The Violin: A Social History of the World's Most Versatile Instrument Hardcover – December 10, 2012

[0.5 stars]This is a very poorly written book and should not have not been published in its current state. There appears to be a complete lack of editing. None. Zero. Zip. And sadly, this author clearly needs extensive help in writing in the English language, and in presentation of logic for English speakers. I will provide examples shortly.To my memory, I have NEVER stopped reading a book before I finished it and I have read thousands of books. My personal library at home -- for which I purchased this book -- consists of a couple thousand titles. In a similar way, I can't recall a time when I have walked out of a movie, no matter how painful the quality. Well, David Schoenbaum, you get the blue ribbon: I just could not finish your mess of a book. It is 600 pages of authorial chaos.Schoenbaum's writing is full of mish-mash logic flow, incomplete sentences, wrong verb selection, extremely poor sentence construction, and irrelevant references to historical figures and pop-culture. If you heard this guy telling stories at cocktail parties, you would quickly walk away. He may be a nice guy and enthusiastic for the subject, but a strong communicator and writer he is not.Examples:MISH-MASH LOGIC FLOW. Schoenbaum writes as if he is not a native English writer and speaker, and never transitioned well. There are examples on every page.Here's the whole opening paragraph to Chapter 3: "The special relationship began, as so often, with geography. Europe yearned for silk and spices. Italy linked demand with supply. The mercantile role transformed a natural entrepot into a producer in its own right, whose very vices somehow turned themselves into virtuous circles." God awful, isn't it? First of all, WHAT special relationship?! Then in the course of two sentences he jumps from discussing a continent, to discussing a nation, to discussing a port (and not just an entrepot, but a "natural" entrepot), to discussing a societal function's / classes' ethics and unexplained fortune. WHAT??? And then he plods on to the next extremely poor paragraph. And the next. And the next. And the next. PLEASE IF THERE BE AN EDITOR JUMP IN AND TAKE CONTROL OF THE KEYBOARD FROM SCHOENBAUM.Just to continue to show you how badly Schoenbaum presents logical flow, here's the next paragraph that follows the example I just cited: "Between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, even as its duchies, city-republics and mini-principalities inextricably entangled themselves in the conflicting claims and aspirations of Roman popes and German emperors, the peninsula's flourishing towns redefined urbanity, invented diplomacy, helped revolutionize warfare, and transformed international relations. Foreigners of every kind came to pray, fight, plunder, learn, buy, sell, to marvel at native ingenuity in every form, from the fork to the Sistine Chapel ceiling, to see the future, and to see the past." Again, WHAT A JUMBLED MESS. There are many things wrong here but for one just look at how he puts together lists, with infinitives-- then he doesn't use infinitives (dropping the "to")-- and then does. Now, imagine the whole book strung together with this quality of writing. Painful.Right from the start, the reader should be clued in to how bad this is going to get. The OPENING paragraph to the book is this:"There is no shortage of material for anyone interested in what the musicologist David Boyden called, "...the fascinating, arcane, and baffling world of the violin." In summer 2002, a key work search for "violin" in the Library of Congress's online catalogue produced 9,976 titles. A follow-up in the more expansive Research Libraries Information Network produced 104,881." THAT'S THE OPENING PARAGRAPH??!! God awful.And so we see that Schoenbaum looks like an eager "high school writer" of poor quality stringing together factoids lifted from the internet. 600 pages of this style yields a grade of "D-plus."INCOMPLETE, DISJOINTED SENTENCES. The book is full of them but here's two brief examples: pg. 39, "It was not only the end of an era in violin making." Huh?? On pg.85, "But Italy set the fashion, and it was Italian that France and England wanted and sold." WHAT LOUSY WRITING!!WRONG VERB SELECTION AND WORD USAGE. For example, he discusses a Chinese violin maker "lusting" after a certain type of wood. Far better verbs exist for this intended usage. He misuses the word "painted." He meant a PRINTED woodcut. He overuses the word "some" to the extreme (e.g., ...there were some eight violin manufacturers; ...some 25 different cities...; ...some four centuries of...). Schoenbaum demonstrates a real lack of true competence in English here.POOR SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION. The author continually has trouble with "conditional sentences" inverting placement of the "condition" from common, accepted practice. Again, painfully a problem, over and over again.IRRELEVANT REFERENCES TO HISTORICAL FIGURES AND POP-CULTURE. It's almost as if Schoenbaum is trying to demonstrate that he's hip, he's in the know, he's cool. It's sad. He calls one of his chapters, "Back to the Future." Really? Try this gem on pg. 101,"Collectively, they seemed a blend of the young Marx, in flight from capitalist alienation, and Benjamin Braddock, the title figure in the era's emblematic film, The Graduate, in flight from a career in plastics." Really?... really? In a book about violins? Terrible stuff! Over and over again he tries these cultural references and it is MISERABLY PITIFUL.I hope I save the readers of this review both time and money, and that Schoenbaum gets some badly needed editorial supervision.

