Among all forms of prehistoric religion, the strangest and most difficult to understand in our own day seems the cult of the dead, the constant presence of the dead in every aspect of life. To a prehistoric man, in contrast, our strangest and most mysterious form of worship would be our use of books. Yet [...]
Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
What accompanies us
Posted in Books, Quotation on March 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Changing the world
Posted in Books on December 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Some book and media titles from the Multnomah County Library:
50 Aircraft That Changed the World
50 Battles That Changed the World
50 Companies That Changed the World
80 Days That Changed the World
Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
Bridges That Changed the World
Five Equations That Changed the World
Great Scientific Ideas That Changed the World
The Gun [...]
Sherlock Holmes
Posted in Books on December 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
When I was a child, I got The Complete Sherlock Holmes Treasury as a Christmas present (probably from Aunt Judy). Of course I read it right away—what nine-year-old can resist Sherlock Holmes?—and would re-read it every two or three years as I forgot how the cases ended (though I could never forget “The Red-Headed League”).
I [...]
A sub-blurb
Posted in Books on September 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A cover blurb from the paperback edition of Jonathan I. Israel’s Radical Enlightenment:
One of the truly great historical works of the decade.
The book and the blurb were published in 2001.
Loving the alien
Posted in Academic, Books, Life on August 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A few days ago, I wrote about how difficult it can be to learn about cultures that are unconnected to one’s own; how we lack a context in which to understand what we are trying to learn.
Part of my difficulty in this kind of learning is that I tend to approach it purely intellectually, which [...]
Returning to the Republic
Posted in Academic, Books, Portland on August 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
As an undergraduate, I took two runs at Plato’s Republic, neither notably successful. I am sure I know where to find the paper I wrote about it, and equally sure I would rather leave it where I have lain it.
Thanks to the fine folks at Multnomah County Library (full disclosure: I work for MCL, which [...]
Henry Fairlie
Posted in Academic, Books, History, Politics on August 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In the post immediately below, I note how good British commentaries on the United States can be. One example:
Henry Fairlie was a British journalist who worked in the United States from the mid-1960s until his death in 1990. If you like American political history and ever have the opportunity to read The Kennedy Promise or [...]
The effects of World War II
Posted in Books, History, Life on August 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The two best books I have read so far this year are Cultural Amnesia by Clive James and Austerity Britain by David Kynaston. Both books deal at great length with the effects of World War II on their main subjects (for James, the culture of Mitteleuropa; for Kynaston, British daily life).
One of the smallest effects [...]
“Bookhunter” interview
Posted in Books, LIS on August 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
My friend and co-worker Laural Winter interviews Jason Shiga, the author of Bookhunter, my favorite graphic novel.
Bookhunter is the story of how the Oakland Public Library’s detective squad and SWAT team cracked a 1973 book theft case. If you find the idea of a public library having a detective squad and a SWAT team intriguing, [...]
The Anatomy of Melancholy
Posted in Books on July 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The New York Review of Books edition of The Anatomy of Melancholy is 1382 pages long.
Here’s the problem with that.
If I’m feeling melancholy, then I’m in no condition to read a serious 1382-page book with a lot of Latin in it.
If I’m not feeling melancholy, then why would I want to think about melancholia?
It all [...]
