Bring Out Your Dead : The Past as Revelation

Rating:
Summary: Erudite, Often Witty Look at the Republic of Letters
Review: Anthony Grafton acknowledges that his is an under-appreciated job. He is a scholar studying scholars, particularly those that comprised a Republic of Letters, humanists from the Renaissance until the Enlightenment. One of his favourites, Joseph Scaliger, is not a name that comes to many minds from this period of intellectual history in Europe but it will stay there after reading about him in two of the author's essays. Bring Out Your Dead (The Past as Revelation) has many fascinating portraits throughout,told in an erudite and witty style that will be understandable by readers with only a basic understanding of this period. It is interesting to see how the people of our past studied and used the history of their past. The reader is lucky to have Mr. Grafton as a guide through this journey as we navigate this hall of mirrors. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it after struggling with many unfamiliar names and concepts at the beginning. A worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Erudite, Often Witty Look at the Republic of Letters
Review: Anthony Grafton acknowledges that his is an under-appreciated job. He is a scholar studying scholars, particularly those that comprised a Republic of Letters, humanists from the Renaissance until the Enlightenment. One of his favourites, Joseph Scaliger, is not a name that comes to many minds from this period of intellectual history in Europe but it will stay there after reading about him in two of the author's essays. Bring Out Your Dead (The Past as Revelation) has many fascinating portraits throughout,told in an erudite and witty style that will be understandable by readers with only a basic understanding of this period. It is interesting to see how the people of our past studied and used the history of their past. The reader is lucky to have Mr. Grafton as a guide through this journey as we navigate this hall of mirrors. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it after struggling with many unfamiliar names and concepts at the beginning. A worthwhile read.