Average customer rating:
- Not a history, but a very personal account
- Deserves a close reading
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dancer
- Different and interesting
- Dancing with Cuba
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Dancing with Cuba: A Memoir of the Revolution
Alma Guillermoprieto
Manufacturer: Vintage
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0375725814
Release Date: 2005-02-08 |
Book Description
In 1970 a young dancer named Alma Guillermoprieto left New York to take a job teaching at Cuba’s National School of Dance. For six months, she worked in mirrorless studios (it was considered more revolutionary); her poorly trained but ardent students worked without them but dreamt of greatness. Yet in the midst of chronic shortages and revolutionary upheaval, Guillermoprieto found in Cuba a people whose sense of purpose touched her forever.
In this electrifying memoir, Guillermoprieto–now an award-winning journalist and arguably one of our finest writers on Latin America– resurrects a time when dancers and revolutionaries seemed to occupy the same historical stage and even a floor exercise could be a profoundly political act. Exuberant and elegiac, tender and unsparing,
Dancing with Cuba is a triumph of memory and feeling.
Customer Reviews:
Not a history, but a very personal account.......2006-12-16
Guillermoprieto's memoir of the Cuban Revolution is a very personal account of one person's experience in Cuba after the revolution. She does not endeavor to provide broad background information regarding the history or politics in Cuba and is in fact quite naive and ignorant of even basic current events during the memoir. While I wasn't particularly moved by her story, her aloof and intimate account of her time in post-revolution Cuba does provide a very readable and accessable introduction to the subject.
Deserves a close reading.......2006-09-11
I hated this book the first time I read it. The writing is that good - it definitely evokes strong emotions. However, I kept coming back to the ideas in the book, especially her conflicts as an artist and as a dubious and somewhat neurotic 'internacionalista.' So, I read it again a year later....and loved it.
What I mean to say is, upon a fast reading, it comes off as just another anti-Castro 'terrified' take on the heady first decades of the Cuban rev, or the navel-gazing of a somewhat neurotic artist. The book deserves a closer look, though, because the memoir actually has a much more interesting - and complicated - narrative to tell. The character of Elfrida alone could generate volumes of reflection. It's really fascinating.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dancer.......2006-05-22
The person who stressed this is a memoir is on target though I think it is quite well written. As a long time admirer of Guillermoprieto's journalism I found this a fascinating and unfaiingly honest account of her life as a dance teacher in Cuba before she became a writer. IT IS a memoir and the self pity of her young self is conveyed with a brutal honesty--it is the middle-aged writer descibing where she once was and her perspective is a perfect balance of scorn and affection for who she was. If you are looking for a wide ranging view of the revolution, this is not the book you want to read, though you will get a very interesting perspective on life in Cuba in the early 1970s. If you have not read anything by her before, read The Heart That Bleeds and Looking for History (as well as Mark Danner's The Massacre at El Mozote, a story she was responsible, with Ray Bonner at the Times, for breaking in 1982. She is a remarkable writer and this memoir was one of my favorite reads of the last several years.
Different and interesting.......2005-10-30
Why is it that so many readers, incorrectly, think a memoire is going to teach them something -- in this case about Cuba and Fidel? This is a memoire, folks. You won't get all the facts. You'll get the writer's reactions to the events of her life as they occurred against the background of an historical era or event, not details of what "really happened." If you're looking for history, read a history book.
Anyhow, I enjoyed this book, but didn't think it was particularly well written. The conversations were stilted and used only to convey information, not really to show what the people speaking were like. The author told the reader repeatedly how awful the director of the school was, but I never really saw it for myself.
But I read with sympathy for this young woman, adrift in a very strange country and for the people she met who were affected by the revolution.
Dancing with Cuba.......2005-07-29
I too, thought this book would be a well-written account from which I could learn. While learning about Cuba during the Revolution, I was a bit bored and quite frankly annoyed by the writer's self pity and confusion. On behalf of Guillermoprieto, I will say that she does create some powerful imagery. I was sorry however, that I wasted the money on a hard cover!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Chasqui, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1931 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The multinational Latin American: memoirs of Isabel Allende and Alma Guillermoprieto.(Book Review)
Author: Mary Lusky Friedman
Publication:
Chasqui (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 34
Issue: 1
Page: 161(4)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Disraeli.......2005-12-31
Dr. Stanley Weintraub's biography of Ben Disraeli is excellent. The scholarship is at the top. The only other biography that I would consider but I have some reservations is the one by Lord Blake the problem with his as compared to Dr. Weintraub's is it is too thick. This one spends plenty of time on his political and publishing career. I thoughly enjoy the biography, and for all those who harken back to a time when are politicans had some flare and style will enjoy this book.
