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A review by mylogicisfuzzy
Age of Anger: A History of the Present by Pankaj Mishra
3.0
I thought the beginning and the end very good. The rest, I had some problems with. It is as if the Enlightenment was born in a vacuum with a lot of 'firsts' and no roots. For example: "a pattern established by Russia - the first country where autocrats (specifically Peter and Catherine, as Mishra explains elsewhere in the book) decreed a tryst with modernity". One could argue that Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church was an example of autocrat's tryst with modernity too and that Peter/ Russia was not the first. I found there was too much against Voltaire and too much of Rousseau. It got repetitive.
A lot of it lacked context, sweeping statements needed to be qualified. German Romantics chapter annoyed me a lot because Mishra failed to say that when Herder wrote about German common cultural identity, there was no such thing as German state, he only mentions this much later on. After the defeat of Napoleon, some countries he conquered and imposed the hated Code Napoleon on (Mishra mentions the hatred of it) kept elements of the Code because these worked for them. Saying this would not have justified Napoleon - Mishra often presents things in black and white and they were a little more grey. Also, at one point, when talking about repressive Russia, he claims that serfdom was abolished in most of Europe in thirteenth century - no it wasn't, at least not officially, until Napoleon (again). I don't mind selective use of sources but these should be qualified or put into context. Mishra repeatedly failed to do this, which is why I can't rate this book higher. He also doesn't offer suggestions on how to find/ where to look for solutions. Nevertheless, his main argument is good and timely.
A lot of it lacked context, sweeping statements needed to be qualified. German Romantics chapter annoyed me a lot because Mishra failed to say that when Herder wrote about German common cultural identity, there was no such thing as German state, he only mentions this much later on. After the defeat of Napoleon, some countries he conquered and imposed the hated Code Napoleon on (Mishra mentions the hatred of it) kept elements of the Code because these worked for them. Saying this would not have justified Napoleon - Mishra often presents things in black and white and they were a little more grey. Also, at one point, when talking about repressive Russia, he claims that serfdom was abolished in most of Europe in thirteenth century - no it wasn't, at least not officially, until Napoleon (again). I don't mind selective use of sources but these should be qualified or put into context. Mishra repeatedly failed to do this, which is why I can't rate this book higher. He also doesn't offer suggestions on how to find/ where to look for solutions. Nevertheless, his main argument is good and timely.