It isn’t what I guessed, but Opus has found his paradise, a place where many of us would be content.
[Read me] my favorite [book], the same one you’ve read me two hundred nine times.
Opus, Goodnight Opus
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Bookish Linkage After the minor uproar caused by a Nobel Literature Award judge saying the U.S. was too insular, here’s an idea: be less insular. If you for some reason doubt we suffer literary insularity, it’s estimated that translated works account for only 0.6% of all the new fiction titles being published in the U.S. and 3.3% of all literature titles. After taking on the rationality of belief in God, Richard Dawkins will put something else under his analytical microscope: Harry Potter. Even though Halloween is over don’t you think South Dakota should have a haunted library? My wife could be described as a bookstore widow but for the fact we’re both addicted — which makes both of us very happy. (Via.) There’s a good examination of what Cormac McCarthy’s The Road owes to Walter Miller’s classic Hugo Award-winning A Canticle for Leibowitz. I’m sorry but this entry pushed me over the edge. I’ve removed the Orwell diaries blog from my RSS reader given the persistence and cumulation of leaden entries. Nonbookish Linkage Favorite news story of the week. SF Signal asks if SF plays a role in the lack of interest in space exploration. Hmm, maybe this is why the Argus-Leader‘s Randell Beck hasn’t posted to his blog in more than seven months (after a total of 10 entries). I may be a b.o.f. but it seems like a lot of new slang comes from prisons. I’d also be all hunched up like a dog on staples deciding between April in Paris and Queen Mum. (Via.) Election-type Linkage I’ve always thought “None of the Above” should be listed for every office in an election. There’s an interesting survey for the US election underway that uses a variation called majority judgment voting. Here’s a sobering thought as we head into the election: there’s more slaves today than at any time in human history. A politician … is a man who thinks of the next election; while the statesman thinks of the next generation. James Freeman Clarke, “Wanted, A Statesman!” Gaining and keeping the average reader’s interest in history is a problem authors have faced for, well, probably most of history. One method is to try to liven things up with different takes or an unusual focus. That’s the promise of The Mental Floss History of the World: An Irreverent Romp through Civilization’s Best Bits. It’s a promise not totally fulfilled. The book approaches its subject like mental_floss magazine, trying to make gaining knowledge fun and accessible. Still, for the most part this 400+ page work is world history in a nutshell. In fact, each chapter starts with “In A Nutshell,” a summary of the time period it covers The 12 chapters use the same format throughout. The satellite’s eye view of the nutshell is followed by a timeline of a dozen or so significant events. Additional detail is provided in four ensuing subsections. The first, “Spinning The Globe,” takes a generally geographic approach to looking at countries, empires, peoples or events. The other three look at a variety of events, people and trends — good, bad, silly or outrageous — impacting subjects as wide ranging as food, weapons, religion, alcohol and sex. Each chapter concludes with statistical information relevant to the time period, such as average life expectancy, population or the length of time it took to build or the size of certain structures. Throughout, there are sidebars on various events, kingdoms or personalities as well as items of trivia. The consistent style makes this a world history work in which one chapter is not necessarily dependent on having read a prior chapter and it is easy to find the quickest summary for a chapter’s time period. Where the book falters, though, is in trying to live up to its subtitle. Granted, The Mental Floss History of the World has a contemporary conversational tone and is replete with witticisms, puns and attempts at humorous asides. But it is irreverent only to the extent that including the history and development of the pretzel, gin or condoms as among “civilization’s best bits” is considered irreverence. While the digressions may be somewhat more interesting or entertaining than what appears in standard works of history, the fact remains that most of the book is, of necessity, a recounting of dates, empires, wars and personalities. That said, authors Erik Sass and Steve Wiegand (also the author of U.S. History for Dummies) do a commendable job of telling civilization’s story. Moreover, they take the focus beyond “Western” civilization to freely incorporate Indian, African, South American and Asian history. While the reader might question some of the detours they take (one of the lengthiest sidebars deals with the various wars in the Mediterranean from roughly 500 BCE to 300 BCE), they have accomplished the unenviable task of producing a generally well written one volume history of the world. Ultimately, though, The Mental Floss History of the World best serves as a incidental diversion for those who aren’t quite history buffs, a Reader’s Digest-type reference on broader historical topics or an excellent bathroom reader. It will not, though, make history’s list of the most entertaining romps through world history, irreverent or not. Hunger is a great motivator[.] Although taking the name of a real person, Al Swearengen was the aptly named owner of The Gem Saloon on the HBO series Deadwood. Not only was Al never at a loss for obscenities, he had no problem feeding his deceased opponents to Mr. Wu’s pigs. I’d love to hear his response to an article in the latest National Geographic Traveler magazine. The article is based on a survey of experts assessing the authenticity and stewardship of 109 historic destinations around the world. Deadwood is the only South Dakota locale to make the list. But it came in 103rd, immediately under the caption “Worst-Rated Places.” Here’s what the article says:
A few other comments appear online, including the following description of the town: “Transient and unrewarding.” Even though the Al we know today is the creation of screenwriters, I imagine his reaction to the town being described as hokey and unrewarding might blister the air. And I think Al might be more than a little irate that the town is overrun with casinos. After all, just having one casino across from The Gem prompted several of his nefarious plots. You can’t slit the throat of everyone whose character it would improve. Al Swearengen, “Mr. Wu,” Deadwood |
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