Synopses & Reviews
The insights here are of such depth, and contain such beauty in them, that time and again the reader must pause for breath. At last Rilke has met a critic whose insight, courage, and humanity are worthy of his life and work."
Leslie Epstein Director, Graduate Creative Writing Program, Boston University
"[A] well-reasoned, fairly fascinating, and illuminating study which soundly and convincingly applies Freudian and particularly post-Freudian insights into the self, to Rilke's life and work, in a way which enlightens us considerably as to the relationship between life and work in original ways. Kleinbard takes off where Hugo Simenauer's monumental psycho- biography of Rilke (1953) left off. . . . He succeeds in giving us a psychic portrait of the poet which is more illuminating and which . . . does greater justice to its subject than any of his predecessors.. . . . Any reader with strong interest in Rilke would certainly welcome the availability of this study."
Walter H. Sokel,Commonwealth Professor of German and English Literatures,University of Virginia.
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we are just able to bear, and we wonder at it so because it calmly disdainsto destroy us."
Rilke
Beginning with Rilke's 1910 novel, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, The Beginning of Terror examines the ways in which the poet mastered the illness that is so frightening and crippling in Malte and made the illness a resource for his art. Kleinbard goes on to explore Rilke's poetry, letters, and non-fiction prose, his childhood and marriage, and the relationship between illness and genius in the poet and his work, a subject to which Rilke returned time and again.
This psychoanalytic study also defines the complex connections between Malte's and Rilke's fantasies of mental and physical fragmentation, and the poet's response to Rodin's disintegrative and re-integrative sculpture during the writing of The Notebooks and New Poems. One point of departure is the poet's sense of the origins of his illness in his childhood and, particularly, in his mother's blind, narcissistic self- absorption and his father's emotional constriction and mental limitations. Kleinbard examines the poet's struggle to purge himself of his deeply felt identification with his mother, even as he fulfilled her hopes that he become a major poet. The book also contains chapters on Rilke's relationships with Lou Andreas Salom and Aguste Rodin, who served as parental surrogates for Rilke.
A psychological portrait of the early twentieth-century German poet, The Beginning of Terror explores Rilke's poetry, letters, non-fiction prose, his childhood and marriage. David Kleinbard focuses on the relationship between illness and genius in the poet and his work, a subject to which Rilke returned time and again.
Review
"Professors Powell and Hernandez-Truyol have proposed an ambitious effort to bridge longstanding differences between the business and human rights communities by incorporating human rights and environmental obligations in trade agreements. Their book offers a multitude of new ideas on how a middle ground could be achieved, reflecting the authors' understanding of trade agreements and the challenges of harnessing trade's worldwide power for the advancement of human rights. Whatever one's views on the feasibility of a ‘new covenant$#8217; linking trade and human rights, there is always value in a comprehensive, in-depth discussion of the issues involved. And one cannot help but be impressed by the authors' passionate commitment to constructing a new path forward and their understanding of international law."
- Warren H. Maruyama, Partner, Hogan and Hartson LLP (formerly General Counsel, US Trade Representative 2007-2009)
Review
"Although highly developed international regimes promoting free trade and advancing human rights are often mischaracterized as mutually incompatible, this excellent study clearly demonstrates their common normative and institutional foundations as well as the complementarity of their respective purposes. In its convincing argument,
Just Trade invites us to celebrate and utilize the capacity of free trade and human rights to advance a common agenda."
- Thomas Franck, co-author of Law and Practice of the United Nations
Review
"Hernandez-Truyol's and Powell's collective expertise has yielded a highly readable effort designed to end the trade regime's 'splendid isolation' from the rest of international law, and especially human rights law. Their text, intended for classroom use, will do much to lessen the unfortunate disconnect between these legal sub-specialities. Theirs is not an idealistic diatribe against the WTO but an honest attempt to marry the undeniable legitimacy of the human rights ideal with the equally undeniable economic benefits of using the law to advance states' comparative advantage. The authors' manifold (and sometimes surprising) examples of the connections between the trade and human rights 'borderlands' yield prescriptions for a more humane and sustainable form of trade liberalization."
- Jose Alvarez, author of International Organizations as Law-makers
Review
"The authors intend the book to be a catalyst for discussion and development of policy coherence in these two areas [trade rules and human rights]. They should be applauded for an ambitious, even courageous, foray into this minefield and for a carefully developed, thought-provoking presentation... As a labor rights practitioner, I found a number of these ideas thought-provoking."
