Compelling, wide-ranging, and hugely ambitious, this book offers an integrated history of the culture produced and consumed by Europeans since 1800, and follows its transformation from an elite activity to a mass market—from lending libraries to the internet, from the first public concerts to music downloads. In itself a cultural tour de force, the book covers high and low culture, readers and writers, audiences and prima donnas, Rossini and hip hop, Verdi and the Beatles, Zola and Tintin, Walter Scott and Jules Verne, the serialized novel of the 19th century as well as Dallas and Coronation Street. Included in its vast scope are fairy tales, best-sellers, crime and sci-fi, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers, comic strips, plays, opera, musicals, pop music, sound recording, films, documentaries, radio, and television. A continent-wide survey, this majestic work includes discussions of rock music under communism, Polish and Danish bestsellers, French melodramas and German cabarets, fascist and Soviet cinema. It examines the ways culture travels—how it is produced, transformed, adapted, absorbed, sold, and consumed; how it is shaped by audiences and politics, and controlled by laws and conventional morality; and why some countries excel in particular genres. It examines the anxiety and attraction felt by Europeans towards American culture, and asks to what extent European culture has become Americanized. Stylishly written, devoid of jargon, this is global non-fiction narrative at its best.

The Culture of the Europeans: From 1800 to the Present

History

Sassoon, Donald

Europe

Harpercollins Pub, Ltd.

The 100-year-period from 1880 to 1980 has seen the inception, unification, division and ultimate destruction of all of Western Europe's Socialist and Progressive parties. Whether in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, the Iberian peninsula, Greece or the Low Countries, the end of the 20th century sees the Western European Left in comprehensive retreat from its long-term ambitions to overthrow - or at least reform - the capitalist system. Sassoon's main thesis is that far from overthrowing capitalism, socialism has, in the late 19th and 20th century, enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with it. Each has systematically given substantial ground to the other.

One Hundred Years of Socialism : The West European Left in the Twentieth Century

Business & Money

Economics

Fontana Press

What has made the Mona Lisa the most famous picture in the world? Why is it that, of all the 6,000 paintings in the Louvre, it is the only one to be exhibited in a special box, set in concrete and protected by two sheets of bulletproof glass? Why do thousands of visitors throng to see it every day, ignoring the masterpieces which surround it? For nearly 500 years the painting - and the mysterious smile on the face of the sitter - has been a source of mystery, speculation and reverence. In this book Donald Sassoon describes not only the Mona Lisa and its history, but its mythology, and the processes which combined to raise it to its current unrivalled level of fame. He examines Leonardo's innovative techniques; the problems concerning the identity of the sitter; what happened after to the painting after it left Italy when Leonardo joined King Francois I's court in France; the copies made in the 17th century; its celebration by 19th-century intellectuals; and its theft. A narrative history of how Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa came to be the most famous in the world - and one of the most powerful cultural icons of our time.

MONA LISA: THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PAINTING

HARPER/COLLINS

A narrative history of how Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa came to be the most famous in the world – and one of the most powerful cultural icons of our time.
What has made the Mona Lisa the most famous picture in the world? Why is it that, of all the 6,000 paintings in the Louvre, it is the only one to be exhibited in a special box, set in concrete and protected by two sheets of bulletproof glass? Why do thousands of visitors throng to see it every day, ignoring the masterpieces which surround it?
For nearly 500 years the painting – and the mysterious smile on the face of the sitter – has been a source of mystery, speculation and reverence. In this groundbreaking new book Donald Sassoon describes not only the Mona Lisa and its history, but its mythology, and the processes which combined to raise it to its current unrivalled level of fame. He examines Leonardo’s innovative techniques; the problems concerning the identity of the sitter; what happened to the painting after it left Italy when Leonardo joined King François I’s court in France; the copies made in the 17th century; its celebration by 19th-century intellectuals; its theft and disappearance early in the 20th century; the surrealists’, other avant-garde artists’ and cartoonists’ uses of it; its appropriation by the advertising industry; and the never-ending flood of new and ‘conclusive’ theories about Mona Lisa’s smile.

