George R. Stewart (1895–1980)
Author of Earth Abides
About the Author
George R. Stewart (1895-1980) was a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley
Works by George R. Stewart
Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States (1945) 607 copies, 15 reviews
American place-names; a concise and selective dictionary for the continental United States of America (1970) 74 copies
American Given Names: Their Origin and History in the Context of the English Language (1986) 58 copies, 1 review
Donner Pass and those who crossed it; the story of the country made notable by the Stevens Party, the Donner Party, the… (1960) 16 copies
The year of the oath; the fight for academic freedom at the University of California (1971) 13 copies
Take your Bible in one hand; the life of William Henry Thomes, author of A whaleman's adventures on land and sea,… (1939) 8 copies
Doctor's oral 5 copies
John Phoenix, Esq., the veritable Squibob : a life of Captain George H. Derby, U.S.A., (1969) 4 copies, 1 review
Good lives 3 copies
The technique of English verse 2 copies
American Place Names 1 copy
A bibliography of the writings of Bret Harte in the magazines and newspapers of California, 1857-1871 (1977) 1 copy
Diary of Patrick Breen 1 copy
Associated Works
A Sense of History: The Best Writing from the Pages of American Heritage (1985) — Contributor — 472 copies, 4 reviews
Reader's Digest Best of the West: A Treasury of Western Adventure Volumes 1 & 2 (1976) — Contributor — 35 copies
Reader's Digest Best of the West: A Treasury of Western Adventure Volume 1 (1976) — Contributor — 12 copies
Recollections of Old Times in California or, California Life in 1843 (1974) — Introduction — 3 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Stewart, George R.
- Legal name
- Stewart, George Rippey, Jr.
- Birthdate
- 1895-05-31
- Date of death
- 1980-08-22
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Sewickley, Pennsylvania, USA
- Place of death
- San Francisco, California, USA
- Places of residence
- Berkeley, California, USA
- Education
- Princeton University (BA|1917)
University of California, Berkeley (MA|1920)
Columbia University (PhD|English literature|1922) - Occupations
- historian
toponymist
novelist
Professor of English - Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley
American Name Society - Awards and honors
- International Fantasy Award (1951)
Members
Discussions
George R Stewart's Earth Abides in Post-apocalyptic Literature (July 2010)
Reviews
Earth Abides by George R Stewart
Very introspective in tone and so different from Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic book [The Stand] and more similar to [Dying Inside]. A worthwhile read of how humanity might continue after the collapse of civilization.
½
As with his other books, namely Earth Abides and Storm, Stewart's writing strength lies in his non-human characters. The immense pragmatism of this novel almost made me forget that it was fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
This book was an amazing and astounding read. Some other reviews have used the word 'timeless' to describe it, and that is very apt. Stewart's narrative style, diction, and philosophical dialogs were flawless and engaging. This one is going on the favorites shelf.
Gosh this is a hard book to review and rate. There is constant jabber about ‘genre-bending’ works of fiction, I rarely find them genre-bending. Sheep Rock is an exception, although whether it is a successful case is another matter. The book is equal parts fiction, natural history, and philosophy, which coming from someone as erudite as Stewart should be a good thing. Later on in his life, Stewart looked back without fondness on Sheep Rock believing it to be a failed novel (See Donald Scott’s The Life and Truth of George R. Stewart), and I can understand why he felt that way. A better way to see this book is as a philosophy book with parables and supporting tales. In this sense it is truly genre-bending.
If someone was to pick up Sheep Rock hoping for a novel in the form of Storm, Earth Abides, or Fire the reader would be disappointed. This is a book about a specific place spanning time for generations, not about a specific plot. While these stories do drive home specific points of philosophy, they also reinforce the durability of place against human time. Themes, thoughts, and objects are constantly repeated and reinforced, which give the book a very strong aura of time and place as being both resistant to change and as repetitive. In a sense, its easy to say that the landscape has an effect on human activities, but Stewart makes sure that you can have absolutely no lingering doubts whatsoever about the immutability of this truth. In this sense, all the fictional stories of the book are subject to the philosophy, being relegated to the role of illustration.
Sheep Rock is not a fun read per se. It is dense, dry, repetitive, and at times alternately bland or exasperating. Our main character, Geoffrey, a poet with a fellowship who lives out his term at the eponymous locale, is self-absorbed, unnecessarily convoluted, and above all things, a bad poet. I was not a fan of him as a character, however, as an way to push forward Stewart’s philosophy, he worked. I found the other plots and stories much more interesting, if at times distracting.
If you class Sheep Rock as a book that illustrates philosophy, it works. As a novel it does not. Does the philosophy conveyed make Sheep Rock worth reading? Yes, although, I won’t go back to it hoping to be gripped to pages. Go in expecting to see how time and place affect Stewart’s mind and thoughts and you��ll be fine.… (more)
If someone was to pick up Sheep Rock hoping for a novel in the form of Storm, Earth Abides, or Fire the reader would be disappointed. This is a book about a specific place spanning time for generations, not about a specific plot. While these stories do drive home specific points of philosophy, they also reinforce the durability of place against human time. Themes, thoughts, and objects are constantly repeated and reinforced, which give the book a very strong aura of time and place as being both resistant to change and as repetitive. In a sense, its easy to say that the landscape has an effect on human activities, but Stewart makes sure that you can have absolutely no lingering doubts whatsoever about the immutability of this truth. In this sense, all the fictional stories of the book are subject to the philosophy, being relegated to the role of illustration.
Sheep Rock is not a fun read per se. It is dense, dry, repetitive, and at times alternately bland or exasperating. Our main character, Geoffrey, a poet with a fellowship who lives out his term at the eponymous locale, is self-absorbed, unnecessarily convoluted, and above all things, a bad poet. I was not a fan of him as a character, however, as an way to push forward Stewart’s philosophy, he worked. I found the other plots and stories much more interesting, if at times distracting.
If you class Sheep Rock as a book that illustrates philosophy, it works. As a novel it does not. Does the philosophy conveyed make Sheep Rock worth reading? Yes, although, I won’t go back to it hoping to be gripped to pages. Go in expecting to see how time and place affect Stewart’s mind and thoughts and you��ll be fine.… (more)
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nvblue | Aug 9, 2024 |
nvblue | Aug 9, 2024 | Lists
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Statistics
- Works
- 45
- Also by
- 8
- Members
- 6,465
- Popularity
- #3,802
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 165
- ISBNs
- 111
- Languages
- 6
- Favorited
- 12
