Austria Books

Because he cared about how his art looked and because he accepted traditional ideas of what looked good on canvas, EGON SCHIELE remained outside of Expressionism. Expressionist influences nevertheless showed up in his bold graphics, distorted lines, and unnatural colors: "The artist's wife" wore a plain skirt covered with heavy impastoes, against a similarly treated background, by the emotionally charged, energetically treated brushwork style of Oskar Kokoschka; "View of Krumau" brought Georges Braque- and Pablo Picasso-type Cubism into the exaggeratedly high, unusual viewpoints to make a three-dimensional motif work on a two-dimensional Gustav Klimt-style decorative picture plane. They also had their role in his opinion of art as having to do with feelings, which he drew as abnormal or exaggerated in his self-portraits: "Self-portrait with black clay vase" gave him a double-jointed pair of hands in the manner of medievally represented saints, Paul Gauguin-style self-painted ceramic head, and a vulnerably, wide-eyed look. Expressionism played a part, too, in his pessimistic views: "The family" painted an unhappy trio looking in different directions against a brightly lit background as menacing as a spotlight; drooping "Sunflower" leaves hung dejectedly along a woody stalk; and with her Gustav Klimt-styled fine society lady's huge hat, "The scornful woman" showed an Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec-styled fish wife nude to the waist and sneering at a hurtful world. Author Frank Whitford has come up with a good set of illustrations and text. The author's book, along with his KLIMT, and Christopher Short's SHIELE give a good idea of the artist's place among Bernard Denvir's TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Jose Maria Faerna's KOKOSCHKA, Hans Ludwig C Jaffe's PABLO PICASSO, Susanna Partsch's GUSTAV KLIMT, Belinda Thomson's GAUGUIN, and Karen Wilkin's GEORGES BRAQUE.

This is a very well written and illustrated introduction to Schiele. The intro, which provides the historical background, painting the late Austro-Hungarian empire as a decadent and decaying civilization whose days were numbered, is quite entertaining in its discussion of the sexual politics of the day and how Schiele's decadent Vienna compared with other cities in that regard, such as Berlin (which is still not as sophisticated in the perversion dept. according to the author). This made it entertaining just by itself. In fact, Whitford says turn of the century Vienna was in some ways the most schizoid in terms of hiding its seamy underside behind a false veneer of surface moral probity, while the prosperous middle and upper class continued to enjoy an occasional forbidden tryst with a prostitute, in the meantime condemning the theories of Freud and Kraft-Ebbing for their unvarnished look at sexual issues. Schiele's paintings of wasted looking, dissipated, and in general unprepossessing figures seems to reflect a fin de siecle disaffection and alienation with this sort of hypocrisy, although the author points out that Vienna did have one saving grace, which is that the intellectual culture was one of the most progressive in Europe, and many of the famous names and revolutionaries of the period, from Stalin to Trotsky to Freud and many avant-garde writers and artists, met and knew each other there. I thought this was an interesting perspective and commentary on Schiele and his relationship to the culture of the period, and I enjoyed the book as much for that in addition to the many important examples of his work.

When we visited Vienna this book came in very handy. It provided very good directions to all site seeing spots. It helped plan my 3.5 days in Vienna ahead of time and I was pleased with how accurate the book describes places and let's you know which areas of the site seeing spots to visit, for example which room of the museum should be seen and which room can be skipped when you don't have enough time.
I did not use reviews of this book for hotels.
Overall a great book to plan your Vienna trip.

I found this guidebook well-written and useful. (I don't yet know how accurate the reviews are.) The organization of the book worked for me and it seems to devote an appropriate section to Vienna and to the other, less famous areas of Austra.

Lots of insights and useful information for anyone traveling to Austria.

If you are visiting Austria for the Mozart festivities, this is the book for you. Calendar of events is included as well as the usual Fodor rundown on hotels, restaurants and sights along with price range. Covers both cities well plus trips on the Danube.
Only caveat: the index--could not find individual hotel names thru index, had to search through each city's listings. The recommended hotels were mostly the expensive ones.

