Althouse: "Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory."

১৩ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

"Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory."

Said Benjamin Disraeli.

২৩টি মন্তব্য:

Peano বলেছেন...: A biography isn't a history?; ১৩/১২/১১, ৭:৩১ PM
Michael বলেছেন...: I am coming to agree with this.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৭:৩৯ PM
traditionalguy বলেছেন...: Does he mean auto biographies like Ben Franklin, U S Grant and Winston Churchill produced.

The level of fiction does go way up when men who were not there tell tall tales about what probably happened.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৭:৪১ PM
Chip S. বলেছেন...: Disraeli failed to anticipate Lytton Strachey.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৭:৪৬ PM
Tim বলেছেন...: "The level of fiction does go way up when men who were not there tell tall tales about what probably happened."

Indeed so. There is, most assuredly, no fiction in either of Barack Obama's New York Times best-selling autobiographies.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৭:৪৯ PM
Jose_K বলেছেন...: The same was said before by Montaigne and after by Emerson; ১৩/১২/১১, ৭:৫৪ PM
rcocean বলেছেন...: Tommy Carlyle would disagree.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৮:১১ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: Chip S. said...
Disraeli failed to anticipate Lytton Strachey.
------------------

Bitterly ironic post..but a thread winner; ১৩/১২/১১, ৮:১২ PM
rcocean বলেছেন...: Here's a Disraeli quote for Althouse:

"Be amusing: never tell unkind stories; above all, never tell long ones."; ১৩/১২/১১, ৮:৩৫ PM
edutcher বলেছেন...: There is no biography without history and history is usually more interesting.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৮:৫৩ PM
Tyrone Slothrop বলেছেন...: "Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory."

But for God's sake stay away from autobiography, unless you are a student of self-serving mendacity.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৯:০০ PM
rcocean বলেছেন...: "But for God's sake stay away from autobiography, unless you are a student of self-serving mendacity."

Its either very, very good, or very very bad. Cf: "Memoirs of US Grant" and "Dreams of My father"; ১৩/১২/১১, ৯:০৩ PM
Paul বলেছেন...: As long as the biography is not BS märchen (look at Obama's) I can agree with him.

But sadly many biographies are just promotions of viewpoint and not fully fact based.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৯:২৫ PM
Tyrone Slothrop বলেছেন...: rcocean said...

Its either very, very good, or very very bad. Cf: "Memoirs of US Grant" and "Dreams of My father"

I actually thought about Grant after I wrote that. His Memoirs is the exception that proves the rule. Compare it to Eisenhower's Crusade in Europe. I expected Eisenhower to be somewhat modest, but Crusade is basically about how everyone sucked except for Eisenhower.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৯:২৭ PM
নামহীন বলেছেন...: History without theory is not biography.

History without theory is genealogy.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৯:৩১ PM
rcocean বলেছেন...: "I expected Eisenhower to be somewhat modest, but Crusade is basically about how everyone sucked except for Eisenhower."

You mean Monty?; ১৩/১২/১১, ৯:৩২ PM
Tyrone Slothrop বলেছেন...: Monty, DeGaulle, even Churchill.; ১৩/১২/১১, ৯:৫৩ PM
chuck বলেছেন...: Disraeli's autobiography was a vast disappointment to me, thin and empty of scandal or revelations. But I note he said biography, not autobiography.; ১৩/১২/১১, ১০:৪৯ PM
themightypuck বলেছেন...: Imagine Obama saying something like that?; ১৩/১২/১১, ১১:৩৭ PM
Tibore বলেছেন...: Not to disagree with the eminent Disraeli, but that's horrid advice. No one's ever gotten better educated by ignoring entire areas of study.

The better advice would be to read everything critically, and work to understand context beyond any single piece. Unfortunately, pithy statements like "read no history" lends itself to being quoted better. Sad, but true.; ১৪/১২/১১, ৮:২৯ AM
Peter বলেছেন...: The last biography I read way "Khrushchev: A Political Life" by Wm. J. Tompson. And it was well worth reading.

But if you read only biographies you'll miss a great deal of history- such as, what life was like for Everyman, and the nature of (for example) popular culture.

BTW, there's an interesting article in Vanity Fair, which asserts that popular culture has been mostly frozen for the last 20 years or so.

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/01/prisoners-of-style-201201; ১৪/১২/১১, ৯:২৫ AM
Crunchy Frog বলেছেন...: Everyone sucked except for Patton.

wv: tobici - or not tobici; ১৪/১২/১১, ৩:০০ PM
BJM বলেছেন...: @rcocean

"I have a phobia of Benjamin Disraeli's hair." - Billy Bob Thorton.

Just thought I'd lob this into the thread for no reason other than it amuses me (Thorton also fears antique Louis Quatorze baroque furniture).; ১৪/১২/১১, ৪:৪৬ PM