Students of Western civilization need more than facts. They need to understand the cross-cultural; global exchanges that shaped Western history; to be able to draw connections between the social; cultural; political; economic; and intellectual happenings in a given era; and to see the West not as a fixed region; but a living; evolving construct. These needs have long been central to The Making of the West. The book’s chronological narrative emphasizes the wide variety of peoples and cultures that created Western civilization and places them together in a common context; enabling students to witness the unfolding of Western history; understand change over time; and recognize fundamental relationships.
#1321608 in Books Ruth Harris 2011-06-21 2011-06-21Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 228.60 x 1.28 x 6.00l; 1.58 #File Name: 0312572980572 pagesDreyfus Politics Emotion and the Scandal of the Century
Review
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Familiar story; new approachBy Jack RiceI'm amazed that there are so few reviews for this fascinating book. I think it's because everybody thinks he knows the story; so who needs another book. But do we really know the story?What's puzzled me over the years is how polarizing "The Affair" has been for the French. An innocent officer was sent to Devil's Island by high-ranking scoundrels who knew he was innocent but who ordered up a guilty verdict; concocting and suppressing evidence; suborning perjury and silencing witnesses; in not one but three sham trials. The motives of the perpetrators were based on careerism; class; anti-Semitism and rank stupidity and incompetence. It is they who belonged on Devil's Island. This is what the evidence shows. So; why the continuing controversy?What author Ruth Harris shows is that for the "Dreyfusards" and "anti-Dreyfusards;" Dreyfus the man had become subordinated to Dreyfus "The Affair;" where evidence was beside the point. The man was about guilt or innocence; but The Affair was about identity politics. The two sides just didn't like each other and used The Affair to justify their animosity.Harris's book; then; is an examination not only of what happened to Dreyfus but what drove The Affair. The great contribution Harris makes is the relevance of her approach to today's politics. Republicans and Democrats have much in common; but their differences -- particularly personality and class -- make them behave as polar opposites; who don't just disagree with each other but despise each other. One can even hear echos of Dreyfus in the rhetoric surrounding the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair. Harris makes the Dreyfus affair a case study of what Freud called; "the narcissism of marginal difference;" and for me it's been a revelation.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. but pretty accurate view of the Trial and its immediate aftermathBy Barbara S. Burstinthis is a fascinating book that I read as a sequel to the Officer and the Spy which was a fictionalized; but pretty accurate view of the Trial and its immediate aftermath. Ruth Harris' book gives the historical context as the trial unfolds and even more importantly in the years subsequent to the trial. It's detailed; but a good read.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Authoritative accountBy Tony TavillThis is a scholarly yet an entirely readable account of one of the great scandals of the late 19th century from a real authority. Ruth Harris recreates a complicated scenario and leaves the reader in a very informed state of mind to reach his (her) own conclusions.
