Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Intriguing assessment of how rulers dealt with rise of the nation state. "Historical evidence shows that things we have tended to regard as the spontaneous products of liberal progress were in fact contrivances to benefit rulers"
Revisiting history of the Inquisition suggests troubling conclusion: "Inquisitions advance hand-in-hand with civilisation itself." Indeed the Inquisition can be seen not as historic relic but as harbinger of the modern police state
Belated attempt to rescue reputation of John, often described as worst king in English history. Monastic chroniclers who criticised him had axes to grind. Other sources paint surprisingly different picture
Many have tried to write about Jerusalem; few have really succeeded. Too often the result is either partisanship or pallid tact. Not so with Simon Sebag Montefiore, whose recent biography receives Thubron's admiring attention
In 1900 Belgium had a staggering 3,400 commercial beermakers. Each inhabitant drank on average 220 litres a year. How did this brewing empire come to be? Catholicism, geography, heavy taxes on wines, spirits were vital ingredients
"While other popular tunes arise from passion or desire, heroism or defeat, the Yuletide songbook is a catalogue of modest thrills and postindustrial neuroses." Nonetheless carols connect us to a long, rich history of Western music
Anthropologist David Graeber discusses history of money, debt. Skip the intro paragraphs, head straight to the conversation. "If money is owed by really important players, even trillions in debts can be made to disappear"
Investigating the phenomenon of stigmata. First case described was Francis of Assisi in 1224. Several hundred since. Mostly in Catholic Europe; mostly women. Some stigmatics admitted self-harm. But fraud doesn't explain all cases
Violence may loom large in our news media, and our minds, but it was much worse in the past. Pinker describes its decline through six key phases, concluding we are living in "the most peaceable era in the existence of our species"
An illuminating portrait of the creepy medieval soothsayer, Nostradamus, that also sheds light on our continuing human need to believe in what isn’t
A Ming cup leads to a new appreciation of Zheng He, greatest seafarer in China's history. Inauspicious start: Orphaned and castrated by cavalrymen aged 10. But rose to become architect of awesome Ming navy and epic adventurer
Great watershed in history of music was Guido of Arezzo's invention of notation, early in 11C. Used to this day. Transformed religious life. Monks no longer had to memorise whole vast corpus of sacred music needed for church year
