A singular man in the history of modern art; betrayed by Vichy; is the subject of this riveting family memoirOn September 20; 1940; one of the most famous European art dealers disembarked in New York; one of hundreds of Jewish refugees fleeing Vichy France. Leaving behind his beloved Paris gallery; Paul Rosenberg had managed to save his family; but his paintings―modern masterpieces by Cézanne; Monet; Sisley; and others―were not so fortunate. As he fled; dozens of works were seized by Nazi forces and the art dealer's own legacy was eradicated. More than half a century later; Anne Sinclair uncovered a box filled with letters. "Curious in spite of myself;" she writes; "I plunged into these archives; in search of the story of my family. To find out who my mother's father really was . . . a man hailed as a pioneer in the world of modern art; who then became a pariah in his own country during the Second World War. I was overcome with a desire to fit together the pieces of this French story of art and war." Drawing on her grandfather's intimate correspondence with Picasso; Matisse; Braque; and others; Sinclair takes us on a personal journey through the life of a legendary member of the Parisian art scene in My Grandfather's Gallery. Rosenberg's story is emblematic of millions of Jews; rich and poor; whose lives were indelibly altered by World War II. Sinclair's journey to reclaim her family history paints a picture of modern art on both sides of the Atlantic between the 1920s and 1950s that reframes twentieth-century art history.
#246589 in Books Martin Felix 2015-01-06 2015-01-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.99 x .71 x 5.17l; .81 #File Name: 0345803558336 pagesMoney The Unauthorized Biography From Coinage to Cryptocurrencies
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Insightful and fascinating bookBy Geoffrey K. SigworthThis book is an eye opener. Martin takes a fresh look at money; and peels back the layers of confusion and 'myth' that have accumulated on the subject since money's invention in ancient Greece. The first recorded economic crash was in the early Roman empire. Many have occured since then on a regular basis (typically every ten or twenty years). These cycles appear to be part of the system. Money frees up people to be more productive; but there is always someone who tries to game the system by 'printing' their own money. (At least until the bubble bursts.) In other words; Martin gives a clear description of the benefits of money; and of its disadvantages. He does this through many fascinating examples from history.I enjoyed reading this book very much. I also learned a good deal. This is not a 'dry' economics textbook; more like a historical novel. It is pleasant to read and easy to understand. However; there is also an excellent bibliography and numerous annotated notes; if you want to deep deeper and study further.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Enlightening and entertainingBy Timothy J. BakerMartin takes a very deep and entertaining look at how people have perceived money since its invention a couple of thousand years ago; how different societies have dealt with it; and how he thinks it should be defined (which matters a lot). The traditional conception of money as something of value (gold or silver; say) that is used as a medium of exchange is wrong; he says. The idea that money replaced barter is also wrong; in his view. Money is; instead; transferrable debt that is based on a universally accepted measure of value (a dollar; for example). A dollar bill; then; is a token showing that the holder has that amount of credit. And who will honor that token? Since the dollar is universally accepted within some society; then anybody in that society will accept it. So; if you have a dollar bill; then society as a whole owes you a debt of one dollar. And how about a gold coin? The same thing is true. The gold may have some current value as a metal (measured in dollars; of course); but that just makes a gold coin a token of credit with some built-in collateral. As for barter; Martin says that no evidence has ever been found of a true barter society.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. From From the stone-doughnut currency of Easter Island to the ...By James GollinFromFrom the stone-doughnut currency of Easter Island to the hard-to-fathom chains of securities issued by companies today; Felix Martin has given the general reader (like me) a solid account of money. The notion of money as debt; public and private; may be old-hat to economists; but I found it both illuminating and intriguing. The parallel notion of money qs credit; freely and universally transferable;likewise opened my eyes. The fragile right of the sovereign (seignorage) -- be it a feudal lord or a contemporary president -- to control the issuance of currency and determine its value (if it matters) in relation to precious metals; challenged by alternative forms of money (think credit cards) suggests that economic nationalism is dead; or at least dying. This book may become the authoritative text of the post-Keynesian era. I hope it does so.
