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A Great Idea At The Time: The Rise, Fall, And Curious Afterlife Of The Great Books (2008)

by Alex Beam(Favorite Author)

3.24 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1586484877 (ISBN13: 9781586484873)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

PublicAffairs

review 1: A short, mostly entertaining history of the "Great Books" as an educational and popular culture phenomenon in 20th Century America. The author's wry observations about business and academic hubris are interspersed with unconvincing criticisms of the value of studying the Western Canon. The faults of various mid-Century marketing programs do not provide a sound starting point to examine the continued relevance of reading primary texts. Overall, a good story but not a serious analysis of the traditional liberal arts.
review 2: The snarkiness of the middle section of this book is really offputting and distracting, and undermines the author's credibility. Mortimer Adler may have been a difficult case, but I started to sympathize with him simply in response to th... moree unrelenting cattiness of the author. The tone of the book changes from an intellectual study, to snarky gossip, to sentimental reflection. But ultimately, it's a very interesting story. less

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