"Professors Powell and Hernandez-Truyol have proposed an ambitious effort to bridge longstanding differences between the business and human rights communities by incorporating human rights and environmental obligations in trade agreements. Their book offers a multitude of new ideas on how a middle ground could be achieved, reflecting the authors' understanding of trade agreements and the challenges of harnessing trade's worldwide power for the advancement of human rights. Whatever one's views on the feasibility of a ‘new covenant$#8217; linking trade and human rights, there is always value in a comprehensive, in-depth discussion of the issues involved. And one cannot help but be impressed by the authors' passionate commitment to constructing a new path forward and their understanding of international law."
"Although highly developed international regimes promoting free trade and advancing human rights are often mischaracterized as mutually incompatible, this excellent study clearly demonstrates their common normative and institutional foundations as well as the complementarity of their respective purposes. In its convincing argument, Just Trade invites us to celebrate and utilize the capacity of free trade and human rights to advance a common agenda."
"Hernandez-Truyol's and Powell's collective expertise has yielded a highly readable effort designed to end the trade regime's 'splendid isolation' from the rest of international law, and especially human rights law. Their text, intended for classroom use, will do much to lessen the unfortunate disconnect between these legal sub-specialities. Theirs is not an idealistic diatribe against the WTO but an honest attempt to marry the undeniable legitimacy of the human rights ideal with the equally undeniable economic benefits of using the law to advance states' comparative advantage. The authors' manifold (and sometimes surprising) examples of the connections between the trade and human rights 'borderlands' yield prescriptions for a more humane and sustainable form of trade liberalization."
“This work is an ambitious attempt to redefine the relationship between international trade law and the legal and moral principles of international human rights. . .an impressive book that constructs a noteworthy case regarding how trade and human rights law can be reconstituted so that they are largely coterminous and mutually supportive.”
Review
“This work is an ambitious attempt to redefine the relationship between international trade law and the legal and moral principles of international human rights. . .an impressive book that constructs a noteworthy case regarding how trade and human rights law can be reconstituted so that they are largely coterminous and mutually supportive.”
-CHOICE,
Synopsis
Documents Annex: http: //www.nyupress.org/justtradeannex/index.html
It is generally assumed that pro-trade laws are not good for human rights, and legislation that protects human rights hampers vibrant international trade. In a bold departure from this canon,
Just Trade makes a case for reaching a middleground between these two fields, acknowledging their coexistence and the significant points at which they overlap. Using actual examples from many of the thirty-five nations of the Western Hemisphere, the authors--one a human rights scholar and the other a trade law expert--carefully combine their knowledge to examine human rights policies throughout the world, never overlooking the very real human rights problems that arise from international trade. However, instead of viewing the two kinds of law as isolated, polar, and sometimes hostile opposites, Berta Esperanza Hernandez-Truyol and Stephen J. Powell make powerful suggestions for how these intersections may be navigated to promote an international marketplace that embraces both liberal trade and liberal protection of human rights.
Synopsis
Documents Annex: http://www.nyupress.org/justtradeannex/index.html
While modern trade law and human rights law constitute two of the most active spheres in international law, follow similar intellectual trajectories, and often feature the same key actors and arenas, neither field has actively engaged with the other. They co-exist in relative isolation at best, peppered by occasional hostile debates. It has come to be a given that pro-trade laws are not good for human rights, and legislation that protects human rights hampers vibrant international trade.
In a bold departure from this canon, Just Trade makes a case for reaching a middle-ground between these two fields, acknowledging their co-existence and the significant points at which they overlap. Using examples from many of the 35 nations of the Western Hemisphere, Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol and Stephen J. Powell combine their expertise to examine human rights policies involving conscripted child labor, sustainable development, promotion of health, equality of women, human trafficking, indigenous peoples, poverty, citizenship, and economic sanctions, never overlooking the very real human rights problems that arise from international trade. However, instead of viewing the two kinds of law as polar and sometimes hostile opposites, the authors make powerful suggestions for how these intersections may be navigated to promote an international marketplace that embraces both liberal trade and liberal protection of human rights.
About the Author
Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol is Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law at Levin College of Law, University of Florida. She is editor of
Moral Imperialism: A Critical Anthology (NYU Press).
Stephen Joseph Powell is senior lecturer in law and director of the International Trade Law Program at Levin College of Law, University of Florida. Prior to his arrival at UF, he implemented U.S. trade laws as chief counsel for import administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce.