stupidity

This week, for some reason I don't now recall, I read Stupid American history : tales of stupidity, strangeness, and mythconceptions by Leland Gregory. I can't say it was a horrible book. I mean, it was quick and easy to read. But about half of the bits of trivia were corrections of misconceptions, right (Thus the 'mythconception' in the title)? And is it just me, or doesn't it seem like if you are going to correct something and establish a fact, you would provide a resource? No resources. None. Zero. No citations (other than a random handful--four or five--that were dropped in with the fact). How do I know it is true? How can I be sure it's not made up like the previous misconception? I was a little disappointed. Maybe it's because I'm an archivist and so I feel like these things should be documented.

It was also interesting (and again, this is the archivist me) that there were certain facts that were hearsay. For example, what Benedict Arnold may or may not have said on his deathbed. One story says one thing, but because his wife wrote down a different account, that must be true. Well, just because something is written doesn't make it true. And his wife may have had reasons not to be truthful about his last words. Or she may be right. Who knows? I wasn't there, and neither was this guy, and since there is no citation of his source or why it should be trusted, who knows what is true? That is the beauty of history. It's so spinnable.

Anyway, I've also read some other books. I started Out of the Silent Planet, by C.S. Lewis (who knew he did sci-fi?), read The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, which I really enjoyed. Juvenile fiction, story about a gorilla with a mission. Nice heartwarming story, interesting perspective, gets you thinking a little. I've been listening to a few books on CD--most notably the Artemis Fowl series, an oldie but goodie that I can read over and over again. I've taken a bit more time to dig in to some reading, which has been nice. I still have an enormous book list, but in time. I'm glad that reading has felt more relaxing lately. Always a plus.

Anyway, I hope that you have enjoyed some good books lately, and that you'll overlook the archival rant!