An Empire of Their Own (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Neal Gabler
- First Published: 1988
- Type of Work: Biography and social history
- Time of Work: The late nineteenth century to the 1980's
- Setting: Hollywood, California, and New York City
- Principal Characters: Adolph Zukor, Carl Laemmle, Louis B. Mayer, Harry Warner, Jack Warner, Harry Cohn
- Genres: Nonfiction, History
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, New York City, 1940’s, 1910’s, 1920’s, 1930’s, 1980’s, Ethnic groups, Jews or Jewish life, Films, movies, or motion pictures, Hollywood, 1900’s
- Locales: New York, NY, Hollywood, CA
The relationship between history and biography has always been difficult to define. Society and the individual are inseparable and interrelated; there is no individual outside of society, yet society is made up of individuals. The biographer necessarily distorts history by viewing the past through the life of his or her subject. What is alien to this subject, what occurs outside the control or knowledge of the individual, is reduced in importance or omitted, while contributions, even minor ones, are magnified. Social history, on the other hand, emphasizes the role of people in groups...
[The entire page is 2024 words long]
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