2011年8月4日 星期四

《威爾遜》(Woodrow Wilson)

Louis Auchincloss路易 奧欽克著《威爾遜》(Woodrow Wilson)蔡東杰譯,台北:左岸,2001

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From Publishers Weekly

This new biography of our 28th president is pithy and intelligent; it is also hurried. As with other titles in the Penguin Lives series, the match up of author and subject is inspired. Auchincloss, the highbrow novelist and biographer of such bluebloods as Edith Wharton and Henry James, is perfectly suited to chronicle the exploits of the most academic and idealistic man ever to have lived in the White House. In 18 breathless pages, Auchincloss covers Wilson's life from birth to his first executive office--president of Princeton University. It was at Princeton that Wilson caught the eye of Democratic Party bosses, who saw in the bookish professor a man they believed they could manipulate. They were wrong. As a political candidate, Wilson proved to be fiercely independent as well as a master orator. His commanding presence got him elected governor of New Jersey and then, after a fortuitous split in the Republican Party, president of the U.S. Auchincloss does a fine job of detailing the successes and failures of the Wilson administration. His only real misstep is a crude resort to pop psychology; Auchincloss invents something very close to a split personality for the president and makes constant reference throughout to the "two Woodrow Wilsons." That is only a minor flaw, however, in what is otherwise an engaging, informative introduction to one of our greatest leaders. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The "Penguin Lives" series matches its subjects with eminent writers whose short biographies are meant to be read in a sitting or two. Larry McMurtry's Crazy Horse (LJ 11/15/98) opened the series, and in two future volumes, Bobbie Ann Mason will address Elvis Presley and Mary Gordon, Joan of Arc. In this book, Auchincloss, the novelist and historian best known for his many works about New York's turn-of-the-century upper class, portrays President Woodrow Wilson. His book is really an extended character sketch, often based upon the interpretations of prior biographers, especially August Hecksher (Woodrow Wilson). Auchincloss visits Wilson's relationships with his two wives, his adviser Colonel House, and his archenemy, Henry Cabot Lodge, while analyzing Wilson's successes and failures at Princeton, as governor of New Jersey, as president, and as world leader. Auchincloss sees Wilson as admirable but flawed, displaying a dual nature that manifested itself in various (usually harmful) ways in his public and private lives. A useful though optional purchase for public libraries and undergraduate collections. [BOMC and History Book Club selections.--Ed.]--Robert F. Nardini, North Chichester, N.
---Robert F. Nardini, North Chichester, NH
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (March 20, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0670889040
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670889044

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