Lamb is one of those early, popular historians, that is great on narrative, but not necessarily the best at following the rules of historical writing.Lamb is one of those early, popular historians, that is great on narrative, but not necessarily the best at following the rules of historical writing. Most bigger biographers have avoided writing about Hannibal because most of what we know about Hannibal comes from Roman writers (with their biases fully intact). Lamb understands that limit, but also dances around it by speculation and assumption. A good story, but one that will always exist within a vague cloud of obscurity and bias....more
So many parts of this hit so hard. It is a lesson of how Israel's relationship with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is a warning of sSo many parts of this hit so hard. It is a lesson of how Israel's relationship with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is a warning of state and economic power when other states use the tools of Israel to control their population or separate those they control. The bias of information coming of Israel and Palestine is problematic. This book is written by a former Israeli, interviewing experts in Israel, and is well-researched and careful. It is also scary. I would love to see Israel to live up to its potential instead of another pariah state. This book was published, however, right before the October 7 attacks and Israel's response makes my optimistic hope seem like a child's fantasy. Especially in this environment in both Israel and the United States. ...more
So, I first became aware of John G. Turner when I read his masterful biography of Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet. As I non-practicing Mormon, I felt hSo, I first became aware of John G. Turner when I read his masterful biography of Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet. As I non-practicing Mormon, I felt he did a fantastic job of telling Young's story and also framing Young in his time and space. I missed reading this over Thanksgiving, but figured late December was better than never, so I picked it up. Turner's approach to the Pilgrims using the lens of American Liberty is instructive to informing the myth surrounding liberty and the myth of the Pilgrims....more
A good survey of the history and varieties of empire. Also contrasts and connects empire to colonialism, post-colonialism, Orientalism, etc. The linesA good survey of the history and varieties of empire. Also contrasts and connects empire to colonialism, post-colonialism, Orientalism, etc. The lines between the previous are all quite muddied as is the very definition of empire and imperialism. ...more
A pretty good survey of FLW's life. This is a man who evokes strong emotions. My daughter's contempt for him is only matched by her contempt for PaoloA pretty good survey of FLW's life. This is a man who evokes strong emotions. My daughter's contempt for him is only matched by her contempt for Paolo Soleri and his Arizona "town" Arcosanti. Strong feelings for sure. But I adore him. Perhaps, as a man, I can more easily separate the artist from his art, his character from his designs, his foibles from his style. He was an icon and a conman. He was a genius and an egoist. He was absolutely American....more
A great structure to examine Western Asia, Judaism, and Christianity's early history of a corporeal God. Dr. Stavrakopoulou dives into her intense disA great structure to examine Western Asia, Judaism, and Christianity's early history of a corporeal God. Dr. Stavrakopoulou dives into her intense dissection of God by examining religious writings looking at God's: Feet and Legs, Genitals, Torso, Arms and Hands, and Head. She gets right in there.
I grew up a Mormon so the early view of God(s) having a real body wasn't a big stretch for me. But I was impressed with the depth and exactness of her vision and she examines in detail God the Father and Jesus and those Gods that came before. ...more
A well-written and organized survey of the Roman Republic. Gwynn avoids getting bogged down and does a good job of balancing describing the Republic wA well-written and organized survey of the Roman Republic. Gwynn avoids getting bogged down and does a good job of balancing describing the Republic with analyzing the Republic. He also balances using the big primary sources: Livy, Polybius, Plutarch, and Cicero with many of the great academic historians of the Roman Republic....more
I think a lot of errors have been made my MSM trying to review this small book. They fear the last essay, but they lose the context of what he's sayinI think a lot of errors have been made my MSM trying to review this small book. They fear the last essay, but they lose the context of what he's saying in the essays before. This book works together. Essay 1: Is about the power of the word, of journalism, etc. Essay 2: Is essentially how Senegal, in the mind of Coates, his father, and other African Americans is a fantasy (the reality is not the dream that is held by many in the US). Essay 3 uses this framing to talk about 1) how the fact that MSM seldom lets Palestinians tell their own story fails all of us. We hear stories and myths about Palestine and Israel in narratives that are created by the MSM, by Israel, but almost never by the Palestinians themselves. Coates uses his own perspectives as a child of Jim Crowe era America to draw parallels with the Apartheid State that is Israel.
