Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life

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Find a more modern work on this topic........2007-08-08

I tried to read this book, but the fact that so many historians have recently debunked Aries' conclusions made it seem almost unnecessary to read. One thing is certain, Aries did spark a lot of research into this are of history. I was mainly interested in reading it for references to clothing, and toys. The book talks more about schooling than the subjects I was interested. I never finished the book.

A Paradigm.......2001-04-01

During the sixties (those were the times!) this was probably the most influential book on education. The funny thing is, that actually it is not at all about education, but its history and how our Western understanding of childhood as a concept has evolved. For everyone who uses to take for granted the values of a sheltered childhood and a period of prolonged 'innocence', it must come as a surprise, how relatively recent, in historical terms, these developments actually had been. In such light, the medieval society and even the Renaissance look very alien, like people from a distant planet. They had a custom to exchange their children in a network of chartered apprenticeships. Once a little sucker had passed the critical age of five and was deemed to be ready to fend for itself, it became time to learn the way of the world, and to be rented out to service at the tables of a trade or of landed nobility. Only a select few received rudimentary tuition and set out on an aca!demic career, which meant years of vagrancy and the open road between Universities and urban centers of learning. As for the pre-school age, the child was a sexless, almost nameless piece of livestock and roamed the townships in street gangs, wore an undistinguished piece of garb, rummaged the garbage dumps and contributed to the family's income with petty theft and beggary. It never washed, hunkered down to torture an unfortunate beetle or wrenched a cat's tail; it learned to drink small beer, in order to escape the diarrhea that lurked in every well. It was on a race against measles, small pocks, diphtheria, and crippling polio, and the odds weren't good. Parents preferred not to involve themselves too emotionally in the frequent deaths of their small ones. A little thing had died, sad, but a replacement is already under way. Scenes from modern day Calcutta come to mind. (This condition was not necessarily class-specific. The future emperor Frederick II (1194-1250), heir t!o the most powerful dynasty of his time, one of the best educated and most enlightened rulers in history, who was fluently conversant in six languages, including Arabic, had passed his early childhood and adolescence as a thieving thug in a Sicilian street-gang. He coined the notorious phrase of the three con-men: Moses, Jesus and Mohammed. Needless to say, the popes took turns to excommunicate this man.) These days, teachers use to complain over class-sizes. I still remember my first year in primary: we first graders shared the same classroom with the second grade, and one teacher took care of both at the same time. But this is idyllic if compared to the beginnings of the modern school system in the late Renaissance! You had first graders of every age between seven and twenty-five sitting in one room with second, third, and fourth graders. Many of the most renowned educators were practising pedophiles and nobody found anything wrong with it. Only gradually, the Jesuits in th!eir colleges set a trend for stricter discipline and the separation of the ages. This was paralleled by a new understanding of parenthood. Up to this point the Church had been too busy with her own agenda of sorting out who is orthodox or an infidel, to care much about such mundane matters as marriage (see my review of Caroll's 'Constantine's Sword'). Newly wed couples used to receive without much ceremony an informal blessing under the open sky, on the stairway to the church-entrance. But now marriage had became institutionalized at last and a 'holy sacrament'. The little ones, as the fruit of such commitment, became precious, and their still frequent deaths a source of inconsolable grief. For the first time since Antiquity, we find again infants to be buried in individually marked tombs. Supervision intensified; early tuition was recognized as a means to keep kids out of trouble. Children wore the same costumes as their parents and from early on displayed the airs of their !respective social classes. They no longer exposed their genitals in public and slept in a place removed from their parent's bed. It was not exactly a world of fairies and dreaming under soaring larks, there was little time for this and no space to wax sentimental. The kids were on a mission: to grow up as soon as possible and take their share of responsibility for the family's fortunes. The nuclear family was born out of economic expedience - your own children are more loyal then a hired apprentice; and you save on the wages. The emerging educational system served to reinforce this trend and at the same time developed a new sense of parental commitment. Then came the industrial age and mobilized human resources on an unprecedented scale. The sentimental attachment deepened and in the era of Victorian hypocrisy and a growing life expectancy, the biological learning period was stretched even further and a new myth was born: the myth of innocence and of an infancy in fairyland. !The fashion recognized the need for age related clothing, the age of children's literature was born and parents learned to lie to their children on the facts of life and the birds and the bees. Has this turned out to be a blessing? History's court is still in session, and the replacement of King Arthur, Cinderella and the Dwarfs by Kermit, the Cooky-Monster and Miss Piggy might turn out to be a rather dubious piece of pedagogic progress. Monsieur Aries book certainly deserves its rank as a classic.

