I think I bought a book on Antiquity by him, but now I’m worried that it won’t be any good. I love history, particularly ancient history and medieval history, but what would you recommend for someone who gets their books from a place like Borders or Barnes & Noble (up here it’s Chapters, which is a great store in my opinion)? I’m no expert on who the premier names in the field are, so I can often only go on, literarly, judging the book by its cover. Any tips?
Don’t sweat it. It might be pretty enjoyable. If you want a really well-written and accessible book on late antiquity, check out The World of Late Antiquity by Peter Brown.
What’s it about?
It’s about 20 bucks.
About 500 pages.
My fee for teeing up straight lines is $1.25 per. Please remit to the Mother’s March Against Cognitive Dissonance. Thank you.
If you want the 148 page version, try The Making of Late Antiquity. The chapters are individual lectures Brown gave. Also a wonderful place to begin studying an awesome period.
Get with the now–that’s a multipli-handi-capable goat!
Bynum?
Will it make you feel any better to know that I just followed that link and I now have one more Christmas gift crossed off my list? Thanks!
But of course. The look she gave me when I told her quite confidently that her mentor was dead was priceless.
Thanks, I appreciate the recommendation, but what I’m more wondering is how does someone get to know who to read? For example, I thought the Cantor book looked good, as did others by him, because of the recommendations on the cover (yes, I know, of course they’ll be glowing, I’m more referring to the credentials listed). But I could have no way of knowing that this Peter Brown would be the better choice.
I’ve read a book by Karen Armstrong on the Crusades and modern times, which was excellent, but is there something better? I’ve read a book by Bernard Lewis on the history of the Middle East, which was also excellent, but now I’m worried he may not have been good enough. There are others, like Europe by Norman Davies, which are in the queue. Where can I find out if these are the best people to read? Any ideas?
Tough question. FWIW, you are spot on with Karen Armstrong and Bernard Lewis. I assume you are talking about Armstrong’s Holy War, which is an outstanding book. I am a very big admirer of her work, and had the opportunity to cross paths with her about two years ago.
Same for Lewis. Though he takes some flack for his unflinching critique of modern Islamic culture, he is exceptionally erudite and really knows what he is talking about.
In general, it is not easy to tell the good from the bad without some background in the subject. I’ve read a bunch of crappy books without knowing better in fields that I knew nothing about. I think I’ve read half a dozen of Cantor’s books, and that is time I will never geet back.
But the digger you deep and the more you try to track references and footnotes, the greater the likelihood that you will stumble onto something good. It also helps to know people who know something about these fields and who are willing to give you suggestions. If you are feeling really motivated, google. You can find grad school reading lists, curricula, and syllabi all over the internet. If you want to learn more about, say, medieval history, see what the kids who take Intro to Medieval History are reading.
I don’t know why, but being self referential in a history book is just a major pet peeve of mine. It’s fine when it’s a Vietnam correspondent or William Shirer or some such who in a book of history mentions in the first person something primary that they witnessed, but the above example (even if it were accurate) is of the kind that drives me nuts. Stephen Ambrose was one of the worst offenders (what the hell does your family’s camping trip have to do with Custer? If you learned an interesting anecdote about Custer on the camping trip then cite and include it, but I’m reading this book for info on him) or Richard Marius who goes into a two page discussion of a hippie commune he witnessed while in his biography of Martin Luther- NO! NYET! NEIN!
I have no problem with memoirs, I like them in fact, but if it’s in history then your job is to talk about the subject and be as unobtrusive as a good waiter. You could just as easily say “Ring Around the Rosies is still a nursery rhyme” rather than “when I was a boy riding a pony to school yadda yadda”.
Sorry, rant out.
See, this is why I check out books at the library first. Once an author has impressed me, I will buy their books, but the library copy is the first one I read.
You might want to also check out Albert Hourani’s “History of the Arab Peoples”. It’s not perfect…it’s biased, but good.