Early on, I read Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century." Totally threw me, because she was such a good storyteller, such a solid writer, cover to cover, yet tightly beholden to the facts. It was a history written from the rabble's point of view. Soon, I read Howard Zinn's "The People's History of the United States" and found a compadre in the modern world. Now, I read Southwest archaeology which, because of writers like David Stuart and Steven Lekson, has become a narrative history rather than a series of scientific observations. And, now, when I have the all-too-infrequent chances to talk about a history, I always go to the ground floor, to the farmer, to the mill worker, and how their survival was what all was built upon. Today's "farmer" is the entrepreneur, upon which Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and their ilk are built upon. History tells us that the elite don't fully appreciate the efforts and thinking and foresight of those who have to "till the land" to make their way. And, it is their downfall. Thanks for your take on all this.
Early on, I read Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century." Totally threw me, because she was such a good storyteller, such a solid writer, cover to cover, yet tightly beholden to the facts. It was a history written from the rabble's point of view. Soon, I read Howard Zinn's "The People's History of the United States" and found a compadre in the modern world. Now, I read Southwest archaeology which, because of writers like David Stuart and Steven Lekson, has become a narrative history rather than a series of scientific observations. And, now, when I have the all-too-infrequent chances to talk about a history, I always go to the ground floor, to the farmer, to the mill worker, and how their survival was what all was built upon. Today's "farmer" is the entrepreneur, upon which Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and their ilk are built upon. History tells us that the elite don't fully appreciate the efforts and thinking and foresight of those who have to "till the land" to make their way. And, it is their downfall. Thanks for your take on all this.
I appreciate these thoughts, Andy. Thanks for sharing (and for reading!). You've also prodded me to read a new author or two.