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lagilmanDaniel Boorstin 1914-2004
One of the truly great writer-historians. Required reading when I was in college, whcih is only as it should be. But he was so much more than "merely" a great interpreter of our past--
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/29/national/29BOOR.html
Not always a perfect man, not even someone I would have agreed with a great deal of the time. But we needed him then, and we'll miss him now.
"For each of us, reading remains a private, uniquely qualitative nook of our life. As readers, then, we are refugees from the flood of contemporaneous mathematicized homogeneity. With a book, we are at home with ourselves." -- Daniel Boorstin, on books.
*raises glass to one who will be missed...*
One of the truly great writer-historians. Required reading when I was in college, whcih is only as it should be. But he was so much more than "merely" a great interpreter of our past--
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/29/national/29BOOR.html
Not always a perfect man, not even someone I would have agreed with a great deal of the time. But we needed him then, and we'll miss him now.
"For each of us, reading remains a private, uniquely qualitative nook of our life. As readers, then, we are refugees from the flood of contemporaneous mathematicized homogeneity. With a book, we are at home with ourselves." -- Daniel Boorstin, on books.
*raises glass to one who will be missed...*
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In memoriam
Date: 2004-02-29 11:36 am (UTC)One of the truly great writer-historians
True.
Though I am not familiar with Boorstin's writings, I think his contributions were, as you wrote, needed in his day. My late grandfather was a political historian (a professor at National Taiwan University who was a biographer of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai). I know just a couple of his colleagues from the LoC, Harvard, and Stanford, and I'm sure they benefitted from the glasnost he achieved, whether they (or we) would agree with his political opinions.
*raises glass to one who will be missed...*
Indeed, quite a loss.
One hopes, despite some evidence in that direction, that he was not the last of a dwindling breed.
(I actually don't think he necessarily was, in that as I read it, his chief legacy is the inspiration of more writers and historians to emulate his uniquely practical approach and openness.)
P.S. : Nice to meet you, BTW.
I came across your obit in the Friends page of
Do you mind if I repost it with attribution to
--
Banazir
Re: In memoriam
Date: 2004-02-29 11:55 am (UTC)I think he was the last of his breed. We'll have to wait and see what the new breed does, and how we'll rate them...
Greetings and well met
Date: 2004-02-29 04:16 pm (UTC)Hi - I should thank you for propagating the interview meme (http://www.livejournal.com/users/banazir/2004/01/28/) via
Later, I got 13 additional interview requests, many of whom have given me interviews in return that I am answering here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/banazir/2004/02/16/). And I owe it all to you. :-D
I can see you're no mere cat!
*pays the pun fund*
Is it OK with you if I add you?
Feel free to add me back if you like.
I think he was the last of his breed. We'll have to wait and see what the new breed does, and how we'll rate them...
Good point.
--
Banazir