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Book
Review |
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Wolf, Ken. Personalities & Problems: Interpretative Essays in World
Civilizations, 3rd edition. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005).
208 pp, $35.90. |
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In this collection of original essays, which
covers the time span from the 1400s until today, Ken Wolfe, a professor
at Murray State University, creates fourteen unique comparisons ranging
from Prince Henry and Zheng He to Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.
He discusses people in history who are "presented to you in relation to
a particular issue or issues that they had to face or that their careers
raise for us—as thoughtful citizens of an increasingly interdependent
world." (xiii) Assuming no previous background, each chapter focuses on
an economic, social, political, or religious problem of a particular time.
"Each personality is also paired with a contemporary who faced a similar
problem or issue, either in the same civilization or country or in another
one." (xiii) |
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Wolf compares twenty-eight different people.
Twelve are political rulers or leaders. When the reader first thinks about
these pairings, one may think that the two individuals being compared have
more differences than similarities. Yet Wolf masterfully shows many similarities
even while the outcomes may be different. One of the more interesting comparisons
is between Juma Chimwere of Mali and Alvin York of the United States. Both
were war heroes in their respective countries in World War I. What could
two such disparate individuals share in common? As Wolf points out in making
his argument about the impact of the First World War: |
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The changes brought by the World War I to Nyasaland were less immediately
dramatic than those brought to the United States by its involvement
in the war, yet the social and military skills acquired by Chimwere
and others would later allow men like him to govern their country after
Malawi became independent of British rule in 1964. In this environment
Alvin York's heroism made him the symbol of an earlier world that was
(or seemed) less complicated. Chimwere was respected because he had
found a way to be part of both an older, traditional world and the newer,
more complicated one brought by the British. Such are the issues the
Great War raised for people as different as these two men and their
two countries. (122)
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Students will be familiar with most of the
people discussed such as Prince Henry the Navigator, Galileo Galilei, Otto
von Bismarck, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Martin Luther King. They will
also be exposed to somewhat lesser-known figures such as the Marquis of
Condorcet, Juma Chimwere, Alvin York, and Edward Teller among others |
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Each chapter begins with a blurb outlining
the question or issue around which historical figures will be compared.
For example, in discussing Eva Peron and Golda Meir, he entitles his chapter
"Eva Peron and Golda Meir: Helping the Dispossessed—Two Models." The
blurb reads: |
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Each chapter begins with a blurb outlining
the question or issue around which historical figures will be compared.
For example, in discussing Eva Peron and Golda Meir, he entitles his chapter
"Eva Peron and Golda Meir: Helping the Dispossessed—Two Models." The
blurb reads: |
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How did the personalities of two leaders affect the way they chose
to help the dispossessed in their two very different cultures? Is power
best exercised in formal or informal ways? (143)
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After comparing the two individuals in ten
to fifteen pages, a chapter concludes with footnotes and further reading
suggestions. |
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I have only one minor quibble. I would suggest
that the author update the "Further Reading" sections. For example, there
are more up-to-date biographies of Prince Henry published since 1947. The
author cites Sanceau's Henry the Navigator: The story of a Great Prince
and his Times. I would suggest looking also at Peter Russell's recent
Prince Henry "The Navigator": A Life published in 2000. In addition,
Simon Sebag Montifiore's wonderful Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar
(2004) would be very useful for the chapter pertaining to Stalin. |
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This little book is ideal for the second
half of a world history survey course or in the second half of a western
civilization course. Anyone who uses a cross-cultural approach in his or
her survey course should consider this book. It also allows for class discussion
after a lecture on a particular time or issue. For a western civilization
course, it would provide a nice corrective to the usual Eurocentric focus
of western civilization courses even if some of the coverage such as Xangai,
Ito, and Mandela may be outside the scope of the course. As homework assignments,
these short, student-friendly chapters could reinforce a lecture point or
be used as preparation for class discussion. |
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It should also be noted that the author also
has a first volume. Equally as engaging and student-oriented, this first
volume can be a great supplement in the first half of a world history or
western civilization course. |
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Sanjeev Rao
Monmouth University |