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Reviews
Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us about Our Past and Future by James Shapiro
andyblv's review against another edition
4.0
Quite an interesting examination of how Shakespeare’s words have influenced America throughout our history. The chapters on Lincoln and Booth, Kiss Me Kate and the Public Theater performance of Julius Caesar were probably the most enlightening.
kalebd_2125's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Violence
p_t_b's review
5.0
i am a known james shapiro stan, so a book where he brings shakespeare into conversation with american history was never going to disappoint me. the opening/closing are the weakest bits, mostly because the current chapter of the american present is so incoherent and cynical, so any morally solvent chronicler eventually recourses to hand-wringing (shapiro does). the chapters about the 19th century were more enjoyable (and weirder), although the one about Kiss Me Kate succeeds in making me very slightly curious about a musical
edavis0423's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
The audiobook's narrator can be a bit dry, and Ch. 2 felt kind of meandering, but very good otherwise. Perfect for anyone who is interesting in Shakespeare and American history.
rsinclair6536's review
5.0
Shapiro lets us know that over a century ago novelist Willa Cather insisted: “Shakespeare belongs to two nations now.” She was referring to America’s continuing fascination with his works, and Shapiro demonstrates that north and south, left and right, rich and poor, old and young have found his plays to be a source of inspiration and agitation from colonial times to today. This is more an anecdotal history of American theater than an analysis of text, and I found it very entertaining. Shakespeare’s plays have been a source of riots, demonstrations, conspiracies, Hollywood manipulation, and presidential shape shifting as the ideas in them highlight our differences. It's all told here in fabulous detail. Sometimes Shapiro is a little over the top with claims about his subject’s significance, but one should expect theatrics here.
rusty_greer's review
5.0
This is one of those excellent books that you're never quite sure what it is really about.
Politics? Yes.
Literature? Yes.
History? Yes.
Culture, patriotism, religion, ideals, fanaticism, war, peace, immigration, emigration... Yes.
In short, this is a book that explores how we in the United States explore our own dreams... and our delusions.
Politics? Yes.
Literature? Yes.
History? Yes.
Culture, patriotism, religion, ideals, fanaticism, war, peace, immigration, emigration... Yes.
In short, this is a book that explores how we in the United States explore our own dreams... and our delusions.
buddy524's review
4.0
This book was pretty engaging. The structure worked well. At times it was more strict history and the ending seemed to meander away from Shakespeare a bit compared to the beginning. However, the book does a good job of highlighting history through a different lens.
fayebean's review
3.0
i like the conceit and thought it was an interesting book but... Shakespeare's works are overly magnified and so some of the anxieties that spring up in our culture and intersect with the performance of his plays have a lot to do with the outsized role he plays in our English language and literature classes at the expense of other authors, playwrights and cultures. This may not have been the book to wrestle with that but there is implication that Shakespeare speaks to all people at all times and has something profound to say to us about our past and future and I am not sure that that is the case. I though it was interesting but a little shallow for such a well reviewed book.