Long held as Britains national poet; Shakespeares role in the 2012 London Cultural Olympiad confirmed his status as a global icon in the modern world. From his prominent positioning in the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies; to his major presence in the cultural programme surrounding the Games; including the Royal Shakespeare Companys World Shakespeare Festival and the Globes Globe to Globe Festival; Shakespeare played a major role in the way the UK presented itself to its citizens and to the world. This collection explores the cultural forces at play in the construction; use and reception of Shakespeare during the 2012 Olympic Moment; considering what his presence says about culture; politics and identity in twenty-first century British and global life.
#2254548 in eBooks 2014-10-30 2014-10-30File Name: B00P2ITGD2
Review
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. great subject; poor executionBy Jeff AbellA year or so ago; when i bought a copy of Kay Larsons book "Where the Heart Beats;" the folks suggested "You Might Also Like..." a book called "Nothing and Everything" by Ellen Pearlman. So i bought it; and have been hoping to get to it soon. Well; i got to it this summer; and found it disappointing in all the ways you hope a book will not be: poorly organized; repetitive; sloppily edited; etc. This book should have been a home run: to examine the relation that different artists (writers; musicians; painters; etc.) had to Zen Buddhist thought in the period from WW2 to the early 60s. However; i was struck again and again by how the author simply piled information together without attempting to draw larger conclusions. Each chapter stands pretty much on its own; like a series of reasonably researched graduate school papers. But when a chapter keeps shifting time from 1957; to 1967; to 1961; to 1980; to 1959; etc.; you start to get readers whiplash. Moreover; while i know that the quality of book editing has declined markedly in recent years; this book has some just inexcusably bad errors. On pp. 110 - 111 for example; there is an entire paragraph that is repeated word for word! The author apparently meant to move the paragraph; and forgot to delete it from the earlier location. But this occurs on two facing pages in the book: how could someone (the author or her editor) not SEE that? And unfortunately; the rest of the book feels the same way to me: like someone did a bunch of research and hurried it into publication; without really cleaning it up; or without much real vision of what the research might add up to. Yes; many creative people in America felt an attraction to Buddhist thought in the 50s. But what i as a reader want to know is WHY - and that kind of larger question of motivations; larger cultural trends; details of the artists personal lives; etc. is left unconsidered here. People interested in this topic would be much better served by reading Kay Larsons book; which may have a narrower focus; but actually conveys a sense of insight into her subject matter. Where the Heart Beats: John Cage; Zen Buddhism; and the Inner Life of Artists1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. worth itBy Customerbrilliant; informative; enlightening0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Needs new edition with better editingBy VerreI was willing to give this book a try even after seeing the mixed reviews on here; because Im interested in the subject and dont mind reading a basic treatment since I am still building up my background knowledge. Im about halfway through the book now; and the typos are becoming increasingly aggravating. I just tried to look up "Adoniarm;" the father of Edward Judson; only to learn that his name should be spelled "Adoniram" (page 84). "Maciunas" appears as "Macuinas" on page 70. "Ryoanji" is spelled "Ryonaji" on page 67. Those are just the ones Ive noticed in the last few minutes. These may be minor mistakes; but they make the book come across as unprofessional and amateurish. Adding to this impression is the relatively sparse framework of citations. A text that references so many outside sources should employ many; many; MANY more endnotes than the few dozen scattered through each chapter. There are even numerous direct quotations that do not cite their source! This could be a much better book if it were cleaned up and better substantiated; and then re-issued in a new edition.
