One didn't dare to inhale for fear of breathing it in. It was the sound of eighteen hundred airplanes approaching Hamburg from the south at an unimaginable height. We had already experienced two hundred or even more air raids; among them some very heavy ones; but this was something completely new. And yet there was an immediate recognition: this was what everyone had been waiting for; what had hung for months like a shadow over everything we did; making us weary. It was the end.Novelist Hans Erich Nossack was forty-two when the Allied bombardments of German cities began; and he watched the destruction of Hamburg—the city where he was born and where he would later die—from across its Elbe River. He heard the whistle of the bombs and the singing of shrapnel; he watched his neighbors flee; he wondered if his home—and his manuscripts—would survive the devastation. The End is his terse; remarkable memoir of the annihilation of the city; written only three months after the bombing. A searing firsthand account of one of the most notorious events of World War II; The End is also a meditation on war and hope; history and its devastation. And it is the rare book; as W. G. Sebald noted; that describes the Allied bombing campaign from the German perspective.In the first English-language edition of The End; Nossack's text has been crisply translated by Joel Agee and is accompanied by the photographs of Erich Andres. Poetic; evocative; and yet highly descriptive; The End will prove to be; as Sebald claimed; one of the most important German books on the firebombing of that country."A small but critical book; something to read in those quiet moments when we wonder what will happen next."—Susan Salter Reynolds; Los Angeles Times
#752603 in Books 1991-12-15 1991-12-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.10 x 6.00l; 1.10 #File Name: 0226436187350 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Authoritative; Readable Survey of Women During RenaissanceBy Mark LeeIt's a real treat to come away from being compelled to read a book feeling that you got more; much more; than you had expected. This was a required text for an upper division college course I took.Margaret King knows her stuff. I've studied the Renaissance in other classes; so had touched upon gender issues already; but King's work filled in many empty spaces. Her thesis is that although socially women didn't gain much (or even lost ground); something important happened within women's minds during the Renaissance.Options were limited for women during fourteenth through seventeenth centuries. Roles were generally defined by men or faith (ostensibly controlled by men); wife; mother; celibate religious; spinster; witch. But even these categories; King shows; were full of complexities. Women; other than nuns; shouldn't be taught to read; rather spin and sew. Women couldn't be trusted with too much knowledge. Even the Greek term for "womb;" hysteros; gave a clue to a woman's basic "hysteria." Often; women bought into this paradigm and were their own worst enemies.But King shows that the scene was more complex than that. Some fathers taught daughters Latin; Greek; philosophy. Heretic nuns wrote private treatises from within the shelter of their cells. Men marvelled at living s; such as Joan of Arc who walked the thin line between deification and devilment. Before Joan burned; Christine de Pizan wrote about a "City of Ladies" where femininity would be protected; and no man could cause hurt.This is a beautiful book and should be read by historians; feminists; and anyone who loves to see flowers grow through cracks in inhospitable terrain.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. I would look elsewhere....By Ball State Grad-RMNThe title of this monograph well describes its subject: the lives of women during the Renaissance. However; Margaret L. King pays close attention to the roles available to women in the family; church; and high society. This text's intended audience is the general academic community. This book's purpose is to clarify the nature of women's lives during Renaissance. King's primary thesis is that women did not have a Renaissance. The realms of family; church; and high culture all relegated Renaissance women to subservience in some way. In the family; women were essentially their husband or father's property. In most cases; the church viewed women in a similar fashion. Conversely; in high culture; Renaissance women had a chance of wielding power and receiving education. King relies on diaries; religious texts; trial transcripts; medical literature; and several personal letters to support this argument. This book examines the Renaissance; defined by the author as the period from 1350 to 1650. Subjects discussed include the cultural; economic; and political circumstances of women. The first chapter is titled "Daughters of Eve: Women in the Family." Here; King asserts that Eve's punishment in Genesis epitomizes the lives of Renaissance women. According to this story; the punishment for Eve's sin is that all women have to endure labor pain and remain subservient to men. Similarly; a Renaissance woman's worth is dependent on her ability to produce several children in succession and remain submissive to her male family members. King goes on to discuss a woman's progression from daughter; to wife; and eventually to a widow. She ends this chapter by discussing the woman as a worker. Here; King's main argument is that women's public labor was mostly menial and became increasingly restricted as time went on. In chapter two; "Daughters of Mary: Women and the Church;" King examines Renaissance women's role in the church. Unlike women in the family; the lives of women in the church do not revolve around bearing children. However; women of this realm still remain nominally subservient to men. In discussing women and the church; King starts by examining women who live in convents and those who live in autonomous and uncloistered female religious communities. King also spends a moderate amount of time discussing women and the reformation. She argues that while Catholicism provided an alternative to family life in the form of a convent; Protestantism provides no such choice. King ends the chapter by discussing witch-hunts; which she likens to genocide. In chapter three; "Virgo Et Virago: Women and High Culture;" King examines the role of Renaissance women in the upper class. These women enjoyed better access to education and some attended school. King also mentions a few rare Renaissance examples of female rulers. All of these educated and powerful women upset the gender roles for women in Renaissance society. Some of the words used to describe these women include ; armed maiden; and crone. At the end of this chapter; King examines primary sources created by Christine de Pizan; Modesta de Pozzo; and Mary Astell. Using these sources; King finishes her book by examining the way women's ideas about themselves changed during the Renaissance. Specifically; they began seeing themselves as equal to men. This book does carry out its purpose of clarifying women's lives during the Renaissance. Some of the strengths of this book include extensive use of primary evidence and the author's knowledge of the existing literature on this subject. It also has an extensive bibliography and index. Nonetheless; this text has significant faults. The most significant fault is the complete lack of a proper conclusion. King's entire summary consists of two paragraphs on the last two pages of the third chapter. King also continually jumps from one side of Europe to the other. Occasionally; she even discusses women in America. This disorients the reader and inhibits the academic usefulness of this text. Due to these shortcomings; the reviewer is hesitant to suggest this book as a good resource.15 of 15 people found the following review helpful. A great resource of women's historyBy Rush MitchellI was required to read this book for a History of the Renaissance 1300 course. Far from a dry text; I found this book to be an enlightening view into the roles of women in Renaissance society; the social mores and opinions that restricted them; and the many ways in which some circumvented society in order to express themselves (there is a lot more there than you think!). It is full of primary data; some of which is only available in Italian and other original languages; and translated for this book by the author. One who reads this book will come away with a more complete and well-rounded view of Renaissance women's lives; (at their best and their worst) and a greater respect for those who lived them. In response to the previous reviewer; and as a warning to those looking for an "easy read". This is an excellent source of fact-based material on the time period and its inhabiants; not a pre-digested; dime-tour of the Renaissance. But for those who are open to a little intellectual stimulation will find this a powerful; eye-opening experience worth their time.