Good background material on Mozart and his world as well as Hapsburg dynasty Vienna.

A beautifully rendered book in which every "note", like Anton Webern's, is heard distinctly, resonating through each change, shift, and tone. Like Beckett, but using more than just language as an experiment - history, music, and the creeping (and creepy) sense of the zeitgeist breathing everywhere.

Although I would recommend having somewhat of a knowledge of Schonberg, Webern, and Berg, as well as the political environment between the World Wars, it is not essential to the enjoyment of this book. Background information helps elucidate the separate elements (this is a very elemental novel), this story is so transfixing as to hold anyone's attention with an interest in new forms of fiction.

I can't wait to read it again.

I didn't expect to love this book, in fact I came to it as if it were going to be a chore. I came away completely in love with it, entranced by the language, drawn in by the ideas.

Mejia's book is a masterpiece. To make a successful book, if you're going to experiment with form, you have to make the prose so beautiful, so rewarding, that the reader is not only willing but happy to do the extra work of deciphering your unfamiliar structure. This book was such a delight, completely without traditional plot or characters, that I couldn't put it down. I don't know when I've had that experience with a book that looked so challenging in form. At the end of the day, I truly felt that Mejia's approach was the only way to present the material in the way he envisioned. It was an absolute success. Made me care about things I didn't really care about, and think about things I'd never considered. A beautiful read.

Does anyone other then Sigmund Freud know why he abandoned his seduction theory so quickly, one that he thought would bring him fame and fortune as a revolutionary healer? I would have to say no. Masson and Newton both give compelling arguments to what they both believe to be the truth of why Freud did what he did; Masson claiming Freud abandoned his seduction theory because of political and social preasure, Newton claiming Freud did so because he was fighting a mid life crisis. It is impossible to form an opinion without reading them both carefully, so I think this book, along with Masson's, is worth the read. My synopsis is that Freud never really gave up on the seduction theory at all, but simply realized that he would get much farther going a different route, then bringing Victoria Austria to it's knees by claiming it was laden with child molesters.

With so many biographies and books on Freud, the question is why read another? Newton's biographical study of Freud is unique in examining the great psychologist's life from an adult developmental viewpoint. The key achievement of this book is a finely detailed study of how Freud's adult development -- his dreams of accomplishment, his relationships, and career decisions -- interlock with Freud's creative achievement in creating the foundations of psychoanalysis in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Newton argues that the tasks of the mid-life crisis were peculiarly interrelated with Freud's creative achievement. Incidentally, this finely researched and written book demolishes Jeffrey Masson's notorious thesis that Freud abandoned his theory of infantile seduction due to cowardice, with Newton relying heavily upon Freud's written correspondence with his friend, Fliess. An exciting book that reads at times like a novel.

Bottom line, this is a great book. The introduction alone,
by editor Laurie Kain Hart, is absolutely extraordinary,
and the author's own preface is exceptional. But the text,
and the heart, of "Good People in an Evil Time" is simple
accounts by ordinary Bosnian people of their experiences
during the war.

Many other books have addressed political, military, and
historical aspects of that war, but frankly few of them
seem to help in understanding the human side and the
present day. For those who did not experience the war first
hand, answers to the human questions have been very slow in
coming, but this book has them by the dozens in the voices
of ordinary people.

For the creation of this book Broz was exceptional in
several ways. She is a granddaughter of Josip Broz,
commonly known as Marshal Tito, Yugoslavian hero of World
War II and head of state of the communist post-war
Yugoslavia. Her family name carried respect that
undoubtedly gave her entree to pass many gates that would
have closed to others and provided a foundation for trust.
Her status as a doctor gave her standing to request entry
to combat zones to try to help those who were suffering,
and her personal qualities brought her to act where most
others would not.