Average customer rating:
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Early Novels of Benjamin Disraeli (Pickering Masters)
Manufacturer: Pickering & Chatto Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1851967362 |
Book Description
The passage of the Reform Bill of 1867 is one of the major problems in nineteenth-century British history. Mr Cowling provides a full-scale explanation, based on a wide range of archive material, including four major manuscript collections not previously used. Mr Cowling pays equal attention to the view taken by Parliament of the class structure and to the ambitions and strategies of politicians in Parliament and outside. He sets this detailed historical narrative in an analytical framework, the assumptions of which he discusses at length.
Book Description
A brilliant account of the dramatic confrontation between the two “mighty opposites” of the Victorian age.
It was the most important duel in Victorian politics. From the mid-19th Century, parliamentary and political life in Britain would be dominated by their head-to-head confrontation. Each would seize the initiative at different times; blows would be traded and points scored. One would seemingly have an unassailable advantage only to see it retrieved by his foe. Even death failed to end the struggle; Disraeli’s political ghost continued to torment Gladstone, not least during the shocking Home Rule debates of 1886.
The Lion and the Unicorn is the story of this great rivalry; the challenge is how to tell it in a compelling way for a 21st Century audience. Part of the problem is that while one man appears to be the epitome of his times, the other is apparently the quintessence of ours. William Gladstone is often used to exemplify every undesirable feature of the Victorian age, most notably hypocrisy, self-righteousness and cant.
In a great feud that electrified the Victorian age, Gladstone and Disraeli set out their political and moral stalls in vivid opposition to each other, where, in addition, their abiding personal loathing personalized their disputes. The conflict between these two political giants would help to establish the modern parliamentary system.
Customer Reviews:
Ben and Bill.......2007-10-15
Professor Aldous concentrates here on the unrelenting political gamesmanship between Disraeli and Gladstone as they jousted for power in the House of Commons. To a modern reader (maybe especially an American one) the causes of some of these disputes will be obscure. I think the story could have been recounted by the able professor with some additional background to help readers of the present day better understand the intense emotions on certain key issues (Ireland, franchise reform, etc.) between the two men and their shifting political coalitions.
On a personal note, it would have been interesting to me to have been told the positions of the two great English leaders on the American Civil War, which raged during their careers and had direct ties to England's statecraft. (How did they each handle the tension between the much desired trade in Southern cotton and the more noble anti-slavery impulses of the English public?)
All in all, a nicely done look back at the dawn of modern party politics, the height of the Victorian Age, and the long public careers of two very different public and private personalities. (In terms of the latter, Mr. Gladstone might be the patron saint of some pompous modern day television evangelicals who have strayed from the righteous path.)
"The Lion and the Unicorn were fighting for the crown.......2007-10-04
The Lion beat the Unicorn all round the town.
Some gave them white bread, some gave them brown:
Some gave them plum-cake and drummed them out of town."
The original illustrations of the Lion and the Unicorn in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, created by noted illustrator Sir John Tenniel, bear a startling resemblance to Tenniel's illustrations of Benjamin Disraeli (the Unicorn) and William Gladstone (the Lion) published in Punch. The resemblance is no coincidence according to historian Richard Aldous and the image of the Lion and Unicorn fighting all around the town provides Aldous with a perfect title for his biography of the decades-long political rivalry between two giants of 19th-century British politics. "The Lion and the Unicorn" is an entertaining and very informative look at a political rivalry that changed the face of British politics and presaged the type of personalized electioneering that is found in both the United States and Britain today.
