Customer Reviews

The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein

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The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein is terrifically detailed and sweeps the reader into the best years of New York, especially. I could not put it down and walked around carrying this massive tome everywhere because I could not be parted from it. He truly crossed paths with EVERYONE, and it was enthralling to realize how one did that then. Duberman is frank and honest about the material that causes unease, particularly about fascism and social ambitions of some of Kirstein's colleagues over the years. His life was so layered, like a mille-fleur pastry, that Duberman has to keep sweeping back across the same period of months again and again to get it all, which takes some getting used to, but, by 1934, seems as natural a way as any to make the portrait complete.

A superb biography of a complicated person who was not only a key figure in the development of ballet in America, but a cultural leader in a wide sweep of artistic endeavors over most of the last century. While his creative partnership with George Balanchine is central to this book, Lincoln Kirstein also had important early roles in introducing many modern painters to the public and with various fine literary endeavors.

The author, Mr. Duberman, does not flinch from Mr. Kirstein's "own varied sexual-affectionate history." Potential readers should know this is an unusually candid account of a notable person's private life.

While not a high-lighted part of this book, I especially admire Mr. Kirstein's service in World War II as one of the "Monuments Men", who helped save a large part of European art at the end of World War II. Readers interested in this overall effort might wish to read "Rescuing Da Vinci" by Edsel.

(The book's jacket design by Chip Kidd is first rate.)

At the September 2009 of the NYC LGBT Center book discussion group, we had a small but very smart and vocal group that read the "The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein" by Martin Duberman.

I think that we all wanted to learn more about Lincoln Kirstein and wanted to like this book, but almost everyone agreed that something "didn't click" in this epic biography. While there were lots of
amazing events and interesting stories and huge personalities, there was not an overarching view of Kirstein's life or accomplishments. The organization seemed a bit muddled. Sometimes there was was just too much damn detail. Lots of valuable information was buried in the text. There was no attempt to dramatize events or make the point of some of the incidents clear. There was a lot of sex (which was good) but it was unclear why some of the stories were in the book.

One reader pointed out that Duberman was not invited to any of the Lincoln Center activities celebrating ABT and Lincoln Kirstein's anniversary after the biography came out, so he ruffled feathers with this definitive biography including the stories of Kirstein's bouts of manic depression and later mental illness.

But for this general interest reading group (even if we are all smart queers in NYC), it all seemed a bit remote and academic for such a major figure in NYC and the American arts.

Anyone attending performances of New York City Ballet will benefit from reading Martin Duberman's book. The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein details the history and the development of the company and illuminates Lincoln's contribution to City Ballet's standing as one of the best dance companies in the world.