Dear Me
Registered by litrajunkie of Pretzfeld, Bayern Germany on 2/19/2018
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
Reading Ustinov's account of his life is a pure pleasure for many reasons. His brilliantly honed style of writing, the amount of important people and celebrities he encounters, the lessons he draws from experiences both good and bad (and sometimes almost shattering), the wit and the humor which are his preferred means of coping - he declares himself almost devoid of anger, so he can never use it tactically.
The idea of interspersing the anecdotes and stories with some pages of dialog between "remorseless spirit" and "all too solid flesh", addressing each other as "Dear Me" shows the literary genius of this versatile man.
His involvement with UNICEF is very important to him and he does not mince his words about the reasons why this wonderful planet is in such a sorry state: human hubris, folly and avarice cause more harm than natural disasters - and, while we are powerless to prevent earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, we could outgrow warfare and slavery: "The cost of this gargantuan and useless arsenal is such that thousands upon thousands die every year because there is not enough left in the physical and moral treasury to bring the most elementary succour to those in need. That is to say that if the great countries would be content with a twofold or at most threefold destruction of the globe as a valid deterrent, the problems of famine and disease would be easily solved, but no, there is evidently no security in logic, but only in absurdity.
Thus thousands die, not because of the cannon's roar, but because of the cannon's existence. Armaments today take their toll of life even without a shot being fired. (p. 204)"
An index several pages long makes it easy to retrieve the particular part one is searching for.
The idea of interspersing the anecdotes and stories with some pages of dialog between "remorseless spirit" and "all too solid flesh", addressing each other as "Dear Me" shows the literary genius of this versatile man.
His involvement with UNICEF is very important to him and he does not mince his words about the reasons why this wonderful planet is in such a sorry state: human hubris, folly and avarice cause more harm than natural disasters - and, while we are powerless to prevent earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, we could outgrow warfare and slavery: "The cost of this gargantuan and useless arsenal is such that thousands upon thousands die every year because there is not enough left in the physical and moral treasury to bring the most elementary succour to those in need. That is to say that if the great countries would be content with a twofold or at most threefold destruction of the globe as a valid deterrent, the problems of famine and disease would be easily solved, but no, there is evidently no security in logic, but only in absurdity.
Thus thousands die, not because of the cannon's roar, but because of the cannon's existence. Armaments today take their toll of life even without a shot being fired. (p. 204)"
An index several pages long makes it easy to retrieve the particular part one is searching for.
RABCK traveling together with "The Night Bookmobile" - a bookring.
A surprise book arrived with another BookRing. Thank you! :-) I like Sir Peter. I have read two other books by him (Der alte Mann und Mr. Smith & Achtung! Vorurteile) and liked them both so it will be a pleasure to read his biographie.
Even though I like Sir Peter‘s style of writing, I didn‘t learn much about him as a person. He stays distant behind the stories of his career and successes at the theatre and in films. And as this book was written in 1977 I don‘t know most of the people he worked with and sometimes describes in great detail. So I was a bit disappointed as I expected something different.
Journal Entry 6 by dschinny at Öffentlicher Bücherschrank St. Markus in Hamburg - Hoheluft, Hamburg Germany on Sunday, August 11, 2019
Released 4 yrs ago (8/11/2019 UTC) at Öffentlicher Bücherschrank St. Markus in Hamburg - Hoheluft, Hamburg Germany
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Will leave it in the open book case for somebody else to enjoy.