Foundations of the Nineteenth Century: With an introduction by Lord Redesdale. Volume 1
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend Translated by John Lees. This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1911 edition by F. Bruckmann, A. G., München.… Product details and pricing info |
|---|
2 Customer Reviews Posted
- A classic text that should be studied by historians of the 19th & early 20th centuries
- This text represents the beliefs of many Europeans during the 19th and early 20th centuries. While I do not condone the worldview of H.S. Chamberlain, I do believe it is necessary to study his work to understand the way people thought before Europe self-destructed in the two world wars. This text borders on pseudo-science, but I actually find great portions of the book extremely interesting. Unfortunately, this book also became one of the books that inspired the National Socialist movement in Germany. For that reason, this book was branded heretical and unofficially banned from the shelves of the intellectual. Consequently, this book has been near-impossible to obtain or extremely expensive. Therefore this new edition is, in this humble reader's opinion, a huge benefit for a student of 19th century thought. I am glad these volumes are now sitting on my shelf without having to pay an outrageous fee for the text George Bernard Shaw declared a "historical masterpiece."
- 2008-08-16, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- A text for its time
- Written in the 1890s, this is a classic account of a cultural/historical hypothesis which, in varying degrees, influenced Europe and America from the mid 19th century onwards and is by no means extinct today. Following Gobineau, Chamberlain postulated that the driving force of world history is the Aryan race. The purest Aryans, he believed, are the Teutons. He defined this category broadly to include not only the Germans, English, Scandinavians etc. but also the "Germanic" Celts and "Germanic" Slavs (he concedes that the latter are hard to find). The book traces the rise of Western civilization from its roots in Greece, Rome and Christianity - which, properly understood, owed nothing to Judaism - to full flower in 19th-century northern Europe. The writing style is opaque, but bear in mind that this is a translation from German and not an especially good one (Chamberlain was English but wrote in German). Nevertheless, worth reading.
- 2007-06-10, 10 of 14 people found this review helpful, Rated:
