Germs: A Memoir of Childhood [Hardcover]

Richard Wollheim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2006

Richard Wollheim grew up lonely and sad in London's wealthy suburbs during the 1920s and 1930s, yet his was a childhood more interesting than most. He had an impresario father and a “Gaiety Girl” mother; together they attracted important guests (Diaghilev, Kurt Weill, Serge Lifar) to the grand houses and hotels that punctuated the landscape of Wollheim's early years. Germs is his account of that time, of the years he spent adoring his charming but distant father; of his regret for loathing his beautiful, mindless mother. Told in prose that with hypnotic ease moves from deadpan comedy to poignant loneliness, Germs is already a classic work of memoir.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'A frighteningly good memoir' - Andrew O'Hagan, London Review of Books; 'Wollheim's powers of description astound...Because of the intensity with which a remarkable man has offered us a view of his inner self, I doubt whether anyone who has read it will forget it' - Diana Athill, Literary Review; 'Germs is not only elegantly written; it is a human document of considerable power and importance' - John Armstrong, Independent; 'Pungently truthful, complex and original' - Alan Hollinghurst, Guardian" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Richard Wollheim was born in London in 1923 and educated at Westminster School and Balliol College, Oxford. He served in the army during the Second World War, seeing action in France and Germany. From 1949, Wollheim taught philosophy at University College London, becoming, in 1963, Grote Professor of Mind and Logic. He retired from UCL in 1982, and from then until 1985 was Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. Between 1985 and 2003 he was professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1989 until 1986, he was also Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at the University of California, Davis. Wollheim was the author of many acclaimed works of philosophy and a novel, A Family Romance. He died in 2003. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint (October 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593761252
• ISBN-13: 978-1593761257
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #97 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Family & Childhood

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid Memoir..., March 16, 2011

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Flounder (Substitution Instance) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Germs: A Memoir of Childhood (Hardcover)

I had the tremendous opportunity to become acquainted and study with Richard Wollheim when he served as the Chair of the Philosophy Dept at UC Berkeley. He was a remarkable man of superior intellect, passion, and charm. We had many conversations on art, music, and his recently published book on the emotions. This memoir, which was in part printed in the London Review of Books, is a marvelous retelling of his childhood memories, and it takes the reader through several of his war experiences as well. I highly recommend this book. It discusses the cultural milieu of his childhood upbringing, family life, school years, and sheds light on the education of a philosopher. The sentences here are often as eloquent as those in Henry James (Wollheim actually wanted to write a novel)--remarkable writing style. Wollheim was a genuine gentleman scholar--he loved ideas, art, and music--a genuine aesthete. I loved listening to his stories. Many stories of his childhood and youth can be found in this book... I also recommend Bryan Magee's page-turner 'Confessions of a Philosopher.'

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Odd Child, November 24, 2006

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Christian Schlect (Yakima, Washington/USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Germs: A Memoir of Childhood (Hardcover)

This memoir set in pre-World War II England has many very well written passages that nicely evoke a bygone era. It is centered on Professor Wollheim's recollections and introspections on his emotional start to life. With his sexual identity up in the air, being a social zero, and faced with irrational fears at every turn, this was not a blissfully happy childhood. Dr. Freud would have had a field day with this raw material of a life.