Product Description

The author of "The French", "Happiness" and "A History of French Passions" writes about the history of human feelings, habits, emotions and perceptions across time. From Vikings and Aztecs to contemporary hypochondriacs, from ancient Arab writings to American theories of business management, Zeldin looks at the dilemmas of ordinary life, exploring what makes us most human - the intimate experience of men and women through the ages.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70613 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 493 pages

Review
Just published in paperback, this is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read, part cultural history, part user's guide to life. Zeldin trawls an astonishing range of forgotten or neglected wisdoms and brings them to bear on current preoccupations with a series of questions that might seem half-frivolous ('why has more progress been made in the art of cooking than in the art of sex?'), but which culminate in an illuminating, essentially optimistic picture of the gradual growth of our capacity to be truly humane. (Kirkus UK)

Customer Reviews

This book opens up possibilities for understanding ourselves
We think our innermost thoughts in cultural contexts and Zeldin's examples can send us of on new journeys of exploration. What might I be like? One quarter Cockney and three quarters West Country. My history, my ways of experiencing life.......????

Food for thought
I endorse Cassini24's review and would add the following comments.

Zeldin tends towards sweeping statements. When he touches on subjects I know about he is sometimes (a) not quite right (b) misleading or (c) wrong. This makes me wonder whether the same applies to matters upon which I cannot make a judgment of my own. It makes me reluctant to take him on trust.

The case studies that begin each chapter often have little discernable relationship to the analysis that follows. The people appear selected to meet Zeldin's agenda. They tend to be high or low achievers (personally, work-wise or artistically) whereas a representative sample would surely have produced more middle ground.

But ultimately you don't have to agree with such conclusions as Zeldin reaches and I suspect that is not the point. There are interesting insights and from previous reviews some readers have obviously taken a lot from the book. Any book that produces food for thought can't be all bad. But I find it difficult to see how this can be a five star read.

mildly diverting but ultimately shallow
A mildly diverting and interesting analysis of human relationships over the centuries and across cultures, illuminated by case studies, mostly of French women. However, Zeldin is sometimes prone to platitudes and generalisations, and his arguments,while coherently argued, don't in the end, amount to very much. Some interesting historical snippets maintain the reader's attention for most of the book, however.

Cassini244