I am almost finished reading Tony Horwitz's new book, A Journey Long and Strange. He is the author of COnfederates in the Attic, and this book follows the same curious mix of history, memoir, and travelogue.
I really like his style, even though many dismiss him as a lightweight. Sure, it is not academic history. Sure, he does tend to juxtapose comic hijinx and shenanigans with discussions of massacres of French Hugenots. But, at the end, I come out a bit smarter, and thoroughly entertained.
So many non-fiction books are dry and colourless, even if written for a popular audience. Horwitz has an engaging style, and, most importantly, takes his subjects (the various characters he meets while following early American discovery, e.g. DeSoto) seriously. It would be easy to dismiss the mayor of a small town, or a Spanish conquistador re-enactor as cartoons, but Horwitz doesn't. Highly recommend for light reading.
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2 comments:
I've always thought that the allegations of "lightweight" stems from jealousy. Most historians can't write good books and therefore disdain them. :)
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