Geneva, Zurich, Basel by Nicolas Bouvier
Recognized by historians and politicians as a model for European unity, Switzerland is nonetheless a difficult country to understand as a whole. Whereas individual Swiss cities have strong identities in the international political, cultural, and economic arenas, the country itself seems to be less than the sum of its parts. To capture the elusive spirit of Switzerland, four eminent writers explore the roots of its political unity and cultural diversity in a series of urban portraits. Their observations make for both good storytelling and insightful social commentary. Nicolas Bouvier offers a quick-paced history of Geneva--the city John Calvin had envisioned as a radiating center of godliness, international in its scope and legal in its methods--the home of the Red Cross and the League of Nations and, since 1945, the location of numerous disarmament and diplomatic conferences. Gordon Craig examines Zurich, the city of the militant religious reformer Huldrych Zwingli, whose centralizing political zeal was harnessed by subsequent generations of Zurichers to lead Switzerland in its modernization. Today's economically powerful Zurich is analyzed in terms of its liberal past as a refuge for political activists and artists, and in terms of its current generational divisions on moral and cultural questions. Finally, Lionel Gossman explores the conciliatory Basel of Erasmus, showing how vigorous independence, resourcefulness, and remembrance of its humanist traditions shaped the city's culture and economy. Tying together important themes in the histories of these cities, Carl Schorske focuses his introduction on how Switzerland has capitalized on their cultural differences and refined the art of political negotiation to serve a wide range of civic interests. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
"[The book] is reminiscent of the best of in-depth journalism and can be recommended to any intellectual who.. is planning to sojourn in Switzerland."--Canadian Journal of History
Gordon A. Craig was a Scottish-American historian of German and diplomatic history. He studied history at Princeton and was a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, before serving in the US Marine Corps during World War II. In 1941, he coedited the book Makers of Modern Strategy: Military Thought from Machiavelli to Hitler, which was intended to serve as a strategic thinking guide for military leaders during World War II. Some of Craig's other books include The Germans; The Politics of the Prussian Army 1640-1945; Europe Since 1914; The End of Prussia; Force and Statecraft: Diplomatic Problems of Our Time; and Politics and Culture in Modern Germany. Craig was unique in that he envisioned history as less of a social science and more of a human discipline, seeking to interconnect the study of history with the study of literature. Gordon A. Craig passed away in 2005.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691608570 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691608571 |
| Title | Geneva, Zurich, Basel |
| Author | Nicolas Bouvier |
| Series | Princeton Legacy Library |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2014-07-14 |
| Number of pages | 116 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |