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George Santayana (Hispanics)(Oop) (Hispanics of Achievement)

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While the name George Santayana has popped up occasionally in the material that I have studied, I had never made an attempt to learn more about him. Therefore, before I read this book, the extent of my knowledge was the famous quote: "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." His life was one of enormous achievement, and like so many of the American intellectuals of the twentieth century, he was an immigrant who always felt a degree of discomfort in American society. This uneasiness finally led him to resign his position at Harvard and travel the world, writing and adventuring.
Written primarily for young adults, Carter gives a complete, albeit brief synopsis of the accomplishments of this incredible man. Primarily a philosopher, Santayana wrote in many other areas, including poetry and fiction. He was also a very modest man, never appearing to take himself too seriously. It is also noted, although largely in passing, that Santayana was a homosexual. That fact seems to have had no direct affect on his public life, hence there was no reason for Carter to spend a great deal of time on it.
Santayana did not possess a great deal of faith in democracy, and he spent the years of the Second World War in Italy. While he clearly supported Benito Mussolini, there is no evidence that his support was all that active. His position seems to have been one who simply wants a society to be ordered, there is no evidence that he ever spoke favorably of Nazism, and he was severely critical of the principles of Nazism in his writings.
One of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century, Santayana deserves to be studied more closely. I am currently searching for a more in-depth biography, and I can thank the author of this book for my development of that interest.