Mona Lisa: The History of the World’s Most Famous Painting (Story of the Best-Known Painting in the World)

Reference

Harpercollins

On the morning of October 30, 1922, Mussolini arrived in Rome to accept the premiership of a constitutional, conservative government. Within five years, however, his regime would morph into a dictatorship that neither his fascist supporters nor the conservative old order could have predicted, and Mussolini himself would be transformed from figurehead to despot. A multiplicity of personalities and wider impersonal forces, including the social upheaval caused by the previous world war, combined to make possible the crisis of 1922 and the Fascist March on Rome. But in fact, Donald Sassoon argues, things could have gone very differently, and the core focus of this illuminating study is not so much what happened, but how. How did Mussolini seize power so effectively that he maintained it for the next 20 years, until he dragged his country, disastrously, into World War II? Social fragmentation, unionization, inflation, and nationalism all played a part in weakening the old political system, while Mussolini seemed to provide answers in a troubling new era. Il Duce's ruthless political ambition and cruel authoritarianism would surprise his supporters and opponents alike.

Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Mona Lisa: The History of the World's Most Famous Painting

The Anxious Triumph: A Global History of Capitalism, 1860-1914

Review A brilliant writer with a polymathic range. With The Anxious Triumph, he has produced a magnum opus, an accessible and genuinely global history of the transformative but unstable capitalist phenomenon. ... This is a book for today and tomorrow. - Harold James - Financial TimesIt is hugely erudite: everyone can learn from it. - Paul Collier - New StatesmanSassoon offers us a sprawling map, studded with fascinating details. ... It is quirkily brilliant - Adam Tooze - GuardianHe is no apologist. His comprehensive account of the origins of modern capitalism make clear the human cost of a system of institutionalised greed - Iain Macwhirter - Herald Product Description 'A magnum opus, an accessible and genuinely global history ... This is a book for today and tomorrow' Financial TimesCapitalist enterprise has existed in some form since ancient times, but the globalization and dominance of capitalism as a system began in the 1860s when, in different forms and supported by different political forces, states all over the world developed their modern political frameworks: the unifications of Italy and Germany, the establishment of a republic in France, the elimination of slavery in the American south, the Meiji Restoration in Japan, the emancipation of the serfs in Tsarist Russia. This book magnificently explores how, after the upheavals of industrialisation, a truly global capitalism followed. For the first time in the history of humanity, there was a social system able to provide a high level of consumption for the majority of those who lived within its bounds. Today, capitalism dominates the world.With wide-ranging scholarship, Donald Sassoon analyses the impact of capitalism on the histories of many different states, and how it creates winners and losers by constantly innovating. This chronic instability, he writes, 'is the foundation of its advance, not a fault in the system or an incidental by-product'. And it is this instability, this constant churn, which produces the anxious triumph of his title. To control or alleviate such anxieties it was necessary to create a national community, if necessary with colonial adventures, to develop a welfare state, to intervene in the market economy, and to protect it from foreign competition. Capitalists needed a state to discipline them, to nurture them, and to sacrifice a few to save the rest: a state overseeing the war of all against all.Vigorous, argumentative, surprising and constantly stimulating, The Anxious Triumph gives a fresh perspective on all these questions and on its era. It is a masterpiece by one of Britain's most engaging and wide-ranging historians. About the Author Donald Sassoon is Emeritus Professor of Comparative European History at Queen Mary, University of London. His previous books include One Hundred Years of Socialism (1996), Mona Lisa (2001) and The Culture of the Europeans (2006), all widely translated. He gives lectures at universities and conferences all over the world.

