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9 Works 40 Membros 2 Reviews 1 Favorited

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Obras de B. L. Reid

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Reid, B. L.

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1410. The Lives of Roger Casement, by B. L. Reid (read 2 Oct 1976) Though I have no Irish ancestry, I have always been fascinated by Irish history. I when I read this felt this would be the definitive work on Casement. He is really an odd figure--his activity during the period 1914-1916 can only be viewed as moronic, but I suppose in the context of Irish history it is not too quixotic. I found the book dull at times but the expedition to Ireland (landing in April 1916 with two other men) and his trial are of high interest. The diaries are merely revolting, tho Reid is pretty convincing in arguing that they are undoubtedly authentic.… (mais)
 
Marcado
Schmerguls | Feb 4, 2009 |
2411 The Man from New York: John Quinn and His Friends, by B. L. Reid (read 23 Sep 1991) (Pulitzer Biography prize for 1969) I read this solely because it won the prize, as I am kind of haphazardly reading such winners--I am currently up-to-date on the Pulitzer prize winners for fiction. For years I had no idea even who John Quinn was, but after reading a Yeats biography (on 14 Sep 1991) I decided I wanted to read this book, since there was much about John Quinn in the Yeats biography. Quinn was born in 1870 in Tiffin, Ohio, of Irish-born parents and grew up in Fostoria, Ohio--"an ethnic polyglot, with many Germans and a sprinkling of Irish, and . . . a tribe of Belgians." He got a law degree at Georgetown in 1893 and another at Harvard in 1895. He then began practicing law in New York, and became a first-rate New York lawyer. But this book probably has less than ten of its 690 pages devoted to his law practice--and all that in passing. He was very interested in writers, and was a great friend and helper to Yeats, Pound, T. S. Eliot, and Joseph Conrad. He had a lot to do with Ulysses--he lost the case which banned it--and The Waste Land. All of that was of some interest. But his major obsession was in buying modern art--and the pages and pages devoted to this I found of minimal interest. He died July 28, 1924 in New York. I cannot admire the man. He was very anti-Catholic (though he had a 'beloved uncle' who was a priest and a sister who was a Sister, and had a Catholic funeral) and anti-Jewish, and had mistresses though he never married. He worked very hard as a lawyer, but found time to do so much re arts and letters. This was not a great read, but I'm glad I read it. I would like to read more about Irish affairs in the 20th century but have no interest in reading more about art collectors.… (mais)
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Schmerguls | May 12, 2008 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
9
Membros
40
Popularidade
#370,100
Avaliação
2.8
Resenhas
2
ISBNs
6
Favorito
1