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Europe without Baedeker
s/t: Sketches Among the Ruins of Italy, Greece & England, Together With Notes from a European Diary
This book was first published in 1947 with the subtitle "Sketches Among the Ruins of Italy, Greece, and England," and had been out of print for many years. It provides an informative and vivid account if these countries of postwar Europe.
This book was first published in 1947 with the subtitle "Sketches Among the Ruins of Italy, Greece, and England," and had been out of print for many years. It provides an informative and vivid account if these countries of postwar Europe.
- GenresTravel
467 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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56 people want to read
About the author
Edmund Wilson
291 books152 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. See also physicist Edmund Wilson.
Edmund Wilson Jr. was a towering figure in 20th-century American literary criticism, known for his expansive intellect, stylistic clarity, and commitment to serious literary and political engagement. Over a prolific career, Wilson wrote for Vanity Fair, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, shaping the critical conversation on literature, politics, and culture. His major critical works—such as Axel's Castle and Patriotic Gore—combined literary analysis with historical insight, and he ventured boldly into subjects typically reserved for academic specialists, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, Native American cultures, and the American Civil War.
Wilson was also the author of fiction, memoirs, and plays, though his influence rested most strongly on his literary essays and political writing. He was instrumental in promoting the reputations of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, and many others. Despite his friendships with several of these authors, his criticism could be unflinching, even scathing—as seen in his public dismissal of H. P. Lovecraft and J. R. R. Tolkien. His combative literary style often drew attention, and his exacting standards for writing, along with his distaste for popular or commercial literature, placed him in a tradition of high-minded literary seriousness.
Beyond the realm of letters, Wilson was politically active, aligning himself at times with socialist ideals and vocally opposing Cold War policies and the Vietnam War. His principled refusal to pay income tax in protest of U.S. militarization led to a legal battle and a widely read protest book.
Wilson was married four times and had several significant personal and intellectual relationships, including with Fitzgerald and Nabokov. He also advocated for the preservation and celebration of American literary heritage, a vision realized in the creation of the Library of America after his death. For his contributions to American letters, Wilson received multiple honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His legacy endures through his extensive body of work, which remains a touchstone for literary scholars and general readers alike.
Edmund Wilson Jr. was a towering figure in 20th-century American literary criticism, known for his expansive intellect, stylistic clarity, and commitment to serious literary and political engagement. Over a prolific career, Wilson wrote for Vanity Fair, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, shaping the critical conversation on literature, politics, and culture. His major critical works—such as Axel's Castle and Patriotic Gore—combined literary analysis with historical insight, and he ventured boldly into subjects typically reserved for academic specialists, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, Native American cultures, and the American Civil War.
Wilson was also the author of fiction, memoirs, and plays, though his influence rested most strongly on his literary essays and political writing. He was instrumental in promoting the reputations of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, and many others. Despite his friendships with several of these authors, his criticism could be unflinching, even scathing—as seen in his public dismissal of H. P. Lovecraft and J. R. R. Tolkien. His combative literary style often drew attention, and his exacting standards for writing, along with his distaste for popular or commercial literature, placed him in a tradition of high-minded literary seriousness.
Beyond the realm of letters, Wilson was politically active, aligning himself at times with socialist ideals and vocally opposing Cold War policies and the Vietnam War. His principled refusal to pay income tax in protest of U.S. militarization led to a legal battle and a widely read protest book.
Wilson was married four times and had several significant personal and intellectual relationships, including with Fitzgerald and Nabokov. He also advocated for the preservation and celebration of American literary heritage, a vision realized in the creation of the Library of America after his death. For his contributions to American letters, Wilson received multiple honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His legacy endures through his extensive body of work, which remains a touchstone for literary scholars and general readers alike.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 24, 2019
I am a fan of Edmund Wilson's work, having used it in classes fairly often, and read most of it as it appeared. This volume is, however, a bit different (though it is, as is much of his work, in journal form). He was posted abroad as a US observer immediately after WWII; this is pretty much what he saw and felt.
It is heart-warming for an Anglophobe like me to read his descriptions of the stiff and snobbish behavior of British officers, of the English treatment of the Greek resistance, and so on. He is very hard on the Anglo-American subversion of the democratic, mostly left-leaning political movements throughout Europe, the most strident anti-Nazis and resisters.
It is also enjoyable to catch Wilson, hardly a debonair fellow, eying attractive young women, even escorting an occasional prostitute to his room and, among other things, engaging them in conversation about their situations. Gratefully unPC.
He made some interesting comparisons between the US and Soviet systems, recognizing the more elastic nature of US bureaucracy (not the DMVs) versus the party-line rigidity of the Soviets which keeps everyone from sticking out his neck.
I did enjoy this, as bedtime reading.
It is heart-warming for an Anglophobe like me to read his descriptions of the stiff and snobbish behavior of British officers, of the English treatment of the Greek resistance, and so on. He is very hard on the Anglo-American subversion of the democratic, mostly left-leaning political movements throughout Europe, the most strident anti-Nazis and resisters.
It is also enjoyable to catch Wilson, hardly a debonair fellow, eying attractive young women, even escorting an occasional prostitute to his room and, among other things, engaging them in conversation about their situations. Gratefully unPC.
He made some interesting comparisons between the US and Soviet systems, recognizing the more elastic nature of US bureaucracy (not the DMVs) versus the party-line rigidity of the Soviets which keeps everyone from sticking out his neck.
I did enjoy this, as bedtime reading.
Displaying 1 of 1 review