The Force of Things

A Marriage in War and Peace

Biography & Memoir, Historical
Cover of the book The Force of Things by Alexander Stille, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alexander Stille ISBN: 9780374709020
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication: February 12, 2013
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Language: English
Author: Alexander Stille
ISBN: 9780374709020
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication: February 12, 2013
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Language: English

A masterpiece of literary memory—a powerful exploration of the intersections of family, history, and memory

"One evening in May 1948, my mother went to a party in New York with her first husband and left it with her second, my father." So begins the passionate and stormy union of Mikhail Kamenetzki, aka Ugo Stille, one of Italy's most celebrated journalists, and Elizabeth Bogert, a beautiful and charming young woman from the Midwest.
The Force of Things follows two families across the twentieth century—one starting in czarist Russia, the other starting in the American Midwest—and takes them across revolution, war, fascism, and racial persecution, until they collide at mid-century. Their immediate attraction and tumultuous marriage is part of a much larger story: the mass migration of Jews from fascist-dominated Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a micro-story of that moment of cross-pollination that reshaped much of American culture and society. Theirs was an uneasy marriage between Europe and America, between Jew and WASP; their differences were a key to their bond yet a source of constant strife.
Alexander Stille's The Force of Things is a powerful, beautifully written work with the intimacy of a memoir, the pace and readability of a novel, and the historical sweep and documentary precision of nonfiction writing at its best. It is a portrait of people who are buffeted about by large historical events, who try to escape their origins but find themselves in the grip of the force of things.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A masterpiece of literary memory—a powerful exploration of the intersections of family, history, and memory

"One evening in May 1948, my mother went to a party in New York with her first husband and left it with her second, my father." So begins the passionate and stormy union of Mikhail Kamenetzki, aka Ugo Stille, one of Italy's most celebrated journalists, and Elizabeth Bogert, a beautiful and charming young woman from the Midwest.
The Force of Things follows two families across the twentieth century—one starting in czarist Russia, the other starting in the American Midwest—and takes them across revolution, war, fascism, and racial persecution, until they collide at mid-century. Their immediate attraction and tumultuous marriage is part of a much larger story: the mass migration of Jews from fascist-dominated Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a micro-story of that moment of cross-pollination that reshaped much of American culture and society. Theirs was an uneasy marriage between Europe and America, between Jew and WASP; their differences were a key to their bond yet a source of constant strife.
Alexander Stille's The Force of Things is a powerful, beautifully written work with the intimacy of a memoir, the pace and readability of a novel, and the historical sweep and documentary precision of nonfiction writing at its best. It is a portrait of people who are buffeted about by large historical events, who try to escape their origins but find themselves in the grip of the force of things.

More books from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Cover of the book Jack's Black Book by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book Into It by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book We Hunt the Flame by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book Blood and Gifts by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book The Night Stages by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book The Stager by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book An End to Suffering by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book How Sassy Changed My Life by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book Heads or Tails by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book A Small Place by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book The Missing Manatee by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book Jacob's Folly by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book Border Crossing by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book Winnie & Ernst by Alexander Stille
Cover of the book God in Search of Man by Alexander Stille
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy