Aku-Aku

aku-aku heyerdahl rand mcnally 1958Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island by Thor Heyerdahl, 5/5

This account of the first serious archaeological expedition to Easter Island could not be more exciting if it were set on a different planet entirely.  Heyerdahl and his crew unearthed ancient statues, carvings and structures that had never been seen by outsiders before and some of their finds amazed the native residents as much as themselves.  Even second-hand, the thrill of exploration and discovery was intoxicating.  I did experience moral qualms caused by the author’s sometimes manipulative approach to wheedling secrets out of the islanders and it was a bit disturbing how willingly they seemed to trade their ancient artifacts for cigarettes.  Still, it wasn’t a completely one-sided relationship–the expedition uncovered new statues, shed light on the island’s history, corroborated some of the local legends and encouraged the native people to remember their past and even revive some almost-forgotten traditional skills.

Why I read it: I’ve been an admirer of Heyerdahl since reading Kon-Tiki and wanted to read this book also before visiting the Kon-Tiki museum in Oslo, Norway, with my brother next month.

A picture quote I made:

A picture quote from Aku-Aku by Thor Heyerdahl. "I had so much to think about, and one thinks best alone under the stars."

Picture Quote — David Hackett Fischer

Background photo is from Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California. © 2016 omnirambles.com

Historians’ Fallacies

historians fallacies hackett fischer harper perennial 1970Historians’ Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought by David Hackett Fischer, 5/5

Fallacies everywhere!  Browsing through eleven categories of faulty reasoning, all illustrated by examples from published works of historical scholarship, made me feel like a kid in a candy shop.  My initial reservation–that it isn’t very respectable to do nothing but pick apart the works of one’s colleagues–was satisfactorily addressed in Fischer’s deliciously cogent introduction to the book.  Here, the author acknowledges the dual impossibility and necessity of defining a logical approach to the study of history and justifies his negative method with the respectable goal “to extract from these mistakes [in other historians’ reasoning] a few rough rules of procedure” (xviii).

Though some may find his approach off-puttingly critical, the author is no intellectual slouch–many of the fallacies he addresses are so subtle that I am impressed he could identify them at all, much less find relevant examples in the wild.  Though the topic is very specific, the application is broad–historians aren’t the only ones who are susceptible to fallacies of question-framing, factual verification, factual significance, generalization, narration, causation, motivation, composition, analogy, semantical distortion and substantive distraction.

Why I read it: The title caught my eye as I was browsing through Easton’s Books.  The owner was so surprised that someone was actually interested in the book (he’d almost thrown it out, thinking no one would ever buy it) that he gave me a discount and said I’d made his day.

A picture quote I made:

Picture Quote — Jonathan Swift

 

Picture quote from Jonathan Swift: "We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another."

Background image is of a 17th-century Bible concordance. © 2016 omnirambles.com

Picture Quote — Jonathan Swift

Picture quote by Jonathan Swift from "Madness in a Commonwealth." "For if we take an examination of what is generally understood by happiness ... we shall find all its properties and adjuncts will herd under this short definition, that it is a perpetual possession of being well deceived."

Background image was taken near Niagara Falls. © 2016 omnirambles.com

Picture Quote — Dylan Thomas

Picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem "Being But Men." "That, then, is loveliness, we said, Children in wonder watching the stars, Is the aim and the end."

Picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem “Being But Men.” “That, then, is loveliness, we said, Children in wonder watching the stars, Is the aim and the end.” © 2016 omnirambles.com

Picture Quote — Dylan Thomas

Picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem "Poem." "A dark as deep My love as a round wave To hide the wolves of sleep And mask the grave."

Picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem “Poem.” “A dark as deep My love as a round wave To hide the wolves of sleep And mask the grave.” © 2016 omnirambles.com

Picture Quote — Dylan Thomas

Picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem "The Ploughman's Gone." "You shall go as the others have gone, Lay your head on a hard bed of stone, And have the raven for companion."

Picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem “The Ploughman’s Gone.” “You shall go as the others have gone, Lay your head on a hard bed of stone, And have the raven for companion.” © 2016 omnirambles.com

Picture Quote — Dylan Thomas

Picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem "Youth Calls to Age." "Though there are years between us, they are naught; Youth calls to age across the tired years: 'What have you found,' he cries, 'what have you sought?' 'What you have found,' age answers through his tears, 'What you have sought.'

Picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem “Youth Calls to Age.” “Though there are years between us, they are naught; Youth calls to age across the tired years: ‘What have you found,’ he cries, ‘what have you sought?’ ‘What you have found,’ age answers through his tears, ‘What you have sought.’ © 2016 omnirambles.com

Picture Quote — Dylan Thomas

A picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem "Out of a War of Wits." "For out of a house of matchboard and stone Where men would argue till the stars be green, It is good to step onto the earth, alone, And be struck dumb, if only for a time."

A picture quote from the Dylan Thomas poem “Out of a War of Wits.” “For out of a house of matchboard and stone Where men would argue till the stars be green, It is good to step onto the earth, alone, And be struck dumb, if only for a time.” © 2016 omnirambles.com