Aldous doesn't set out to give a straight-line biography of both Gladstone and Disraeli. He notes that there is plenty of material on their individual lives and that, rather, he has set out to take a comprehensive look at their bitter relationship, a relationship that produced titanic clashes for over 40 years. The result is an almost breathless recitation of a roller coast ride in which a political rivalry turned decidedly personal is played out in Parliament and across Britain. Gladstone, who first entered Parliament in 1832, and Disraeli (arriving in 1837) were both Tories at the start of their career and (ostensibly) political allies. However, Gladstone soon left for the Liberals while Disraeli remained with the Tories. In the process Disraeli remade the Tories into the modern Conservative Party while Gladstone took a loose coalition of diverse groups including Whigs and free-trade Conservatives (Peelites) and turned it into something approaching a modern Liberal Party. Each chapter provides a snapshot on their 44-year rivalry over a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues. High points of the book include the general election of 1868, won by Gladstone, Disraeli's subsequent rout of Gladstone in the 1874 elections, and Gladstone's "Midlothian Campaign in 1880 which marked the rivals' last battle before Disraeli's death in 1881. Aldous correctly describes the 1874 campaign as perhaps the first one waged solely as a public battle between two rivals rather than one on specific issues. As such, when one looks at political campaigns today that seem based on popularity contests one can see where this sort of process had its birth.
Aldous does a great job comparing the very different personalities of the two rivals. For example, Disraeli, despite being thought of as a fop and dandy had, once he got married, a loving and very loving relationship with his wife Mary Anne, an older woman to whom he was singularly devoted. Gladstone on the other hand, and despite his deep Anglican church beliefs had what can only be described as an addiction to `women of the night', a practice that was known but rarely discussed at the time. Aldous paints a remarkably full, even-handed portrait of the public and private lives of both men.
One caveat: Aldous does not flesh out many of the national issues of the day around which this great rivalry played itself out. Rather, the reader is presumed to know or have a general knowledge of those issues; the great debates on the repeal of the Corn Laws, free-trade, "the Irish question", and the great reform battles of the 19th-century that eventually extended the right of suffrage from a few landowners to almost the entire adult (male) population of the United Kingdom. This is far from a fatal flaw, and I'm not even sure it should be considered a flaw since Aldous' focus is primarily on the ups and downs of their battles rather than an examination of the intricacies of the political issues of the day. In fact, sidebars into these issues probably would have bogged down the story Aldous set out to tell. However, the reader probably should know in advance that there may be times where he/she may feel an urge to look elsewhere for background information on some of these issues. I did that more than once even though it really isn't necessary in order to gain a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction in enjoying Aldous' account of the rivalry of these two men.
Highly recommended. L. Fleisig
Book Description
In this fresh account of Benjamin Disraeli's life, Paul Smith looks at his unique character as a fusion of Jewishness and Anglicanism, outsider and insider, nationalist and European, Romantic and Tory; and shows how this formed his "appeal as an original and a card, the most piquant joker in the pack", a faintly raffish outsider who scaled the highest peaks of public life.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but not great.......2004-10-07
Overall, this brief biography offers an interesting portrait of a commanding political figure of the Victorian era. In order to fully appreciate Smith's rendition, however, one should become acquainted with (if not actually reading) Disraeli's novels, as his writing seems to be Smith's point of departure, and frequent point of reference in telling the story of Disraeli's life. I, for one, was less interested in linking the biographical themes in Disraeli's novels to his life's events, and more interested in capturing the essence of the epoch, with more detail and attention paid to the political developments of Disraeli's age.
A Too Brief Biography.......2001-05-20
Paul Smith attempts the impossible - to write a brief life - of the complex, remarkable and enigmatic Jewish politician and author Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield. Smith almost pulls it off but another 50 or so pages would have given him much more scope to portray Disraeli's major contributions to the politics of identity, social and political reform and the recognition of the inevitability of working class emancipation. Smith allows his fascination with Dizzy's Jewishness and "outsider" status to overwhelm the other facets of his character and beliefs. Part of Dizzy's greatness as a politician was the ability to simultaneously portray himself as the ultimate outsider and the loyal, patriotic "insider." Until the election of Ramsey MacDonald as the first Labour Prime Minister in the 1920s, Disraeli stands alone as the most unlikely Prime Minister Britain ever had. Smith's book includes some good quotes from commentators such as Gladstone and Michael Foot. A book deserving a fuller treatment in its second edition but still a very useful introduction to its subject for young students of 19th century history.
Disraeli: A Brief Life.......2000-09-05
This is written for a british school person taking his or her O and or A levels. It is an enjoyeable read which put Disraeli in a comptempary historical view point. Yes, the Author actually compares Disraeli and his government to the tories of the 80's under the iron rule of Thatcher.
