The Future of the European Past [Hardcover]

Hilton Kramer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 1566631785 | ISBN-13: 978-1566631785

It is no longer news that the history of the European past and its role in shaping American cultural life is under severe attack. In virtually every university that offers a liberal arts curriculum, in every arts institution that deals with European classics, in the offices of every publication that engages in intellectual pursuits, the discussion of the past has become the principal battleground for mapping out the future of our culture. In this provocative and insightful collection of essays first published in The New Criterion, ten distinguished critics reflect on the fate of Europe’s cultural and political legacy as we approach the turn of the century. On subjects ranging from the collapse of communism and its implications for European society, to the study of the classics, to the prospects for serious music and art, these essays offer analyses marked by wit, independence, and commanding intelligence. The contributors include David Pryce-Jones, Anne Applebaum, Roger Scruton, John Gross, Ferdinand Mount, John Herington, Keith Windschuttle, Mark Steyn, Hilton Kramer, and Roger Kimball. The Future of the European Past is a major contribution to the debate over some of the most pressing cultural issues of our time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Future of the European Past offers acute insight into the modern decay of the empires of the mind that have for centuries defined Europe. (Bruce Alan Johnson American Outlook )

The Future of the European Past offers acute insight into the modern decay of the empires of the mind that have for centuries defined Europe. (Bruce Alan Johnson American Outlook )

Powerful...Hilton and Kramer take their axes to the roots of the problem. A counterblast to the attacks on the moral and cultural achievements of European civilization. (George Walden Times Literary Supplement )

The strength of this book is its usefulness in helping a reader discriminate within a large and unquestionably problematic, but also mixed, field of cultural, political, literary, and artistic situations. (Colin Walters The Washington Times )

Cogent and convincing...an articulate and thought-provoking collection. (Norman Davies Wall Street Journal )

From the Inside Flap

As we approach the year 2000 and a new millennium, the authority of our cultural institutions seems to be slipping away. The dazzling accomplishments of Western science and modern capitalism have made us vastly richer and technologically more competent than any society in history, while liberal democracy has secured us an unparalleled degree of personal and political liberty. Yet the moral and cultural achievements of the European civilization--the very achievements that underwrite our prosperity and give meaning and purpose to our liberty--are everywhere under attack.

In virtually every university that offers a liberal arts curriculum, in every arts institution that deals with European classics, in the offices of every publication that engages in intellectual pursuits, the discussion of the past has become the principal conflict in deciding the future of our culture.

In The Future of the European Past, ten distinguished critics reflect upon the breakdown of culture and the fate of Europe's legacy. In their provocative and insightful essays, first published in the New Criterion, they assess the decline of historical memory; the resurgence of elites associated with Europe's totalitarian past; the subversions of the new historical method; the disregard for musical tonality; the retreat of British tradition in the face of pop culture; the postmodern assault on art criticism and art history; the pervasiveness of deconstruction and structuralism in academic inquiry; the future of classical studies; and other aspects of the battle that is now under way for the future of American cultural life.

Marked by wit, independence, and commanding intelligence, these appraisals comprise a major interpretation of this crucial debate. The contributors include David Pryce-Jones, Anne Applebaum, Roger Scruton, John Gross, Ferdinand Mount, John Herington, Keith Windschuttle, Mark Steyn, Hilton Kramer, and Roger Kimball.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 251 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566631785
• ISBN-13: 978-1566631785
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,472,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and utterly compulsive reading, June 21, 1999

By 

Hal Colebatch (Perth, Western Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future of the European Past (Hardcover)

This is a brilliant and compulsive book, though in its dissection of our cultural malaise far more terrifying than any escapade by Hannibal Lecter. Read it if you care about the future of civilization.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sanity vindicated, April 15, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Philippolis, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future of the European Past (Hardcover)

This is an elegantly written, totally absorbing antidote to much of the pretentious humbug that nowadays passes for profundity. I recommend it without reserve.

9 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "irritating", June 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Future of the European Past (Hardcover)

Now I have to read this work. Could it possibly be more "irritating" than the January fifth review?! We shall see. All in all, it sounds like the perfect antitode to today's unconscious and helpless relativism.