Sunday's Notes
Alexander Waugh,"Will he, won't he?" Spectator, 27 August, reviews Frank Westerman's Ararat, trans. by Sam Garrett. It is, says Waugh,
a short book of stupendous richness and complexity, a cornucopia of jumbled facts about geology, history and science, woven into a personal memoir and travelogue that combines stories about the lives of his teachers with information about Dutch mining, family sentiment, religious belief, academic rivalry, portraits of fellow travellers, mountaineering history, politics, personalities and an abundance of lesser, uncategorisable side-detail.
A day or so before 3 September, Ted Vallance will host a one-time-only carnival marking the 350th anniversary of the death of Oliver Cromwell. If you have an entry to suggest, send him a link to: ted.vallance*at*liv*dot*ac*dot*uk.
Scott W. Berg,"The Beginning of the Road," Washington Post, 31 August, introduces Donald Alexander Hawkins's project using digital technology and historical research to recreate Washington, DC, as Pierre Charles L'Enfant first saw it in March 1791 and as it was when the British burned it in 1814. Don't miss either the interactive"D.C., 1791 to Today: How Washington Became Washington" or the video embedded in Berg's story. Berg and Alexander will be online at noon EST on Tuesday 2 September to discuss the project. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.
Sam Tanenhaus,"The Art of the Possible," NYT, 30 August, draws on a contrast between Edmund Burke and Sir Robert Peel to pose the question of leadership for Barack Obama and John McCain.