Why do we read hisory books?.......2000-10-05

Some are historians who judge a book by its accuracy, as a mathematician would judge a treatise on pure mathematics. Some read history for pleasure, as a tourist visits an ancient ruin and is entertained by the stories of the guide. Some (including, in this case, myself) read to answer such questions as that raised in the introduction. Are such structures as the family "hitherto believed to be invariable because they were biological" due to nature or nurture? I would not pretend to judge as a professional historian. As pure entertainment I would rate this below old-fashioned narrative history. If a general reader wants entertainment from the French annalistes then I would recommend the Braudel. It is very France-centered and never ventures outside Western Europe. The tranlation must have presented difficulties since so much depends on the nuances of such terms as "child" and "adolescent" and the use of the second person singular. Sometimes a word such as "greenhorn" is repeated many times, as if it were the usual English expression for a novice or neophyte (was Baldick translating blanc-bec or debutant or dupe? I do not envy. and have every praise for the way in which he has accomplished, his task). So has Aries proved that the special status of childhood and the nuclear family are modern inventions? I still don't know.

Voices from the Hollow : What happened when the Blue Bloods met the Blue Ridge

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Family Feud
Great Trip Back to a Place I Never Knew

Voices from the Hollow : What happened when the Blue Bloods met the Blue Ridge
Philip Reid Hirsh, Jr.
Manufacturer: Mariner Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0977684105
Release Date: 2006-02-07

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Appalachia. According to popular mythology, it's a mountainous hold-over from colonial days, an all-white outlaw society mired in poverty and cliché jokes about family feuds. Throw in some stories about moonshine, add a few images of grimy coal miners and you're done. People who know better and try to preserve Appalachian history and culture are no match for developers greedy for more land and franchise locations. The process is irreversible, but the real story-hilariously funny, sometimes poignant, always surprising-can be told, savored and remembered.

Customer Reviews:

Family Feud.......2006-03-10

The author writes of an area of which I am very familiar. I grew up in Bath County and heard many of the stories that the author tells. Great photos.
There are three sections of the book were I laughed so hard I was crying and trying to catch my breath.

Great Trip Back to a Place I Never Knew.......2006-02-19

Really enjoyed this retrospective trip into the entirely different lives of three distinct groups of people inhabiting the same small town in Appalachia - or is it the same town?!. Certainly a very different one to each. The author recounts such wonderfully simple moments in these people's lives and evokes such emotion... though I laughed (out loud and in public!) for 3/4 of the book I also was outraged, saddened, and inspired by these people. Really enjoyed this read!

Bob Artley's Memories of a Former Kid: Once Upon a Time on the Family Farm (Country Life)

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Bob Artley's Memories of a Former Kid: Once Upon a Time on the Family Farm (Country Life)
Bob Artley
Manufacturer: Voyageur Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0896584933

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An entertaining look at the challenges and charms of growing up on a farm.

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A memorable, nostalgic, and highly recommended narrative

Mountain Born, Mountain Molded
Larry G. Morgan
Manufacturer: Parkway Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

The author, Larry G. Morgan, grew up in Nantahala region of western North Carolina. This is his tongue-in-cheek description of his life during 1945-55 period when he was a little boy. Morgan depicts his family life with love, nostalgia, and humor. Mountain Born, Mountain Molded depicts how people in western North Carolina made their living, their clothes, houses, household furnishings, education, and their medical care. The book describes mountaineers' religious beliefs and practices and how they celebrated their holidays. The little boy, who tells the story, didn't know he was poor, didn't have expensive toys but found hours of entertainment in the mountains and woods.

Customer Reviews:

A memorable, nostalgic, and highly recommended narrative.......2003-04-14

Mountain Born, Mountain Molded by Larry G. Morgan is a wryly written personal memoir of growing up in the Nantahala region of western North Carolina from 1945-1955 as the fifth in a family of ten children. Childhood memories, simple games kids played long before popular culture became overloaded with atrociously [spendy] collectible toys, and the refreshing wonder of the great outdoors are all recalled in this memorable, nostalgic, and highly recommended narrative.

Growing Up with the Town: Family and Community on the Great Plains

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Growing Up with the Town: Family and Community on the Great Plains
Dorothy Hubbard Schwieder
Manufacturer: University Of Iowa Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0877458049

Book Description

In this unusual blend of chronological and personal history, Dorothy Hubbard Schwieder combines scholarly sources with family memories to create a loving and informed history of Presho, South Dakota, and her family's life there from the time of settlement in 1905 to the mid 1950s.

Schwieder tells the story of this small town in the West River country, with its harsh and unpredictable physical environment, through the activities of her father, Walter Hubbard, and his family of ten children. Walter Hubbard's experiences as a business owner and town builder and his attitudes toward work, education, and family both refiected and shaped the lives of Presho's inhabitants and the town itself.

While most histories of the Plains focus on farm life, Schwieder writes entirely about small-town society. She uses newspaper accounts, state and county histories, census data, interviews with residents, and the childhood memories of herself and her nine siblings to create an entwined, first-hand social and economic portrait of life on main street from the perspective of its citizens.

