons from history - lessons on meaningful communication, open-mindedness, creativity and curiosity.


The strengths of his book lie with his fundamental optimism in human nature. He doesn't believe that history has come to its end, and that there is no more room for true innovation of spirit and mind. His tone is kindly and curious; he does not write contemptuously of anyone. He believes that true change cannot be imposed by force from a government, that traits such as compassion, generosity and empathy cannot be legislated.


Perhaps the best part of his book are the beginnings of each chapter. He structures his chapters in the following way - first he creates a portrait of someone in the present day (almost 100% of the time, this present-day person is a Frenchwoman). Afterwards, he links the issues and dilemmas of this Frenchwoman to what he sees as similar issues in the past. For example, after spending a few pages discussing a particular Frenchwoman's thoughts about relationships with men, he will sketch out some history on the relationship between men and women and how it has evolved.


His portraits of the contemporary women are engrossing. Just as character studies they are interesting to read. The Frenchwomen he speaks to come from different walks of life, and he succeeds in rendering their complexity.


What weakens his book is the nature of his forays into history. Because he touches upon so many topics, and devotes only several pages to each, it's difficult for him to discuss and develop his points in-depth. The facts he does present are interesting - he writes about various historical figures, texts and old cultural practices, and I enjoyed reading about people as diverse as Galen and Lady Murasaki. But his discussion of historical trends can be simplistic. He'll present, for instance, some evolving attitudes of British or Japanese aristocracy on the topic of love as evidence of how people's ideas of love can change. However he doesn't convincingly argue that these changes can be recreated (or are relevant) across the world, or all classes; I'm not always convinced that he chooses the best examples. He doesn't go deep enough into the roots of those changes, the broader historical and psychological circumstances (I would've loved reading a close comparison of two cultures faced with similar historical dilemmas, and their similarities and differences in how they evolved in respects to something like marriage or romantic love). While I'm certain that there are struggles and questions that human beings share universally, Zeldin's possible solutions to these struggles sometimes seems relevant to only a certain socioeconomic class or culture. Other times he'll raise an interesting point - for example, that India's ancient civilizations were often open-minded about foreign ideas, but that the society closed off different castes from each other... and then he just leaves it at that. Why not discuss the possible reasons for this further? Wouldn't that enrich our understanding of human nature and history?


His definitions of various character traits and abstract ideas can suffer from fuzzy, superficial definitions. For instance, in his brief historical foray into 'compassion', he focuses a lot on medical care and then includes, disjointedly, some other arguments about the nature of present-day romantic relationships and interpersonal communication (he doesn't quite justify why he focuses on these facets of compassion in particular). At one point he writes about the length of time patients stay in hospitals and mentions that in Japan hospital stays are treated as "as a holiday from conformity and the rigours of ordinary life" - patients are seen as individuals, not as cases, they wear their own clothes, they have individually tailored treatments, and they love discussing all of their symptoms ("eighty-eight percent of the Japanese claim to be suffering from some kind of illness"). But there's a lot more going on here, psychologically and culturally, than evidence of compassion. He then talks about Sweden democratising compassion by providing everyone with care... while in another chapter he speaks of the limitations of care provided by the government, how it is often impersonal and mechanical rather than truly caring. This is just one example of the sorts of inconsistencies and superficialties that crop up in his book.


The different sections of each chapter seem disjointed as well. It can be awkward, how he links the issues of a contemporary Frenchwomen to various cultural upheavals in the past (and why only Frenchwomen? I guess he's trying to show that even in modern societies you still find ancient dilemmas; although it would've been interesting if he had also interviewed women from cultures where the struggle between modern trends and older practices and beliefs is much more obvious). His transition from one chapter to the next (particularly towards the end of the book) is pretty stilted and forced. When he reflects on traits such as generosity, his argument oftentimes boils down to very obvious ideas, such as how generosity benefits from empathy and putting yourself into another person's shoes (and he simply says this straightout without necessarily bringing in compelling examples from history). His 'solutions' for the world's ills are often a repetition of 'be open-minded, curious, creative...' and while those are very positive and helpful traits, and while he does discuss some obstacles to the development of such traits, his arguments tend to smack of superficiality. He throws a lot of facts at you, but they don't always amount to an actual argument.


