Reviews for British Universities: Purpose and Prospects

The average rating for British Universities: Purpose and Prospects based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-10-24 00:00:00 John Caldwell I read this book because my Grandma Rachel was related to Francis Meynell and because my mother gave her the book, inscribed to her in 1974. It�s an old-school autobiography, loaded with names, dates and anecdotes of events happening from the 1920s to 1960s among upperclass Londoners. Meynell drops a lot of famous names and takes us through both world wars. Meynell�s mother Alice was a well-known poet, and Meynell himself also wrote poetry, but his passions were book design and typography, which he did for his own Nonesuch Press, several advertising firms, and for the government. He was knighted for his contributions to the monarchy. He skirts over his private life which included three marriages and two children. This book has value as a record of the times, but I wouldn�t recommend reading it for fun.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-11-22 00:00:00 David Chanan If you're interested in typography and the history 20th Century publishing there might be some information for you. There's also some information on the politics of the early British Labour and Communist movements. But, mostly, it's the autobiography of a man who finished up his life a little smug. He was the youngest child of a large family and it shows. His mother was Alice Meynell, the poet, and he was probably shaped by the favor and pressure such ties to the famous incur. Talented, impetuous, generous in nature, self-centered in actual behavior.