Penguin

Perhaps better than any other art object, the Mona Lisa demonstrates that something can be high art and pop, classic and cool. Donald Sassoon provides a fascinating account of how Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece became what it is today. He examines how the Renaissance genius created the picture, who the subject was, why it gained its unrivalled position in the art world, and how it has come to be used and abused by other artists and the international advertising industry. Tracing the reception of da Vinci's paintings as well as the development of the museums, essential to bringing art to a broad public audience, Sassoon's account is as much the story of serious art's popularization as it is of one painting's ascendance to the status of global icon. Brilliantly illustrated, this lively, engaging narrative is meticulously researched and written in an elegant, accessible prose. Facts Behind the Smile 1) The most commonly asked question at the Louvre: Where is the Mona Lisa? 2) In 2003, the Mona Lisa will become the only painting in the Louvre to occupy its own room. 3) As well as hanging in the Louvre, the Mona Lisa appears on mugs, ashtrays, calendars, folders, T-shirts, and mousepads. 4) Eighty-five percent of all Europeans think the Mona Lisa is the best-known painting in the world.

Becoming Mona Lisa: The Making of a Global Icon

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Houghton, mifflin, harcourt

The Mona Lisa is widely recognized as the most famous painting in the history of art--and an undeniable icon of pop culture. Her celebrated face is used to sell everything from champagne to automobiles, and appears on ashtrays, mouse pads, and refrigerator magnets. More than any other art object, the Mona Lisa demonstrates that something can be high art and pop, classic and cool. Likewise, Donald Sassoon's elegant narrative is as much the story of one painting's ascendance to the status of global icon as it is the popularization of serious and distinguished art. A professor and acclaimed writer, Sassoon provides a fascinating account of Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance genius who created the picture; who the mysterious subject was; why it gained its unrivalled position in the art world; and how it has come to be used and abused by other artists and the international advertising industry. Lavishly illustrated, Becoming Mona Lisa is at once social, cultural, and art history of the highest order.

Becoming Mona Lisa

Mariner Books

The long-awaited magnum opus of one of Britain's most wide-ranging historians Capitalist enterprise has existed in some form since ancient times, but the globalization and dominance of capitalism as a system began in the 1860s when, in different forms and supported by different political forces, states all over the world developed their modern political frameworks: the unifications of Italy and Germany, the establishment of a republic in France, the elimination of slavery in the American south, the Meiji Restoration in Japan, the emancipation of the serfs in Tsarist Russia. This book magnificently explores how, after the upheavals of industrialisation, a truly global capitalism followed. For the first time in the history of humanity, there was a social system able to provide a high level of consumption for the majority of those who lived within its bounds. Today, capitalism dominates the world.
With wide-ranging scholarship, Donald Sassoon analyses the impact of capitalism on the histories of many different states, and how it creates winners and losers by constantly innovating. This chronic instability, he writes, 'is the foundation of its advance, not a fault in the system or an incidental by-product'. And it is this instability, this constant churn, which produces the anxious triumph of his title. To control or alleviate such anxieties it was necessary to create a national community, if necessary with colonial adventures, to develop a welfare state, to intervene in the market economy, and to protect it from foreign competition. Capitalists needed a state to discipline them, to nurture them, and to sacrifice a few to save the rest: a state overseeing the war of all against all.
Vigorous, argumentative, surprising and constantly stimulating, The Anxious Triumph gives a fresh perspective on all these questions and on its era. It is a masterpiece by one of Britain's most engaging and wide-ranging historians.

Allen Lane.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sassoon, Donald. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Sassoon, Donald

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sassoon, Donald. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Culture of the Europeans: From 1800 to the Present

One Hundred Years of Socialism : The West European Left in the Twentieth Century

MONA LISA: THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PAINTING

Mona Lisa: The History of the World’s Most Famous Painting (Story of the Best-Known Painting in the World)

Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism

Mona Lisa: The History of the World's Most Famous Painting

The Anxious Triumph: A Global History of Capitalism, 1860-1914

Becoming Mona Lisa: The Making of a Global Icon

Becoming Mona Lisa

The Anxious Triumph: A Global History of Capitalism, 1860-1914