Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts, (Paperback)

from VeronicaH.

"The message seems to be that when the possibility of critical discussion is withdrawn, anything can happen, and everything is altered. Among the many things altered is logic itself." On Mao Zedong, p. 459 So lately I've been perusing Clive James's massive Cultural Amnesia, a browser's guide to t...

from anna_in_pdx

This was a book both provoking and thought-provoking. I'm both an unreconstructed leftist and a tiers-mondiste (having lived much of my adult life in developing countries) and Clive James is an unapologetic cheerleader for the West. He's also a great writer, and a lover of books. Richard Mitchell...

from kettle666

If you are a fan of Clive James you will want this summation of a lifetime's reading and thinking. A brilliant writer who can think outside the box of life, he has the wit, nerve, and genius to understand complex ideas and then pass on his knowledge in a form we ordinary mortals can - sometimes, ...

from Makereta

I have always admired Clive James. While being of quite similar political mien, I don't always completely agree with his arguments. Nevertheless, I find his writing and his huge appetite for both words and life hugely attractive. Naturally, not everyone will like his peculiar mixture of archness,...

from jorgearanda

A collection of insightful but snobbish essays, mainly about personalities from the 20th Century, and mainly revolving around World War II and its implications. The essays' quality and content range from the genial, through the irrelevant, and into the irritating --James has a frustrating knack f...