About the Author

James J. Sheehan is Dickason Professor in the Humanities and Professor of History at Stanford University.

Reviews

James Sheehan has done a masterful job with the project he undertook ... this important book promises to attract and reward readers for years to come. Central European History Sheehan has written this masterful history almost entirely from published sources. His bibliography features a remarkable array of works in German and English, and this list in itself is a valuable contribution to the study of museums and the art world. Central European History ... concise and well-crafted ... James Sheehan is indeed a master of the historical craft ... clear organization, lucid prose, and the ability to balance a broadly sweeping narrative with close readings of specific subjects ... the author does an outstanding job of making a complex history very accessible. Central European History James Sheehan's masterly study is a contribution of great originality and power to our understanding of the crucial interaction between culture and politics in Germany from the mid-eighteenth to the early twentieth century ... anyone interested in the political and cultural history of Germany between the Enlightenment and the First World War will find this book rewarding. German History A trail-blazing work of great distinction ... written with all the author's customary elegance and wit ... many splendid visual illustrations intelligently chosen and integrated in the text. German History Handsome, compact, well-written and well-illustrated ... Museums in the German Art World engages demanding intellects on a broad front, but it is so clearly written that an outsider can read it like an adventure story. History [an] elegant study ... Museums in the German Art World impresses most by its lucidity and concision. In fewer than 200 pages, Sheehan traces the history of a major public institution in half a dozen or so German states over more than a century. Cultural, intellectual, and institutional histories are woven together with sparkling case studies of significant buildings ... Perhaps the most significant message of this story is that museums make their own history - they are monumental acts of reflection that bear witness not only to current fashions, but also to the modern era's changing consciousness of its past. Christopher Clark, The Times Literary Supplement