Alex Beam Forces H&E Hiatus
Well, not really. Alex Beam isn't forcing me, of course, to do anything. But his well-received new book, A Great Idea At The Time: The Rise, Fall, And Curious Afterlife of the Great Books, has lit a fire under me.After many worthy post-dissertation/PhD "distractions"---including a new son, many conference presentations, several articles, hundreds of blog posts (over 630 not counting USIH pieces), and a new job (including one year-long academic job hunt)---it's time for me to get focused and tell my story about Mortimer Adler and the history of the great books idea.
Getting on task means giving up some things. What I've discovered over the past year is that, for me, this involves managing my energy as much as my time. I've probably actually had the time over the past two plus years since finishing my dissertation to turn it into an acceptable book manuscript. But I know for sure I haven't managed my energy well enough to complete the task.
Academic writing is not something that comes easy at this period in my life. I can't decide whether this is an internal or external issue. I can write blog posts with ease, and even some kinds of academic articles without a herculean effort. But getting this first book out is going to require my getting over a hump called "activation energy" by chemists. I can't see my personal kilojoules-per-mole/reaction path graph, but I suspect it contains a higher than average spike early on my "book creation path" axis.
Argumentum ad Hominem
ReplyDeleteThe subtitle should have read, Every Negative Fact and Innuendo I Could Dredge Up
Although he was not particularly unkind to me in the book, I found virtually every page to be a smart-alecky and snide diatribe of the worst order against the Great Books, Adler, Hutchins, et al. Plus the book is replete with errors of commission and omission.
As an effective antidote, I prescribe Robert Hutchins' pithy essay, The Great Conversation.
If the Great Books crusade is as bleak as Beam purports, then happily, not many will read his invective book.
Max Weismann,
President and co-founder with Mortimer Adler, Center for the Study of The Great Ideas
Chairman, The Great Books Academy (3,000+ students)