Comments on: A History of Anything

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

It’s an article, not a book, but your post brings to mind “The Ketchup Conundrum” by Malcom Gladwell (minutae demanding intense scrutiny and respect, etc.):
http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_09_06_a_ketchup.html

I’ve never been a ketchup person, but by the time I read the whole article I was dying for some with fries.

By: har

har — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I need some of these books. For decoration/gag gift purposes of course.

By: sharon

sharon — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Of course, those two books on Dust should not be confused with this one. (Which is fab.)

By: Caleb

Caleb — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

You’ve done it! “A Brief History of Brief Histories!” I expect to see this on the window table at my local Barnes and Noble soon.

By: sepoy

sepoy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Allison: thanks for that link. I had read it but forgotten.
Sharon: Dust is, indeed, spectacular.
Caleb & Har: For my B&N book, I will design the cover myself and I will call it Serious History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. This will begin the Serious History of… series. Like I said, I need an agent.

By: poorva

poorva — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Check out http://www.slate.com/id/2118854/entry/2118924/ for an interesting take (albeit an Americanist focus) on the gap between academic histories and B&N history books. There the guy picked on the great-man-biography fixation; whatever the faults of these simplistic teleological narratives on farts and whatnot, they have to be preferable to those.

Incidentally, what about Hendrik Hertzberg’s nod to Imran Khan in the recent issue of the New Yorker?

By: Evan

Evan — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Ekrich’s book sounds interesting. Hopefully I’ll get to recommend Bryan Palmer’s Cultures of Darkness to someone that’s reading Ekrich’s book. Palmer’s book is great, a social and cultural history of the night and transgressions, though sadly little-known.

By: thbt

thbt — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

That’s one in the eye for Simon Schama.

By: bhikku

bhikku — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

http://www.bhikku.net/archives/02/mar02.html#10