Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern AgeThis award-winning cultural history reveals how the Great War changed humanity. This sweeping volume probes the origins, the impact, and the aftermath of World War I—from the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring in 1913 to the death of Hitler in 1945. “The Great War,” as Modris Eksteins writes, “was the psychological turning point . . . for modernism as a whole. The urge to create and the urge to destroy had changed places.” In this “bold and fertile book” (The Atlantic Monthly), Eksteins goes on to chart the seismic shifts in human consciousness brought about by this great cataclysm, through the lives and words of ordinary people, works of literature, and such events as Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight and the publication of the first modern bestseller, All Quiet on the Western Front. Rites of Spring is a rare and remarkable work, a cultural history that redefines the way we look at our past—and toward our future. |
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achievement aesthetic American armies artillery artist Astruc attack August avant-garde ballet Ballets russes battle beauty became become began Berlin bourgeois Britain British century Charles Sorley Christmas Christmas truce civilization com con critics crowd culture dance death December December 23 despite Diaghilev Diary duty enemy Erich Maria Remarque Ernst Junger Europe experience fighting France fraternization French Ger German Harry Crosby Herbert Read Hitler horror idea imagination intellectuals January July June kaiser later Le Figaro letter liberation Lindbergh London Mairet man's land ment military modern moral movement nation Nazi Nazism night Nijinsky novel November officers Paris party play political Quiet reality Regiment Reich Remarque Remarque's Robert Graves Rupert Brooke Russian Sacre seemed sense sentiments Siegfried Sassoon social soldiers Somme spirit Stravinsky symbol theater tion traditional troops turn values Verdun victory vision warfare Western Front whole Wilfred Owen wrote York Ypres