He also recognizes that even using that framing is limited, because despite the parallels, the Palestinian story told by him is still being framed by an outsider (a sympathetic outsider, but an outsider nonetheless). He mostly delivers what he's trying to deliver. That message, however, gets lost because a lot of Zionists aren't ready to hear the reality of what the state of Israel is doing and a lot of the old colonial nations aren't ready to hear it either, because what is happening now in Israel and Palestine is a reflection of what colonial powers have always done: take land that belonged to someone else and dehumanize those that were living there before....more
VSI#140 I don’t know if the subject matter was beyond the scale of VSI, or the author just struggled to give a 30,000 ft review of the Crusades withoutVSI#140 I don’t know if the subject matter was beyond the scale of VSI, or the author just struggled to give a 30,000 ft review of the Crusades without losing the thread, but I was hoping for a lot more from this short survey. It was dry, choppy, and seemed like a couple Crusades essays stitched together than a unified introduction. There were some interesting parts and I liked the author's refusal to pander to the myths or blame or excuse the crusades for more or less than realistic. A big missed opportunity....more
VSI 243. A great survey of the native people of North America. While not native, I live in AZ and adore the unique perspective of native writers and sVSI 243. A great survey of the native people of North America. While not native, I live in AZ and adore the unique perspective of native writers and stories. The authors of this book Theda Perdue and Michael D Green (both professors of history at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), while not Native themselves, do a good job of surveying the history and diversity of the native people of North America. Their survey doesn't have enough room to explore very deep on any one topic, but they incorporate a lot in a short book....more
I had four roommates (and friends) my senior year in college. The other three all took an honors course that required them to read Ellul's Propaganda I had four roommates (and friends) my senior year in college. The other three all took an honors course that required them to read Ellul's Propaganda and the Technological Society. Not wanting to be left out of our late night conversations, I bought and read the books. They felt prescient 24 years ago. Now, after FB, Twitter, TikTok, FoxNews, MSNBC, etc., it feels that Ellul really stuck the landing. If anything he may have underestimated the scale of communications (phones and social media) that would dominate our 21st century. We have been encircled by technology, technique, and propaganda. I would love to have seen his take on AI and social media....more
"He dared to think and believe what other brave men would have shrunk from contemplating. He He was an adventurer in the intellectual and the spiritua"He dared to think and believe what other brave men would have shrunk from contemplating. He He was an adventurer in the intellectual and the spiritual as well as the physical world and it was this combination of interests, actively followed, which made him unique, one of the rarest personalities ever seen on earth." - Byron Farwell, Burton: A Biography of Sir Richard Francis Burton
While not an academic, it is hard not to think of him as a professional historian. Over a 40 year period he published 14 books, mostly focused on the Victorian period of exploration and war, mostly published by Norton and Viking.
The book isn't a hagiography. Burton had many faults, many short-comings, many quirks and Farwell highlights those as well as his brilliance and bravery. I can't give it my highest ratings for biographies simply because while I adore both Burton and Farwell, this isn't up to the level of Robert A Caro, Edmund Morris, or say David W. Blight. It was really good, just not great. The narrative drive of the book is sidetracked by Burton himself who jumps from place to place, ship to ship, idea to idea.
That said, it is a fantastic start to exploring Burton's character and to gain insight into England during its Victorian period in Africa, South America, and the Middle East. Points should also be given to not ignoring Burton's wife and her role in Burton's life....more
Whenever there is a disaster of epic proportions, something so grand it adjusts the way we look at the world (think Greeks and volcanos, other civilizWhenever there is a disaster of epic proportions, something so grand it adjusts the way we look at the world (think Greeks and volcanos, other civilizations with fires, floods, famines) a myth often gets created to explain it. Gods were made. Stories were told. We need to make sense of the world and grand myths give us structure.
The 20th century, with its world wars and the emergence of quantum mechanics and the atomic age, created a huge disruption. The gods that came out of the 20th century were mathematicians and physicists (at least for a while) and we developed myths about them. Certainly, they were real men, with real passions; real flesh and blood, but they were our rock stars, our saviors, a ultimately, perhaps, our destroyers.
The use of fiction mingled with nonfiction isn't new. We have seen it several times with Norman Mailer, Hilary Mantel, Truman Capote, etc. We see it all the time with movies (Based on a true story). But often, when we mix fiction and nonfiction, it causes some heartburn in those who crave certainty. The problem is we live in an age of uncertainty. We have deconstructed the atom and history. Even those histories that seem rigorous and scholarly, can also be perceived as works of fiction. Just like an electron can take an infinite number of paths between two points, so too can a historian when writing about a grand figure of history. Gaps are filled. Assumptions are made. Things are included and excluded. The record is only so available. The reader either fills in what she wants or the author, in sketching a line between points ,makes an assumption about a path.
What Labatut has done here is explicitly been creative in those gaps. He's ventured into an almost mythic and surreal darkness and come out with a story that seems born as much as written. These stories weave a fabric together with fact and fiction and the pattern is dark, but also illuminates....more
I liked it. Ravenna is like a wonderful cracked mirror to view Constantinople, Rome, and the rest of the Mediterranean. It is also a fascinating windoI liked it. Ravenna is like a wonderful cracked mirror to view Constantinople, Rome, and the rest of the Mediterranean. It is also a fascinating window to enlighten the ebbs and flows of the Catholic and "Eastern" Church's (along with Ravenna's fling with Arianism). Fascinating. I'll expand tomorrow. Night....more
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