First Moderns (PDF)

A lively and accessible history of Modernism, The First Moderns is filled with portraits of genius, and intellectual breakthroughs, that richly evoke the fin-de-siecle atmosphere of Paris, Vienna, St. Louis, and St. Petersburg. William Everdell offers readers an invigorating look at the unfolding of an age."e;This exceptionally wide-ranging history is chock-a-block with anecdotes, factoids, odd juxtapositions, and useful insights. Most impressive. . . . For anyone interested in learning about late 19th- and early 20th- century imaginative thought, this engagingly written book is a good place to start."e;-Washington Post Book World"e;The First Moderns brilliantly maps the beginning of a path at whose end loom as many diasporas as there are men."e;-Frederic Morton, The Los Angeles Times Book Review"e;In this truly exciting study of the origins of modernist thought, poet and teacher Everdell roams freely across disciplinary lines. . . . A brilliant book that will prove useful to scholars and generalists for years to come; enthusiastically recommended."e;-Library Journal, starred review"e;Everdell has performed a rare service for his readers. Dispelling much of the current nonsense about 'postmodernism,' this book belongs on the very short list of profound works of cultural analysis."e;-Booklist"e;Innovative and impressive . . . [Everdell] has written a marvelous, erudite, and readable study."e;-Mark Bevir, Spectator"e;A richly eclectic history of the dawn of a new era in painting, music, literature, mathematics, physics, genetics, neuroscience, psychiatry and philosophy."e;-Margaret Wertheim, New Scientist"e;[Everdell] has himself recombined the parts of our era's intellectual history in new and startling ways, shedding light for which the reader of The First Moderns will be eternally grateful."e;-Hugh Kenner, The New York Times Book Review"e;Everdell shows how the idea of "e;modernity"e; arose before the First World War by telling the stories of heroes such as T. S. Eliot, Max Planck, and Georges Serault with such a lively eye for detail, irony, and ambiance that you feel as if you're reliving those miraculous years."e;-Jon Spayde, Utne Reader