1491 by Charles C Mann (see earlier post for Alistair's written review).
We met at La Bodega Negra, a very good (if you can find it) Mexican Cafe/Restaurant which benefits from two entrances (benefits if you are trying to hide from somebody, that is). But I digress.
In attendance were Sergio, Eric, Tom, Mike, and Joe (eventually) and a few Margaritas and cervezas.
The consensus on the book after a lively two hour discussion was summed up by Mike: Don't believe the Man.
However, after you admit you don't believe the Man (ie. the purveyors of American history as we have been taught in schools), but that you do believe the Mann (the author's name) then he could have said what he had to say in about 100 pages less. We applauded his scholarship, and his writing, especially in the first part of the book when his revelations were fresh, but after a while it lacked narrative (Tom's comment) and was an effort to plough through (acknowledged by all). A book with 100 pages of notes appears more to be like a thesis.
So we learned a lot about a history which is at best asymmetrically taught by our Eurocentric educational system, namely that disease, not military prowess, brought an end to a rich Meso-american culture(s); that pigs are a pretty good weapon; that incest, mummification, and ritual sacrifices are not necessarily a recipe for long term survival, that (as an aside)carbon dating is fascinating and very clever; and that we certainly should maybe think twice before accepting blindly the history as written only by the victors.
One style point. We prefer Kindle books for notation.
Our next book will be suggested by Tom. It is a novel, our first fiction book for consideration. It is about Albania, and according to him, is reminiscent of Kafka. Details to follow.
OTHER COMMENTS ARE V.WELCOME.
We met at La Bodega Negra, a very good (if you can find it) Mexican Cafe/Restaurant which benefits from two entrances (benefits if you are trying to hide from somebody, that is). But I digress.
In attendance were Sergio, Eric, Tom, Mike, and Joe (eventually) and a few Margaritas and cervezas.
The consensus on the book after a lively two hour discussion was summed up by Mike: Don't believe the Man.
However, after you admit you don't believe the Man (ie. the purveyors of American history as we have been taught in schools), but that you do believe the Mann (the author's name) then he could have said what he had to say in about 100 pages less. We applauded his scholarship, and his writing, especially in the first part of the book when his revelations were fresh, but after a while it lacked narrative (Tom's comment) and was an effort to plough through (acknowledged by all). A book with 100 pages of notes appears more to be like a thesis.
So we learned a lot about a history which is at best asymmetrically taught by our Eurocentric educational system, namely that disease, not military prowess, brought an end to a rich Meso-american culture(s); that pigs are a pretty good weapon; that incest, mummification, and ritual sacrifices are not necessarily a recipe for long term survival, that (as an aside)carbon dating is fascinating and very clever; and that we certainly should maybe think twice before accepting blindly the history as written only by the victors.
One style point. We prefer Kindle books for notation.
Our next book will be suggested by Tom. It is a novel, our first fiction book for consideration. It is about Albania, and according to him, is reminiscent of Kafka. Details to follow.
OTHER COMMENTS ARE V.WELCOME.
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