Everdell (The End of Kings, 1983) presents one of the more
accessible studies of early Modernism (up to WW I), relying on a
"big name" approach to dissect the meanings of one of the most
slippery terms in all of cultural criticism. Using geographical
benchmarks to elaborate on the subject of Modernism, Everdell first
presents imperial Vienna, then Paris, and finally St. Louis as
examples of Modernist trends precipitating, emerging, and evolving.
Dismissing Virginia Woolf's assertion that the Modern era began "on
or about December 1910," Everdell nimbly places such supposedly
pre-Modern thinkers and artists as Mach (whose name is still used
to denote the speed of sound), Seurat, and Whitman in the long
evolutionary trend of Modernism, demonstrating their influence on
developments like relativity theory (Einstein), the invention of
film (Thomas Edison), and High Modernism (Pound, Eliot, Williams).
This inclusive view expands the commonly accepted Modernist canon;
it also stresses the crucial nature of influence, showing, for
instance, Picasso's cubism and Kandinsky's abstract expressionism
prefiguring their interwar works, and the atonal music of Arthur
Schoenberg exerting influence on Philip Glass. Everdell presents an
intriguing chapter on Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, governor of Cuba,
and his grisly contribution to Modern culture in 1896: the
concentration camp. Hitler and Stalin get only passing references,
but it is the exclusion here of Michel Foucault in the discussion
of penal institutions that seems glaring. Similarly, the absence of
Ferdinand de Saussure in a chapter on phenomenology, which includes
Bertrand Russell and Edmund Husserl, omits a giant in the field of
sign study. Still, these are minor lapses in what is otherwise a
sturdy and erudite overview of one of the most complex periods of
thought. (Kirkus Reviews)
A lively and accessible history of Modernism, The First Moderns is
filled with portraits of genius, and intellectual breakthroughs,
that richly evoke the fin-de-siecle atmosphere of Paris, Vienna,
St. Louis, and St. Petersburg. William Everdell offers readers an
invigorating look at the unfolding of an age. "This exceptionally
wide-ranging history is chock-a-block with anecdotes, factoids, odd
juxtapositions, and useful insights. Most impressive. . . . For
anyone interested in learning about late 19th- and early 20th-
century imaginative thought, this engagingly written book is a good
place to start."--Washington Post Book World "The First Moderns
brilliantly maps the beginning of a path at whose end loom as many
diasporas as there are men."--Frederic Morton, The Los Angeles
Times Book Review "In this truly exciting study of the origins of
modernist thought, poet and teacher Everdell roams freely across
disciplinary lines. . . . A brilliant book that will prove useful
to scholars and generalists for years to come; enthusiastically
recommended."--Library Journal, starred review "Everdell has
performed a rare service for his readers. Dispelling much of the
current nonsense about 'postmodernism, ' this book belongs on the
very short list of profound works of cultural analysis."--Booklist
"Innovative and impressive . . . [Everdell] has written a
marvelous, erudite, and readable study."-Mark Bevir, Spectator "A
richly eclectic history of the dawn of a new era in painting,
music, literature, mathematics, physics, genetics, neuroscience,
psychiatry and philosophy."--Margaret Wertheim, New Scientist
"[Everdell] has himself recombined the parts of our era's
intellectual history in new and startling ways, shedding light for
which the reader of The First Moderns will be eternally
grateful."--Hugh Kenner, The New York Times Book Review "Everdell
shows how the idea of "modernity" arose before the First World War
by telling the stories of heroes such as T. S. Eliot, Max Planck,
and Georges Serault with such a lively eye for detail, irony, and
ambiance that you feel as if you're reliving those miraculous
years."--Jon Spayde, Utne Reader
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