Reviews for Egg Cups: An Illustrated History and Price Guide

The average rating for Egg Cups: An Illustrated History and Price Guide based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-10-13 00:00:00 Chris Man Reading "historical history," that is, books of history which were written in a preceding era, is essential for a serious reader. By reading the narrative as written, and at the same time filtering it through the lens of time and current historical thinking, one can get a rich, multi-layered experience. Of course, one must be prepared by having studied the subject matter through modern accounts. This holds especially true for The French Revolution by Carlyle. One simply cannot pick up and read this work without a fairly strong knowledge of the history of the period. The author assumes familiarity with names and events. Furthermore, the narrative voice is so intensely opinionated, and the account of events is so personal and informed by author's beliefs, that the account must be viewed in the context of the many various interpretations and narratives of the Revolution. Even with a foundation in the history of the period, you will want to keep Wikipedia open. Furthermore, Carlyle's views, which so clearly reflect preoccupations of his age and political viewpoint, and of course suffer from a narrowness of source materials (that have since become available to modern scholars), cannot possibly be taken at face value, and may only be understood within the appropriate context. That said, reading his opinionated account can be much more compelling than trying to read one which is dry and disinterested. One cannot help thrilling to the heights of outrage that Carlyle reaches, and his lacerating wit and scorn is amazing. One of the reasons to read this work is the incredibly beautiful and intense language Carlyle employs. His control and inventiveness, his deployment of metaphor, and his surprising turns of phrase are certainly some of the pinnacle achievements in English writing. This book is a definite challenge to the reader, both for the degree of knowledge necessary to understand the narrative and put the author's personal views in context, and for the mental dexterity required to follow the difficult language the author uses. However, the richness of both the narrative and the writing style, and of course the dramatic and gripping events of the Revolution, are so extraordinary that the reader is more than paid back for such efforts.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-04-05 00:00:00 Alan Amberg Since this is Volume 1 of 2, I will save the bulk of my reflections for later. However, my first impression is that this is a masterful work by a seasoned writer. Carlyle's style might grate on some (occasionally, rhapsodies about "those twenty five millions" and "The Age of Paper" call to mind a drunken umpire), but in the main, the nature of the events narrated seems to fully justify a dramatic tone. Though written for people already familiar with the Revolution, its agents and effects, it is not impenetrable. Carlyle endows his "characters" with epithets in the manner of Homerian epic--instead of grey-eyed Athene, we have "sea-green Robespierre"--enabling the reader to recognize names and faces at a distance. And anything crucial is treated in full. Part epic, part history, part eulogy, The French Revolution is as engrossing as a novel.