Posted by Racer on July 23, 2004, at 10:10:22
OK, so I'm teasing about Nikki -- in fact would love to hear a NikkiT Review of Mr Boorstin's work from another perspective.
I just started "Hidden History" last night, although I'm not sure I"ll be able to finish it right now. (Going into that depressive "can't read at all" phase again.) Mr Boorstin has special relevance for me, because he came to see my mother's collection some years ago, and then she went to see his collection at the Library of Congress. Mother was very much impressed by him -- and while she would never know it, I'm sure he was equally impressed by her, but that's a different story. (I come by my insecurities honestly...)
After reading only a very short section, I'm already impressed by what he's written. I'm still in the first chapter, where he details the elements involved in the survival of source materials. Most of it is not news to me, and the parts I recognize are things that I believe myself, so that helps raise his writing in my opinion, but what really blows me away is how much *is* new to me. It's always nice to learn something new, rather than just retreading familiar ground. (Of course, I know more European history than American history, so that makes it a little easier to surprise me...)
Who else has read his work? And what did you think?
poster:Racer
thread:369374
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/books/20040616/msgs/369374.html