The Genteel Tradition

Nine Essays by George Santayana

George Santayana author Douglas L Wilson editor Robert Dawidoff editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of Nebraska Press

Published:1st May '98

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Genteel Tradition cover

George Santayana probably did more than anyone except Alexis de Tocqueville to shape the critical view of American culture. The great philosopher and writer coined the phrase “genteel tradition,” introducing it to a California audience in 1911. The phrase caught fire, giving a name to the culture of the republic.

Santayana’s address appears in this collection of influential essays about the country he lived in from 1872 to 1912. Because he remained European in spirit, the Spaniard brought a sharp detachment to his observations. He points out the American split between thought and action, theory and practice, the traditional and the modern, the arts and business, the high-brow and the popular. He also examines the excessive moralism in national life, which baffles Europeans. These nine essays touch on American idealism and materialism and American endeavor, sacred and profane.

"Santayana portrays aspects of American character with an astonishing vividness and pungency which has often been imitated but not equalled by later writers."—[London] Times Literary Supplement

ISBN: 9780803292512

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 255g

201 pages