Touching and beautiful. A reminder that the reason we read, and even the reason we write about what we read, is, when our integrity is in place, entirely personal. We may or may not decide to share our thoughts with the world. But they are intimate thoughts, always.
Have not read Proust, but a newer translator is Lydia Davis. Hers was the translation I read of Madame Bovary, and that is a solid recommendation, encountered on a Tyler Cowen podcast.
I read Swann's Way 25 years ago, was mesmerized, and, like Wood, am determined to read the entire novel. Not because I'm a completionist; on the contrary, I usually only read 3-4 books even of my favorite authors. Wood is a rare exception. I've read all of his books except his collection of essays reflecting on the uses of history. It's a fitting occasion to put that book back in the queue. And to heartily recommend Wood to those who haven't yet read him.
Oh, that's always tough. Do you mean uninitiated specifically with Wood, or more generally with late 18th/early 19th century American political history?
In that case, I'd say his first book, The Creation of the American Republic. But beware: it's the least well-written, most academic, and, arguably, the most flawed among them. His former student Pauline Maier called it a pearl in a gnarled shell. (Incidentally, Maier is also outstanding; I especially recommend Ratification). But he published it in 1969, just a few years after he got his PhD, so you will easily see how he spent so many years as the unofficial dean of late 18th century American political history. The safest answer, incidentally, would probably also be the most popular answer: The Radicalism of the American Revolution. No argument there.
Touching and beautiful. A reminder that the reason we read, and even the reason we write about what we read, is, when our integrity is in place, entirely personal. We may or may not decide to share our thoughts with the world. But they are intimate thoughts, always.
May I ask which translator would you recommend?
I have only read (am reading) Scott Moncrieff
Have not read Proust, but a newer translator is Lydia Davis. Hers was the translation I read of Madame Bovary, and that is a solid recommendation, encountered on a Tyler Cowen podcast.
I read Swann's Way 25 years ago, was mesmerized, and, like Wood, am determined to read the entire novel. Not because I'm a completionist; on the contrary, I usually only read 3-4 books even of my favorite authors. Wood is a rare exception. I've read all of his books except his collection of essays reflecting on the uses of history. It's a fitting occasion to put that book back in the queue. And to heartily recommend Wood to those who haven't yet read him.
Any Wood book you particularly recommend to the uninitiated?
Oh, that's always tough. Do you mean uninitiated specifically with Wood, or more generally with late 18th/early 19th century American political history?
Specifically Wood.
In that case, I'd say his first book, The Creation of the American Republic. But beware: it's the least well-written, most academic, and, arguably, the most flawed among them. His former student Pauline Maier called it a pearl in a gnarled shell. (Incidentally, Maier is also outstanding; I especially recommend Ratification). But he published it in 1969, just a few years after he got his PhD, so you will easily see how he spent so many years as the unofficial dean of late 18th century American political history. The safest answer, incidentally, would probably also be the most popular answer: The Radicalism of the American Revolution. No argument there.
Too personal, and too much of an expenditure of energy to write about the reading; and likely he did not want to break the magic by writing about it.