A portrait of a great American dynasty and its legacy in business; technology; the arts; and philanthropyMeyer Guggenheim; a Swiss immigrant; founded a great American business dynasty. At their peak in the early twentieth century; the Guggenheims were reckoned among Americas wealthiest; and the richest Jewish family in the world after the Rothschilds. They belonged to Our Crowd; that tight social circle of New York Jewish plutocrats; but unlike the others -- primarily merchants and financiers -- they made their money by extracting and refining copper; silver; lead; tin; and gold.The secret of their success; the patriarch believed; was their unity; and in the early years Meyers seven sons; under the leadership of Daniel; worked as one to expand their growing mining and smelting empire. Family solidarity eventually decayed (along with their Jewish faith); but even more damaging was the paucity of male heirs as Meyer and the original set of brothers passed from the scene.In the third generation; Harry Guggenheim; Daniels son; took over leadership and made the family a force in aviation; publishing; and horse-racing. He desperately sought a successor but tragically failed and was forced to watch as the great Guggenheim business enterprise crumbled.Meanwhile; "Guggenheim" came to mean art more than industry. In the mid-twentieth century; led by Meyers son Solomon and Solomons niece Peggy; the Guggenheims became the agents of modernism in the visual arts. Peggy; in America during the war years; midwifed the school of abstract expressionism; which brought art leadership to New York City. Solomons museum has been innovative in spreading the riches of Western art around the world. After the generation of Harry and Peggy; the family has continued to produce many accomplished members; such as publisher Roger Straus II and archaeologist Iris Love.In The Guggenheims; through meticulous research and absorbing prose; Irwin Unger; the winner of a Pulitzer Prize in history; and his wife; Debi Unger; convey a unique and remarkable story -- epic in its scope -- of one familys amazing rise to prominence.
#475712 in eBooks 2009-10-13 2009-10-13File Name: B000N0WTII
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. What in Us Really Wants the Truth? asks Nietzche.By SylviastelProfessor Elin Diamond has written a complex woven book on feminist theory; gender and performance studies. Her book is not for easy reading. If you really want to capture the entirety of the book; you need to be patient and well-versed in theatre such as Bertolt Brecht; Adrienne Kennedy and Caryl Churchill. This book is designed and written for academic scholars in theatre; feminism and literature. You need to be patient as a reader to grasp the entirety and to appreciate the books complexity.The book is broken into three parts. Part I is entitled "Unmaking Mimesis" with a chapter entitled "Realisms Hysteria: Disruption in the Theatre of Knowledge;" with sections on "Doleful Referents;" "Fallen Women: The Medical Melodrama;" "Translation and The Hypnoid State;" "Realisms Hysteria;" "Hysterias Realism" and "Before The Referenthellip;Toward the Gestus." This part focused on womens hysteria.Part II is entitled "Gestic Feminist Criticism." Chapter two is entitled "Brechtian theory/feminist theory: toward a gestic feminist criticism." This chapter includes sections on "Gender;" "Sexual differences; the nothellip;.but;" "History; historicization;" "Spectator; body; historicization;" "Spectator; author; gestus;" and "Gestic Feminist Criticism: Aphra Behn and Caryl Churchill."Chapter three is entitled "Gestus; signature; body in the theater of Aphra Behn." This chapter includes sections on "The apparatus;" "The wife thing;" "Disguise and Desire;" "Passionate Address/gestic undress" and "Allegories of authority: Ihellip;.Hang Out the Sign of Angellica."Chapter four is entitled "Caryl Churchills plays; the gestus of invisibility." This chapter includes sections on "Fen;" "A Mouthful of Birds" and "Epilogue: Mad Forest and the Striker: from gestic invisibility to gestic temporality."Part Three is entitled "Toward a Feminist Postmodern." Chapter five included an "Introduction: Mimesis in syncopated time;" "Identification and Mimesis: the theater of Adrienne Kennedy;" "Fixity and transformation: Freud and others;" "Reading Adrienne Kennedys Theater--I;" "Funnyhouse of a Negro; The Owl Answers;" "A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White;" "Mimetic Networks: from Freud to Freudenberger to Fanon in The Alexander Plays" and "People Who Led to My Plays."Chapter Six is entitled "Performance and Temporality: Feminism; Experience and Mimetic Transformation." This chapter includes section like "Time out; Time in;" "Brecht; Benjamin and Dialectical Images;" "Exoteric Experience and the Performance Apparatus;" "Stories and Mimesis;" "Peggy Shaw; Youre Just Like My Father;" "Interlude: Autoeroticism;" "Robbie McCauley; Indian Blood;" "Deb Margolin; Carthieves! Joyrides!" and a "Conclusion."Now if youre interested in post-modern feminist theory and gender studies; this book would be a perfect tool in reading and understanding womens roles in society.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Elin Diamond feminist scholarBy carlamarScholar and feminist Elin Diamonds work is a must if youre in Feminine Studies. A well rounded paper would include Elin Diamond as well as Sue-Ellen Case.