Sunday, May 28, 2006
A new best-selling history
After yesterday's lament about the disappointments of "popular" history, I picked up today's Mexican edition of the Miami Herald and discovered that Nathaniel Philbrick's new book Mayflower has jumped onto the New York Times Non-Fiction Best-Seller List at #3.
I have in my library a copy of Philbrick's National Book Award-winning In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, which I have not yet read. Off the shelf it came, and my printer spewed out information about Philbrick's new book from his website. I'm intrigued.
Here may be a writer who shows proper respect for his primary sources, who doesn't concoct scenes for the sake of story-telling. One of the early reviews of Mayflower suggest just that:
"Gripping . . . compelling . . . Philbrick has a gift for drawing telling details from the primary accounts on which much of his book is based. . . [He] seamlessly weaves into his tale much of the new understanding of native people, the environment, the impact of disease, and other topics gleaned from the previous generation of historical scholarship. . . a fascinating story, and one Philbrick tells very well.” --Jenny Hale Pulsipher, Boston Globe
A reading of the book's Preface, available online, also suggests that Philbrick treats his sources judiciously, pulling from them quoted excerpts to underscore the authenticity of the material.
I'm bookmarking Philbrick's website for future reference and retiring to bed for an evening of reading.
I have in my library a copy of Philbrick's National Book Award-winning In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, which I have not yet read. Off the shelf it came, and my printer spewed out information about Philbrick's new book from his website. I'm intrigued.
Here may be a writer who shows proper respect for his primary sources, who doesn't concoct scenes for the sake of story-telling. One of the early reviews of Mayflower suggest just that:
"Gripping . . . compelling . . . Philbrick has a gift for drawing telling details from the primary accounts on which much of his book is based. . . [He] seamlessly weaves into his tale much of the new understanding of native people, the environment, the impact of disease, and other topics gleaned from the previous generation of historical scholarship. . . a fascinating story, and one Philbrick tells very well.” --Jenny Hale Pulsipher, Boston Globe
A reading of the book's Preface, available online, also suggests that Philbrick treats his sources judiciously, pulling from them quoted excerpts to underscore the authenticity of the material.
I'm bookmarking Philbrick's website for future reference and retiring to bed for an evening of reading.
# posted by Tom Colvin @ 8:28 PM 