Product Description
Matching folio to the classic album. 10 songs, including: Strange Brew * The Sunshine Of Your Love * Dance The Night Away * and more. Blue Condition Dance The Night Away Outside Woman Blues Strange Brew Sunshine Of Your Love Swlabr Take It Back Tales Of Brave Ulysses We're Going Wrong World Of Pain
Book Description
Robert Blake's masterly biography of Benjamin Disraeli, the great British Prime Minister, Conservative leader, and man of letters. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81), Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of England (1868 and 1874-80), and Conservative leader, was one of the greatest and most colorful political figures in British history. A confidante of Queen Victoria, tireless champion of England, parliamentarian of genius, Disraeli was also a superb and enduring novelist and correspondent. This monumental portrait by Robert Blake is considered by many to be one of the finest political biographies ever written. Lord Blake is former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford, and Editor of the Dictionary of National Biography. 850 pp 5 x 8
Customer Reviews:
Masterful political biography .......2005-06-27
This masterful political biography traces the life and career of one of the most extraordinary figures of British political history, Benjamin Disraeli. In doing so it gives insight into the whole structure of nineteenth - century British political and social life.
It is told chronologically and moves with a sure and even narrative pace. One particular helpful feature of the work is the detailed chapter- headings, which serve as a kind of summary of the work as a whole.
The story of 'Dizzy's spectacular climb ' up the greasy pole' to the Prime - Ministership, his rivalry with Gladstone, his closeness with Queen Victoria, his brilliance as strategist in defending and extending the Empire is told with quiet sympathy by Blake.
Also there is a close chronicling of Disraeli's personal relations, including those with his somewhat distant literary father, his especially supportive sister, and very close wife.
Disraeli's Jewish origins , his misunderstanding of them and yet his pride in defending them are also part of the story of this sensitive, insightful and supremely 'romantic' political leader.
Essential.......2003-11-10
Robert Blake's biography of Disraeli is now nearly 40 years old (it was first published in 1966), yet it retains a freshness seldom equalled in any type of biography, let alone a political one.
Disraeli is one of the most compelling figures in British history, certainly nineteenth century political history. Yet as Blake points out, he was actually in power for very little of his career, and at a late stage in his life at that. The paradox is explained by the socio-political characteristics of the age. Blake does that with great skill, avoiding the danger of turning a biography into a general history.
"Disraeli" is a fascinating study of a complex and interesting individual. Yet this book is also a must for anyone wanting to understand political development in Victorian Britain, and in particular Conservative Party history.
G Rodgers
Dizzy he was not.......2003-03-25
During the high tide of the Victorian era, the political life of the nation was dominated by two men, Disraeli and Gladstone. Gladstone is an obvious choice for one of the top statesmen of the era, he was elected four times to the premiership. Disraeli was not quite so fortunate. However, given the short period of time that he was in office he accomplished a great deal. He brought the tories back from the dead, passed a reform bill and managed to acquire the Suez Canal. At the Congress of Berlin, Disraeli's command of the situation even impressed Bismark (not exactly a slouch in these sorts of things). Not bad from a rather foppish young man who specialized in "Silver Fork" novels (a fictional version of lifestyles of the rich and famous in the 19th century).
Blake's book is the best one on the subject of Benjamin Disraeli. The complex story of the novelist turned politican is brought out in all of its facets. Disraeli was probably one of the most interesting people to be prime minister (after perhaps Churchill and Walpole) and Blake's book shows the reader how he did it.
The Perfect Biography.......2002-06-15
Blake's Disraeli is not only flawless in its interpretation of Disraeli but also in its style. It is a work by which all other biographies must be judged. Simply put, it is the perfect biography.
First rate.......2001-01-19
This is a work of considerable scholarship which chronicles the life of one of Great Britain's outstanding statesmen. The book covers the political life of Disraeli admirably, but also gives a view of the private Disraeli: confidant of Victoria, prolific novelist, inventor of the crouton.
Book Description
The social and financial problems of class-ridden Victorian England are depicted vividly and, against this background, the romance of the aristocratic Egremont and Sybil, the daughter of a poor Charist leader, develops. Eleven 90-minute cassettes.
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