In Broz's own words, "Treating people of all three religious
traditions, I felt their need to open their souls and tell
me, shyly at first, what had happened to them during the
war. From these brief stories on cardiology wards, I
realized how thirsty people were for a truth that was subtle
and nuanced where the shells were falling, in a way that it
wasn't in Belgrade or in the worldwide black-and-white
coverage."

A great achievement of this book is to show so clearly how
people are more than their membership in an ethnic group.
Hopefully, it will also remind us to look beyond
caricatures of ethnic groups in conflict and to search for
victimizers and power seekers who hide themselves or profit
by casting blame everywhere but on themselves.

For the Bosnians and those near to them, this book also
helps to confirm that goodness among them was not isolated,
to remember and honor some of those who practiced it. My
wife and her family came to America from Bosnia as refugees
during the war, and many members of their extended family
still live in different parts of Bosnia. While without
doubt there are bigots, villains and crooks as well as
decent people in the former Yugoslavia, the voices in this
book echo the many experiences and first-hand accounts of
the mutual understanding and simple unconcern over ethnic
differences among ordinary people of the region.

Agression on Bosnia 1992-1995. This book is giving extraordinary testimonies about small everyday people who helped others, cherishing compassion and human kindness, even many times putting them-self in deadly situations, crossing the lines of ethnic divisions, religions or political opinion. All stories are proof that human goodness must prevail over human darkness, that human being alone and small as it look,can make huge difference in our world. Bosnian story can happen anywhere, so it is highly recomended in todays world, where more compassion is needed in our every day life.
Thank you Svetlana for your great work.

I never thought a book of such remarkable insight into 12th century Lambach could exist! I am thrilled to have this wonderful tome in my library, and urge any historian or linguist to buy a copy for their own. Lisa Fagin Davis is a rare jewel, and I look forward to her next work.

Lisa Davis' description of the Gottschalk antiphonary is a tour de force. It is a wonderful example of the study of a medieval manuscript in its total context. Although I had no personal interest in the book subject, I found it a great read and a very good mystery story for intellectuals.

I really enjoyed the book. Biography and work are handled in a well-balanced way, and the evolution of Klimt's art is linked to his life. The book has several articles, but the sense of unity is kept. The reproductions have good quality (the standard one in these types of books), and it is easy to understand for amateurs. I think it is a recommendable book if you like symbolism and modernism, and also if you would like to have a portrait of Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century.

Frank Whitford's biography is a more comprehensive examination of the social/cultural perspective. Other books examine Klimt's portraits of women and Klimt's landscapes in greater sophistication. The dust jacket, a tension-infused portrait of his friend and muse, "told" me this is a fair and balanced examination of his works and of his views of art. It is. Beware: some material is not be appropriate for young children -- and offensive to conservative relatives.

Herta Blaukopf presents here the story of one of the oddest "couples" in music history: Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss.
Through her own commentary, using nearly all the known letters exchanged between Mahler and Strauss, Blaukopf helps readers come to a better understanding of what kept these two giants of music together--and what kept them apart.

Over a major span of their productive years, they maintained a correspondence, and frequently got together with friends and family, discussing music and how to further each other's careers. Yet these two titans never seemed to really understand each other.

Strauss, the genius of tone poems and sound painting, seemed never to run out of new ideas of music that would "sell." Strauss wrote because he COULD! (and he could make a lot of money at it!)

Mahler had a boundless reservoir of passion for Nature, and a depth of desire to understand the causes and reasons for human suffering. Mahler wrote, because he HAD TO! He was puzzled by those who could not understand the depth of suffering in his music.

After just such a moment of bewilderment, Mahler asks himself, "Are people made of different stuff than I?" Upon reading this, Strauss answers Mahler's heart-wrenching question, with a single word: "Yes."

Many good books have been written about Mahler and Strauss. This one lets you read their own thoughts in their own words, and it also includes the words of their family and associates to let readers judge for themselves.

