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Journey to the AbyssBy: Harry Kessler These fascinating, never before published early diaries of Count Harry Kesslerpatron, museum director, publisher, cultural critic, soldier, secret agent, and diplomatpresent a sweeping panorama of the arts and politics of Belle poque Europe, a glittering world poised to be changed irrevocably by the Great War. Kesslers immersion in the new art and literature of Paris, London, and Berlin unfolds in the first part of the diaries. This
By: Harry KesslerThese fascinating, never-before-published early diaries of Count Harry Kessler—patron, museum director, publisher, cultural critic, soldier, secret agent, and diplomat—present a sweeping panorama of the arts and politics of Belle Époque Europe, a glittering world poised to be changed irrevocably by the Great War. Kessler’s immersion in the new art and literature of Paris, London, and Berlin unfolds in the first part of the diaries. This refined world gives way to vivid descriptions of the horrific fighting on the Eastern and Western fronts of World War I, the intriguing private discussions among the German political and military elite about the progress of the war, as well as Kessler’s account of his role as a diplomat with a secret mission in Switzerland.
Profoundly modern and often prescient, Kessler was an erudite cultural impresario and catalyst who as a cofounder of the avant-garde journal Pan met and contributed articles about many of the leading artists and writers of the day. In 1903 he became director of the Grand Ducal Museum of Arts and Crafts in Weimar, determined to make it a center of aesthetic modernism together with his friend the architect Henry van de Velde, whose school of design would eventually become the Bauhaus. When a public scandal forced his resignation in 1906, Kessler turned to other projects, including collaborating with the Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal and the German composer Richard Strauss on the opera Der Rosenkavalier and the ballet The Legend of Joseph, which was performed in 1914 by the Ballets Russes in London and Paris. In 1913 he founded the Cranach-Presse in Weimar, one of the most important private presses of the twentieth century.
The diaries present brilliant, sharply etched, and often richly comical descriptions of his encounters, conversations, and creative collaborations with some of the most celebrated people of his time: Otto von Bismarck, Paul von Hindenburg, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Sarah Bernhardt, Friedrich Nietzsche, Rainer Marie Rilke, Paul Verlaine, Gordon Craig, George Bernard Shaw, Harley Granville-Barker, Max Klinger, Arnold Böcklin, Max Beckmann, Aristide Maillol, Auguste Rodin, Edgar Degas, Éduard Vuillard, Claude Monet, Edvard Munch, Ida Rubinstein, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Pierre Bonnard, and Walther Rathenau, among others.
Remarkably insightful, poignant, and cinematic in their scope, Kessler’s diaries are an invaluable record of one of the most volatile and seminal moments in modern Western history.
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4.6 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
The watermelon seed
Format: Hardcover, Format: Hardcover
Bought this book for my daughters first birthday. The theme was one in a melon so I thought it would be cute to have everyone who attended her party to write her a little message. I will be putting this in her time capsule for her to open things we have gathered through the years. This was the perfect book for what was needed. The story is so cute and my older kiddos like the book as well!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2023
★★★★★ 5
Cute illustrations, simple read, fun book
Format: Hardcover
This book is really cute. Simple to read, fun, bright illustrations. My son is just learning to read and picking up on letters so this books is perfect for him. Very fun and would recommend for young readers.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2024
★★★★★ 5
A Harrowing Account of Addiction, Recovery, and Relapse
Format: Hardcover
Greg Pizzoli’s The Watermelon Seed offers a deceptively simple yet profound exploration of addiction, recovery, and relapse. Through the crocodile’s obsessive love for watermelon, his panic upon swallowing a seed mirrors the fear and anxiety of losing control. The cycle of indulgence, dread, and inevitable return to the source of both pleasure and distress reflects the cyclical nature of addiction. Pizzoli’s playful illustrations mask a darker undercurrent: the crocodile knows watermelon may harm him — yet he cannot resist. A chillingly accurate portrait of the addictive mind, wrapped in the guise of a children’s story.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2025
★★★★★ 5
My kids love this book
Format: Hardcover
My son and daughter ( 4 and 2 ) LOVE this book. It makes them laugh out loud. It is cute and funny. The pictures are adorable. I have purchased it for several friends kiddos over the year.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Excellent children's book!
Format: Hardcover
Greg Pizzoli's wonderful book, The Watermelon Seed, is a delight for children and adults alike! The whimsical illustrations he creates, keep children glued to each page. It is fun and enjoyable to read over and over again with a child that just has to have it read every single night to them. The story is sweet, simple and meaningful. Whether you are looking for a book for your child, another child or the child in yourself-dive right in. This one is terrific!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2018