Again, Zeldin's book is ambitious and it can be delightful. I like how he tries to search for the common dilemmas and hopes that humans share everywhere, and to be fair, there are times where he does make an interesting connection between modern and past problems. However, when he is not writing his absorbing portraits of modern women, his approach often lacks depth and merely seems to drift across various historical tidbits.
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3.0 out of 5 starsOverrated
ByA customeron May 22, 2000
Format: Paperback
Despite its moments of brilliance, this is actually something of a disappointing book. It never really BUILDS, or GOES SOMEWHERE; a sense of revelation is not shared between writer and reader. It makes the point: "be open-minded, curious, flexible; don't be rigid and closed-minded" again and again, in a hundred ways. It HAMMERS the point home by battery, sheer accumulation, but it doesn't PROGRESS towards new territory. I would have thought that the kind of people attracted to this kind of book might already take the "be curious in all facets of your life" maxim as a given; thus there's something slightly condescending about the book, in the same way that "self-help" books can treat the blindingly obvious as revelatory. In fact, its biggest shortcoming might be that it is in effect a self-help book masquerading, behind a certain facade of academic density, as "new philosophy". In trying to be both it is neither. Zeldin is obviously a very smart guy, with a very lively mind - but "one of the 100 most important thinkers in the world today"? Well who knows. It's a strange world after all. What this book shows is that he's a "plodder", not a visionary -- takes one very valid and pertinent bright-spark idea, and gives us a thousand examples of it. That is not an insightful process. It gives away his academic background, or rather it doesn't mark him out as a visionary and creative writer -- read Roberto Calasso for the truly astonishing and mind-boggling. Also, this book is not lucid and dazzling in the sense of moving forward through a thought process. The thought process is curiously static, or at best circular and repetitive. Still, I read it through and found it readable enough, and quite enjoyable. I would have given it two and a half stars, but that's not an option, so I'm leaning upwards to three.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA history of everything
ByAmazon Customeron November 27, 2001
Format: Paperback
I find it difficult to praise this book enough. It is definitely not just a book about history--it is more a book about philosophy and the human condition. I could say that this is a book about everything--or rather everything that deals with being human.
Even though it certainly is not a chronological story of human events, it examines many of the aspects of intrapersonal and interpersonal behavior we take for granted every day. He states himself, "But this book is not a summary of history: it has deliberately limited itself to finding lock that look as though they will not open, and to showing how they can be opened." The author, Theodore Zeldin, raises the question of what freedom really is, the history of conversation, loneliness, sex, dating, religion, and much more. He has interviewed people from all over the world to find commonalities and differences in the way we lead our lives. I think this is the kind of book that everyone can relate to and must be somewhat interested in as long as one cares about the human condition.
As the author states himself, "This book has tried to show how great a difference to the conduct of daily life the ability to alter the focus of one's perceptions can make. To be hospitable to the nuances of life, it is no use treating the mind as an automatic camera; only by composing one's picture and playing with light and shadow can one hope to see something interesting." This book is in the end optimistic and Zeldin believes that humanity is merely at the beginnings of worldwide hospitality and sharing and understanding of ideas.
Personally, this is the kind of reading I particularly enjoy--a compelling work that gets you thinking, a work which raises as many questions as it answers. However, it is also an extremely well researched work (as evidenced by the notes at the end of each chapter) with all kinds of fascinating information on the side. He provides a comparison of different attitudes and philosophies of different cultures. It is like reading a book about behind the scenes of history. Instead of tracing the history of things like kings and battles, he traces the history behind more intangible concepts like the concept of romantic love and contentment. Overall, I cannot begin to describe the entire work here, nor do I feel obliged to. I would highly recommend that you read this book yourself to fully understand everything it is about.
In case you are interested, here is a listing of the chapters:
1. How humans have repeatedly lost hope, and how new encounters, and a new pair of spectacles, revive them
2. How men and women have slowly learned to have interesting conversations
3. How people searching for their roots are only beginning to look far and deep enough
4. How some people have acquired an immunity to loneliness
5. How new forms of love have been invented
6. Why there has been more progress in cooking than in sex
7. How the desire that men feel for women, and for other men, has altered through the centuries
8. How respect has become more desirable than power
9. How those who want neither to give orders nor to receive them can become intermediaries
10. How people have freed themselves from fear by finding new fears
11. How curiosity has become the key to freedom
12. Why it has become increasingly difficult to destroy one's enemies
13. How the art of escaping from one's troubles has developed, but not the art of knowing where to escape to
14. Why compassion has flowered even in stony ground
15. Why toleration has never been enough
16. Why even the privileged are often somewhat gloomy about life, even when they can have anything the consumer society offers, and even after sexual liberation
17. How travellers are becoming the largest nation in the world, and how they have learned not to see only what they are looking for
18. Why friendship between men and women has become so fragile
19. How even astrologers resist their destiny
20. Why people have not been able to find the time to lead several lives
21. Why fathers and their children are changing their minds about what they want from each other
22. Why the crisis in the family is only one stage in the evolution of generosity
23. How people choose a way of life, and how it does not wholly satisfy them
24. How humans become hospitable to each other
25. What becomes possible when soul-mates meet
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5.0 out of 5 starsFascintating, inspired, insightful
ByAmazon Customeron July 29, 2000
Format: Paperback
This book is a rich, thought-provoking assimilation of human experience, addressing inumerable topics whilst maintaining a fascinating, coherent whole. Topics include "How people choose a way of life, and how it does not truly satisfy them", and "Why there has been more progress in cooking than sex". For me what reading really did was to fire my imagination to look afresh at what it means to be human. In the introduction Zeldin argues that too often we look in terms only of the immediate past, and of our near surroundings, rather than considering the experiences of all individuals throughout history. He takes detailed conversations with individuals about their personal experiences to show in context the significance of the "silent", intimate battles of history, from which he argues we have as much to learn and draw from as from our more well-documented, public history. Zeldin writes that the book should represent the starting point, with each chapter including a bibliography on the many topics touched upon. I found this book extremely readable and succinctly expressed, and as absorbing as any novel.
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2.0 out of 5 starsAppears promising, until you read it.
ByGiant Pandaon July 12, 2012
Format: Paperback
I gave up on finishing this book. The first chapter is the best, then there is this letdown that builds up as the book fails to deliver on its early promises. I was initially intrigued by the author's attempt to "reclassify history" according to topics rather than geography or chronology. However, I found the book chaotically rambles on, tying disparate bits and pieces of knowledge loosely. I still do not see the author's organizing schemes.


Furthermore, I found the personal narratives completely detract from the rest of the book, and double the length. It is really two books in one, and I would have been happier if they were two separate books. I mean I liked the historical parts, but am no fan biography, especially biographies of unknown, anonymous people I don't know. It just makes the reading process more tedious.


It was an interesting read while I persisted on it, and contained a good bibliography for following up on interesting topics, but I finally decided it was not worth my time.
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