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As I Remember Them: Childhood in Quebec and Why We Came West (Legacies Shared Book Series,)
Jeanne-Elise Olsen , G. Lorraine Ouellette , and Ian Adam
Manufacturer: University of Calgary Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1552380688

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Centuries of Childhood - A Social History of Family Life - translated from the French by Robert Baldick
Philippe Aries
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IOW1IC

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Centuries of Childhood a Social History of Family Life
Aries Philippe
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MATT4Q

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Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life

Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BXHOGO

Product Description

This is a landmark book published in France and translated into English as CENTURIES OF CHILDHOOD. Philippe Aries' book has revolutionized the study of young people and family life by tracing through the paintings and diaries of the last four centuries.

Centuries of childhood: A social history of family life (A Vintage giant)

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Centuries of childhood: A social history of family life (A Vintage giant)
Philippe Aris
Manufacturer: Vintage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006DCTJQ

Book Description

A respected European researcher reveals new details about the life and war crimes trial of an SS officer accused of killing American POWs at Malmedy.

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Massacre at Malmady and the life of Jochen Peiper........2004-08-24

The author has written many books on WWII and has befriended many old Nazis. One of the books the author has written was on the Massacre at Malmady. What the author did with his previous book about Malmady is add chapters on Jochen Peiper. So therefore the reader gets a brief history of Peiper, the discussion on what happened when SS troopers opened fire on American POWs, and then the murder of Peiper in the 1970s by mysterious persons.
The author argues that Peiper was far away from the scene of the shootings, did not give written orders how to treat POWs, and then later saved 150 American POWs who were captured and released. Whiting gives the view that Peiper was innocent of the charges of shooting these American prisoners. He also details the reaction of American soldiers following the discovery of the massacre. In this case, SS troops captured were also shot, rather than taken prisoner. The trials of the SS Waffen troops was also detailed.
I am reading my third book by Whiting. His books provide the accepted view of what really happened during this time period. His books lack detail that make other history books more substancial in their view. In this book, you get a tiny history of Peiper, more on the massacre, and then a little look at Peiper's murder. More detail would have silenced others who have criticized Whiting's books,

Buy Agte's bio of Peiper.......2002-01-30

Fluff... Buy Peter Agte's masterpiece on Jochen Peiper instead, by far and away the best book ever written on Peiper.

Just a popular history.......2000-12-14

This popular history of SS colonel Jochen Peiper's exploits turns out to be short on substance, as well as substantiation. Still, it reads quickly and does flesh in some of the action surrounding the old storm trooper. Not a very satisfying read for die hard history buffs (most of it is already well known) and the editing is an atrocity, but for youngsters and others unfamiliar with Peiper and his role in the Battle of the Bulge, this book will probably serve to stir some interest in the events of those days.

Give this a miss!.......2000-08-04

This book was not the full biography I hoped. It only deals with Peiper's part in the Battle of the Bulge and the Malmedy Masacre. The details of even this are poorly researched and poorly written.

For a full biography read the outstanding 'Jochen Peiper Comander Panzerregigiment Leibstandarte' by Patrick Agte published by J. J. Fedorowicz. This contains Peiper's full, remarkable career both before WWII and in combat.

For a far more accurate, well researched and well written account of Peiper's part in the Battle of The Bulge, try 'The Devil's Adjutant' by Michael Reynolds. This also contains the most likely account of the Malmedy Masacre.

Typical Whiting propaganda.......2000-05-19

I have already written a extensive review of this book which for some reason never appeared here, follows is a very abreviated version. This book is typical of Whiting's poor work, no listing of any sources whatsoever, no foot notes, nothing to indicate this work of "fact" is anything but fiction.

The title suggests this is a biography of J. Peiper, in fact it only examines Peiper and the Malmedy incident in any detail, and most of the details come from Whiting's own imagination. This is a book that can and should be easily ignored.

Book Description

This book throws new light on the interlocking commercial relationships of the Atlantic trading world during the centuries ending with the American and French Revolutions. Grouped under four themes--the role of merchants and their connections; the development of trades; imperial economies; and colonial working societies--and written by an international team of economic historians, these essays increase our knowledge and understanding of the transatlantic economy. Contributions include studies of individual businessmen, labor patterns, port cities, branches of trade, and comparative studies of trading nations.

The Early Modern Atlantic Economy.(Book Review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History

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The Early Modern Atlantic Economy.(Book Review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History
Ian K. Steele
Manufacturer: University of Saskatchewan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on August 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1002 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Early Modern Atlantic Economy.(Book Review)
Author: Ian K. Steele
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2002
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Page: 420(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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The Early Modern Atlantic Economy.(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Southern History

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The Early Modern Atlantic Economy.(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Southern History
Peter A. Coclanis
Manufacturer: Southern Historical Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008DGZ8U
Release Date: 2005-07-31

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Southern Historical Association on May 1, 2003. The length of the article is 735 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Early Modern Atlantic Economy.(Book Review)
Author: Peter A. Coclanis
Publication: Journal of Southern History (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2003
Publisher: Southern Historical Association
Volume: 69 Issue: 2 Page: 404(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description

Massimiano Bucchi reviews the existing literature, and presents a theoretical framework on how and why scientists address the general public, focusing on three cases: anthrax, the Big Bang, and cold fusion.

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