There is the violin, and then there is the world of the violin. I know that world pretty well, and I can tell you that Dr. Schoenbaum has covered it well and accurately. That world spans 500 years, from times that we'd hardly recognize to five minutes ago. Not only have violins been in use for these five centuries, but many specific violins have been in continual daily use, some of them for over 350 years. These cantankerous tough little one pound wonders get used, over used, and abused daily, yet are sometimes as good as new. But it is the people of that world--the makers, dealers, players, listeners, composers, repairers, collectors, painters, and writers--that this book deals with, and how the violin effected them and their lives. And it is surprising to see the scope of it.To paraphrase the jacket notes for a recording of the Four Seasons by John Corigliano (Sr.) some years ago: Just to play the damned notes in tune is a major achievement. That's a beginning for how I feel about this book: for Schoenbaum to have merely covered so much material is an achievement in itself. But he's done more. He's done it beautifully and has cared enough to get it right. His section on the working lives of violinists through the ages is something I haven't seen anywhere else.I admit that it might be an easier read for those of us for whom names like Salomon, Savart, or Saunders are old friends. There is so much information crammed into every page that it might be at first daunting to others. But if you have any interest at all in the violin, this book will be well worth the money. And it also will point the way toward other wonderful sources. I treasure this book. Thank you David Schoenbaum. The violin world owes you a debt of gratitude.

Dr. Schoenbaum's remarkable and comprehensive book about the violin and the network of cultural and commercial institutions that has grown up around it, is truly groundbreaking.As a violin collector, I am more than moderately familiar with the world of violin experts, competent or sham, and of violin dealers, honest or venal. This book is the first I've seen that addresses the underbelly of the violin world accurately and competently.Dr. Schoenbaum's research tapped the expertise of violin world insiders directly. I first heard of his project when my friend, Robert Bein, the late, great Chicago violin expert and dealer, told me that Dr. Schoenbaum was "the real deal", a serious researcher seeking accurate information (as opposed, I suppose, to a yellow journalist seeking sensation). I know that Bein and many other fiddle-world luminaries spent hours and hours with Dr. Shoenbaum educating him on the twists and turns and lore of the violin trade. I believe this book is unique in that it enjoyed the active cooperation and trust of those who really are involved in the violin business.Of course, "The Violn" goes far beyond a mere discussion of the violin trade. It is also presents the fascinating history of the instrument's development, the incredible genius of the early Cremonese makers, the colorful personalities of artists that perform on the violin, and the unique significance of the instrument as a totem of Western culture.Oh, and did I mention that the book is entertaining, witty and exceedingly well written?

A huge collection on one subject but manages to remain riveting!

Pretty much everything is there from its history to present day prices. Not necessarily to be read through but enjoyed as a comprehensive reference book.

Clearly written, easy to read, covering a huge amount of facts collected from many experts associated with every aspect of the violin. A useful reference work and a most commendable treatise written by an enthusiastic lover of the instrument.

Ein gewaltiges Informationswerk liegt hier vor. Kein Zweifel, der Autor hat sich auch in den letzten Winkeln von Bibliotheken umgetan und wirklich faszinierende Details zutage gefördert. Aber: es sieht so aus, als hätte er seine Daten/Informationen in der Reihenfolge im Buch niedergelegt, wie sie ihm grade untergekommen sind. Ein Chaos sondersgleichen, unfreundlich zu lesen , weil die Thematik herumspringt und die Geschichten kreuz und quer erzählt werden. Als Lexikon geeignet, aber nicht zur Lektüre. Werde es an einen Geigenbauer weiterverschenken.