Adam Kirsch Bücher

Bestsellerautor, Politiker, Frauenheld – Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) war eine der schillerndsten Figuren des 19. Jahrhunderts. Der geistige Vater des britischen Empire und Lieblingspremier Queen Victorias war zugleich der gefeierte Autor zahlreicher Romane. Adam Kirschs lebendige Biographie zeigt den außergewöhnlichen Menschen hinter der Fassade des bedeutenden Politikers. Benjamin Disraeli, Sohn einer jüdischen Einwandererfamilie aus Italien, war in der Londoner Gesellschaft genauso zu Hause wie auf dem politischen Parkett. Sein extravagantes Auftreten verschaffte ihm Aufmerksamkeit, und man sagte ihm zahlreiche Affären nach. Sein Erfolg als Romancier öffnete ihm die Türen zu den Salons, hier konnte er die Kontakte knüpfen, die ihm den Weg ins britische Unterhaus ebnen sollten. Politisch war Disraeli ein Mann der Gegensätze: ein Erzkonservativer, der von der liberalen Haltung Englands profitierte, ein getaufter Christ, der seine jüdische Herkunft dennoch als Grundlage seines Denkens betrachtete, ein ewiger Außenseiter, der von Ruhm und Ehre für England träumte. Seine Vorstellungen von Macht und der Weltherrschaft Großbritanniens und seine Überlegungen zum Nahen Osten sind bis heute von politischer Bedeutung.

"From Silicon Valley boardrooms to rural communes to academic philosophy departments, a seemingly inconceivable idea is being seriously discussed: that the end of humanity's reign on earth is imminent, and that we should welcome it"--

An erudite and accessible survey of Jewish life and culture in the twentieth century, as reflected in seminal texts.

A collection of moving and meditative poems that richly evoke a Gen X childhood in Los Angeles, exploring how our early recognitions shape our lives.

A literary critic's journey through the Talmud.

Part of the Jewish Encounter seriesA dandy, a best-selling novelist, and a man of political and sexual intrigue, Benjamin Disraeli was one of the most captivating figures of the nineteenth century. His flirtation with proto-Zionism, his ideas about power and empire, and his fantasies about the Middle East remain prophetically relevant today. How a man who was born a Jew--and who remained in the eyes of his countrymen a member of a despised minority--managed to become prime minister of England seems even today nothing short of miraculous.In this compelling biography, renowned poet and critic Adam Kirsch looks at Disraeli as a novelist as well as a statesman, recognizing that the outsider Jew who became one of the world's most powerful men was his own greatest character. Though baptized by his father at the age of twelve, Disraeli was seen--and saw himself--as a Jew. But her created an idea of Jewishness to rival the British notion of aristocracy.Disraeli was a figure of fascinating an archconservative who benefited from England's liberal attitudes, a baptized Christian who saw Jewishness as a matter of racial superiority, a perennial outsider who dreamed of glory for England, which, in the words of one contemporary, became for Disraeli "the Israel of his imagination."

"Celebrating the centennial of Irving Penn's birth, this volume spans the entirety of his groundbreaking career. The introduction situates his work in the context of the various artistic, social, and political environments and events that affected the content of his photographs. The essays acquaint readers with Penn's primary subjects and campaigns, including early documentary scenes and imagery; portraits; fashion; female nudes; people of Peru, Dahomey (Benin), New Guinea, and Morocco; still lifes; and more"--Provided by publisher.

The recent work of this New York-based artist who works with extraordinary painterly and calligraphic artistic detail.

Long regarded as the most accurate rendering of Plato's Republic that has yet been published, this widely acclaimed work is the first strictly literal translation of a timeless classic. This second edition includes a new introduction by Professor Bloom, whose careful translation and interpretation of The Republic was first published in 1968. In addition to the corrected text itself there is also a rich and valuable essay—as well as indexes—which will better enable the reader to approach the heart of Plato's intention.

"Illuminating." - The New York Times Book Review Named one of "Ten Books to Read this April" by the BBC What is the future of fiction in an age of globalization? In The Global Novel, acclaimed literary critic Adam Kirsch explores some of the 21st century's best-known writers--including Orhan Pamuk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Mohsin Hamid, Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, Roberto Bolano, Elena Ferrante, and Michel Houellebecq. They are employing a way of imagining the world that sees different places and peoples as intimately connected. From climate change and sex trafficking to religious fundamentalism and genetic engineering, today's novelists use 21st-century subjects to address the perennial concerns of fiction, like morality, society, and love. The global novel is not the bland, deracinated, commercial product that many critics of world literature have accused it of being, but rather finds a way to renew the writer's ancient privilege of examining what it means to be human.