Jacques Barzun
Photo by Joe Pineiro
In answer to your request for
the titles of books that have influenced my work, here
are a few:
William James, Principles
of Psychology
Alfred North Whitehead, Science and the Modern World
Hector Berlioz, Memoirs
Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilization of the Renaissance
in Italy
Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
The first of these, in two volumes, helped to shape
my view of the human mind, my standards of scholarship,
and my prose style. James's other works confirmed my
adherence to his theory and his conception of ethics,
which are implicit in his Psychology.
Yours sincerely,
Jacques Barzun
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