An excellent work, and an indispensible one to both Mahlerites, and those few of us who still consider Strauss his equal. This relatively slim volume offers an extraordinary, privileged look at the relationship of the two great composers, their professional careers as major conductors, and their travails as avant garde composers. Strauss comes across very handsomely in this work, and his remarkable personal success is a running leitmotif set against Mahler's endless struggle for recognition. The letters are marvelously amplified and filled out by Herta Blaukopf's model essay - a long full historical overview of the correspondence, complete with gossipy wives and Mahler's insecurities and deep-seated neuroses.
It is impossible not to be reminded, when reading of Mahler and Alma, of an earlier musical couple, Clara and Robert Schumann. Both couples were highly critical of another major competing musical figure, with the Schumanns it was Liszt. The Mahlers kept their thoughts largely to themselves, and they seem constantly unable to resist the bait to their egos of Strauss' public glory. It eats at them and they let themselves fall prey to petty annoyances and imagined slights. Yet both Liszt and Strauss proved fair-minded, and in the case of Liszt, really quite magnanimous. Both couples also seem touched with too much zealotry, a sort of missionary calling of the right way, their way, and I find that most disquieting. In the case of the Mahlers the condition shows readily enough in these letters and the story documented by the attached essay. One comes away with a higher regard for Strauss the man, and certain private doubts about Mahler and especially Alma largely confirmed.

This collection of 350 letters and telegrams from composer Gustav Mahler to his wife, Alma, illustrates the good and bad points of a fortunate and unfortunate marriage.


It is a very fortunate marriage for lovers of Mahler's unique and beautiful music. The music might never have been written had he not married his idealized image of a one true love. Alma was not his inspiration--it was his idealized view of her that, despite her behavior, kept him going. She did not understand, or even enjoy his music, but she did enjoy the celebrity position of being married to the greatest conductor in a world that worshipped music. Fortunately, Mahler was never able to bring himself to see her shortcomings. He had made up his mind that superficial beauty (at least in Alma's case) equaled virtue, and he projected virtue onto everything that Alma did.

It was an unfortunate marriage in that, at the age of 22, marrying a man nearly twice her age, Alma had not had a chance to develop character and direction for her own life. She very much enjoyed being in the spotlight of fame, yet she had never earned any of it for herself. After Mahler's death, Alma continued this pattern of getting into the limelight by "hooking-up" with famous people. She married, or had affairs with architect Walter Gropius, artist Oskar Kokoschka, novelist Franz Werfel, composer Alexander Zemlinsky, and various others.

While this behavior kept her in the top circles of Viennese society, it simultaneously prevented her from ever doing anything notable on her own. It was an unfortunate marriage for Alma. It was what she wanted, but with it, she ceased all personal growth. It was "A Fortunate and Unfortunate Marriage."

In "Letters to his Wife," the reader is privy to the intensely private and somewhat ordinary reflections of the extraordinary composer/conductor, Gustav Mahler.

But that very ordinariness is what makes this book so fascinating: that alongside genius lies its twin of conventionality expressed in those unguarded moments between intimates. The collection of letters span a decade: From Mahler's courtship of Alma Mahler in 1900 until his tragically early death at age 50 in 1910.

You get the sense that Mahler felt he had nothing to prove to his wife as the correspondence deals with everyday issues and concerns such as eating and sleeping habits, bowel troubles and the loneliness of life on the road. The letters also convey a deeply confident and uncompromising man who takes immense joy in writing his wife about his personal world while at the same time dismissing her from his professional one.

The power in this collection comes from the slowly but steadily growing tension that the reader senses from Alma Mahler (whose letters are not included but whose feelings can be discerned through Mahler's) against her clueless husband which culminates in her betrayal through infidelity. With his emotional sense of security violently violated, Mahler's letters completely unravel and come across as hesitant and pandering. Within the year, he was dead.

Mahler's musical genius has already been well-documented. What this book documents - in Mahler's own hand - is the important role Alma's unconditional love and emotional support played in his life and work, too. He underestimated her to his ultimate peril.