Friday Notes

World History & Biography: Dean Ferguson,"The Big Picture," Monthly Review, 24 May, reviews Chris Harman's A People's History of the World. Few of us attempt history on this scale any more. William Grimes,"The Rise of Globalization, a Story of Human Desires," NY Times, 31 May, reviews Nayan Chanda's Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalization. So, you thought that globalization was just a stage in late capitalism .... Ira Nadel,"The Death of Biography is Exaggerated," Globe and Mail, 26 May, reviews Nigel Hamilton's Biography: A Brief History.

Germanies: Thomas Laqueur,"Lectures about Heaven," LRB, 7 June, reviews Fritz Stern's Five Germanies I Have Known.

Channeling Your History: Joyce Wadler,"Southern Gothic, Ghosts Welcome," NY Times, 31 May, visits the artist, Hunt Slonem, at his fifth estate, in Batchelor, Louisiana. Rudolph Valentino commissioned a series of portraits by Slonem and he discusses real estate with Countess Xacha Obrenevitch and Abraham Lincoln. Given material like this, why would anyone bother to make s**t up?

Wisconsin & Military Affairs: Ryan J. Foley,"As Faculty Leave, Some Worry University of Wisconsin Is Slipping," AP, 30 May. The average Big Ten full professor earns $117,000 a year. At Wisconsin-Madison, the average full professor earns $103,000."More than 115 professors reported receiving outside offers last year, the most in 20 years and more than double the number from five years ago. ... Particularly hard hit ... have been departments such as political science, English and history." Hat tip.
* Relatedly, has Wisconsin-Madison hired anyone for its much-discussed endowed chair in military history?
Update: Via e-mail, a friend at Wisconsin-Madison indicates that the position has been offered to someone, though it's unclear whether an appointment is yet a settled matter.
Further Update: From the same friend at Wisconsin-Madison, this year's search to fill the endowed chair in military history resulted in no decision. The search will be renewed next year.

* Relatedly, KevinLevin hears that the JAH is no longer reviewing Civil War battlefield histories. This needs clarification. Is that true? Is the Civil War, among American wars, singled out for this distinction? Is this one of many large and small effects of the OAH's on-going financial struggle?