Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
393rd out of 804 books
—
653 voters
An Intimate History of Humanity
A provocative work that explores the evolution of emotions and personal relationships through diverse cultures and time. "An intellectually dazzling view of our past and future."-- "Time" magazine
Paperback, 496 pages
Published
December 1st 1995
by Harper Perennial
(first published January 1st 1994)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,140)
Feb 27, 2009
Wayne
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
all human beings
Recommended to Wayne by:
the titles of the chapters!!!
This was a rich and astonishing read.
AFTERMATH:
For years after I read it I could not put it back on a bookshelf.
To do so was like admitting that the reading was OVER, whereas I just wanted to keep exploring everything this book offered and opened up.
PURCHASING:
The title was enough to excite.
Then with chapter headings such as these...
*How new forms of love have been invented.
*Why there has been more progress in cooking than in sex.
*How men and women have slowly learned to have interesting convers...more
AFTERMATH:
For years after I read it I could not put it back on a bookshelf.
To do so was like admitting that the reading was OVER, whereas I just wanted to keep exploring everything this book offered and opened up.
PURCHASING:
The title was enough to excite.
Then with chapter headings such as these...
*How new forms of love have been invented.
*Why there has been more progress in cooking than in sex.
*How men and women have slowly learned to have interesting convers...more
Zeldin's work, despite the name, isn't really historical scholarship. Instead it's far closer to philosophy, and his use of history is kin to Foucault's - by picking and choosing key moments in the global past, what do we learn that might help us navigate our present?
It's a fascinating text, if so broad and expansive that sometimes it feels too much to take in. Zeldin tries to pinpoint the things that make us human, tries to find our commonalities instead of focusing on differences, and asks wha...more
It's a fascinating text, if so broad and expansive that sometimes it feels too much to take in. Zeldin tries to pinpoint the things that make us human, tries to find our commonalities instead of focusing on differences, and asks wha...more
This book is perfect for those who enjoy reading about history, but dislike history books. Zeldin takes us through different aspects of history, combining them with aspects of mankind. He uses examples to illustrate each of his points, and has a tone and wit that makes this anything but dry.
At times, the book reads much like a self-help book, but it does not give solutions or guidelines. Instead, it brings to the surface facets of ourselves, as humans, that we may not have noticed before. Zeldi...more
At times, the book reads much like a self-help book, but it does not give solutions or guidelines. Instead, it brings to the surface facets of ourselves, as humans, that we may not have noticed before. Zeldi...more
I've never read anything quite like this before. Not really history, not really philosophy, not at all a commercialized self-help book, I can't quite pinpoint what I got out of this book. Enjoyment and stimulation were definitely there for sure, but also a realisation that 'humanity', though such a broad word, is actually very much a physical thing that we can all appreciate, if we know where and how to look...
At times I really did not fully understand what Zeldin was saying, largely because the...more
At times I really did not fully understand what Zeldin was saying, largely because the...more
Read this approximately 7-8yrs ago. This book is very a Zeldin point of view, and how he captivates History from an angle which differs from history writers. I read the book on chapters bases, which intrigued me at the time. There are some chapters In the book, particularly in the way it lays out so many contradictory opinions on how one should live one's life. Zeldin very cleverly leaves you with food for thought, at the end of each chapter he leaves a sample of his sources, a suggested reading...more
I was impressed by the first 40 pages, with the author's promise of delving into the psyche and emotional history of humanity. Evidently erudite, this author alluded to references to historic events but promised to interpret them "intimately" and classic theoretic ideas but would use them "relevantly" so we don't get drowned in the details. The idea of starting with a particular person's life story held attraction as well -- till a point (page 40 onward) which becomes a mediocre collection of sn...more
An interesting and intellectually challenging read. Arranged in short chapters making it convenient to read randomly from anywhere in the book. Great for busy times or when on the move. Catchy and memorable chapter titles such as " Why compassion has flowered even in stony ground", " Why even the rich and successful are somewhat gloomy about life" " How men and women have learnt to have interesting conversations". However, not always entirely convinced by the prescriptions given (which are proba...more
It's taken me some time (Goodreads informs me 3 months), but I have finally finished reading Theodore Zeldin's ambitious book, 'An Intimate History of Humanity.'
Zeldin's stated objective is to provide us with a history of humanity that surpasses stale cataloging of kingdoms epochs, and ages. Instead, he turns his attention to some of the most important and defining dynamics of human society. He takes our fixed assumptions about the nature of humanity, and, through an exposition of engaging histo...more
Zeldin's stated objective is to provide us with a history of humanity that surpasses stale cataloging of kingdoms epochs, and ages. Instead, he turns his attention to some of the most important and defining dynamics of human society. He takes our fixed assumptions about the nature of humanity, and, through an exposition of engaging histo...more
People who wish to escape from the grasp of the institutions of their time, and the opinions of the crowd, and indeed from ordinary life, are not misfits in modern society: their roots go back into furthest antiquity, as far as those of warriors; they were singing songs like these in ancient China.
I arrive all alone, I sit down all alone.
I have no regrets that people today do not know me.
Only the spirit of the old tree, in the south of the city
knows for certain that I am an Immortal passing by.
T...more
I arrive all alone, I sit down all alone.
I have no regrets that people today do not know me.
Only the spirit of the old tree, in the south of the city
knows for certain that I am an Immortal passing by.
T...more
Theodore Zeldin premise is that people have never been able to have a new vision of the future without first revising their idea of the past. "History did not have to happen the way it did, and what exists today is not its logical conclusion."
Zeldin sees humanity "as a family that has hardly met. I see the meeting of people, their bodies, thoughts, emotions or actions as the start of more change." The author maintains that up to now individuals have spent more time trying to understand themselv...more
Zeldin sees humanity "as a family that has hardly met. I see the meeting of people, their bodies, thoughts, emotions or actions as the start of more change." The author maintains that up to now individuals have spent more time trying to understand themselv...more
Jan 12, 2008
Kevin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lost hungry souls (everyone!)
This is not a typical history book. It's perfect for someone hungry for knowledge but put off by history written as a succession of dates and wars by a detached, passionless author. Sometimes it almost reads like a self-help book-- but don't worry, cynics! It offers no quick solutions, only useful questions. Fluffy and condescending? Nay! Encouraging and inspiring? Yay!
Divided into chapters like "How humans have repeatedly lost hope, and how new encounters, and a new pair of spectacles, revive t...more
Divided into chapters like "How humans have repeatedly lost hope, and how new encounters, and a new pair of spectacles, revive t...more
I could not figure out why reading this book made me feel enraged. I wondered if it had something to do with the way it says everything about nothing and nothing about Everything. Zeldin shares 1st person narratives from people who were weirdly philosophical about themselves and their lives. Is it because many of them are French. C'est l 'absurd. This book got rave reviews and the truth is that I was too annoyed to finish it. It was like eating food made of air.
Each chapter in this book is split into two distinct parts. First there's one or more pen portraits of people, all of whom are French women. Second there's an attempt by Zeldin to link parts of the portraits to history. For me the portraits were the most consistent part of each chapter. This is a book that will make you think more deeply about your life and the life of others?
Another text our instructor gave us just a small excerpt of. Love what I read of it!! If it wasn't near 500 pages, I'd take some time to read it now. Doesn't look like there's anything the author won't touch on. It was also recommended to the class that we try to imitate the great writing style here, working to develop our own more deeply.
One of my favourite books and a real eye opener. One of the few books I read again periodically. It's the history of love but touches on many other aspects of philosophy. A page turner, which isn't something you often say about a philosophical novel. Like Alain De Botton but without the descents into banality.
http://nhw.livejournal.com/786755.html[return][return]I got this ages ago, as it promised to be an interesting investigation of the history of how humans relate to each other. Unfortunately it isn't; it is a series of conversations with French women, one by one, with an attempt by the author to draw universal conclusions from each one individually. I got through less than a tenth of it before I reached my "Tonstant Weader fwowed up" moment, when one of the interviewees confided that[return][retu...more
An amazing book that I just came across on my shelves having read it in 1994ish. Each chapter takes a contemporary French woman from many layers of society and uses it to weave the history of humanity. Really interesting different take on history. Intriguing.
This is the coolest history book I've ever read - a history of modern "human" concepts we take for granted: Travel, education, slavery, romantic love - this book gives you the history of the concept thru to the modern. It will make you think. It is not dry, easy to read but every chapter comes with an extensive bibliography should you want to dive deeper into any of the subjects
Brilliant and fascinating even though one can legitimately wonder what connects all the stories told other than the author's (powerful) imagination. It ranges through much of recent (post 1700) Western history.
This extraordinarily wide-ranging study looks at the dilemmas of life today and shows how they need not have arisen. Portraits of living people and historical figures are placed alongside each other as Zeldin discusses how men and women have lost and regained hope; how they have learnt to have interesting conversations; how some have acquired an immunity to loneliness; how new forms of love and desire have been invented; how respect has become more valued than power; how the art of escaping from...more
If you've ever wanted to read the history of some of our most common dreams, desires, and fears this is a good place to start. Well-written, and occasionally poetic.
Jun 20, 2011
Cheryl
added it
About time to get back and read this one again ..... it's been many years, but the title is one I always remember as one of the books that had a impact on my path.
A book by turns illuminating and frustrating, insightful, banal, and tedious. Zeldin drives at the important details of life and has wonderful insights into human existence through history, but the book's format is tiresome. The details from individual women's lives at the beginning of each chapter wore me down over time and took away from his cleverness and wit. In the end I fear I am not generous enough to this book, which is ambitious and attempts to be so all encompassing, but his dismissal...more
Great idea and really engrossing. Discussion is rendered so well and fluently with perfect use of personal cameo to convey large ideas
Jun 23, 2011
Girish
marked it as to-read
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Stole this book from 18, Morrell Avenue, Oxford in 1998 and it turned out to be well worth a spot of burglary.
Despite the sexysexy nipple-tastic cover, this is supposed to be a legit fascinating book.
One of my favourite non-fiction books of all time. Rich, layer and engaging.
If there were a book that lives in both 'read' & 'to read' states, this is it.
Extraordinary way of understanding social history.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What do you think about the book? | 1 | 4 | Jul 05, 2012 06:52am |
Theodore Zeldin CBE, President of the Oxford Muse Foundation, is an English philosopher, sociologist, historian, writer and public speaker. Zeldin was first known as a historian of France but is today probably most famous internationally as the author of An Intimate History of Humanity (1994), a book which probes the personal preoccupations of people in many different civilisations, both in the pa...more
More about Theodore Zeldin...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“...literature must always be about gloom of one sort or another, on the principle that there is nothing interesting to be said about happy people.”
—
2 people liked it
“Each civilization, each nation, each family, each profession, each sex and each class has its own history. Humans have so far been interested mainly in their own private roots, and have therefore never claimed the whole of the inheritance into which they were born, the legacy of everybody’s past experience. Each generation searches only for what it thinks it lacks, and recognizes only what it knows already.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
Spot on!!
Such a GREAT read.And a provocative and challenging read on so many levels.
Happy Reading from Wayne, Sydney, Aus...more
Feb 27, 2009 03:25am