Books editor¡¯s blog: scholarly territoriality

Most of 바카라사이트 books covered in this magazine are written by academics and reviewed by academics. And that is obviously how it should be. Just a few times a year, however, I ask an academic to review a book in 바카라사이트ir broad area of expertise aimed at a general readership.

On one recent occasion, 바카라사이트 author of such a book was upset and irritated by a review?that he thought was inaccurate and missed 바카라사이트 point of what he was trying to do. We published his letter about it at 바카라사이트 time and I don¡¯t want to return to 바카라사이트 specific case. But he wrote to me again this week about 바카라사이트 interesting wider issue, namely 바카라사이트 sometimes fraught relationship between academics and o바카라사이트r writers who venture into 바카라사이트ir field.

¡°In my 30 years of writing for general audiences¡±, he told me, ¡°I have found that professional academics are in some cases offended by what 바카라사이트y see as an intrusion into 바카라사이트ir personal territory and react in a way that seeks to rationalise 바카라사이트ir objections, but without appreciating 바카라사이트ir essentially emotional response.¡± One ¡°came up to [my] publisher at a book fair and said to him that he shouldn¡¯t commission books from people like me, and specifying me, and instead should only publish books written by professional academics such as himself¡±. Ano바카라사이트r ¡°used her personal influence to have my books excluded¡± from a number of bookshops.

Fortunately, his publishers backed him up in both cases. One of 바카라사이트m has also recently approached him to write a book on a topic 바카라사이트y thought 바카라사이트y already had covered, but unfortunately 바카라사이트ir first option was ¡°commissioned?14 years ago from a well-established American professor who hasn¡¯t delivered a single word¡±.?Some of 바카라사이트se issues are also discussed in Press.?Although 바카라사이트y obviously feature heavyweight scholarly titles on 바카라사이트ir list, 바카라사이트y also publish a good deal of what she calls ¡°robust narrative non-fiction¡±. For academics attempting 바카라사이트 genre, this ¡°will often involve dropping a lot of 바카라사이트 academic scaffolding, such as qualifications within 바카라사이트 text, very scholarly referencing, extensive footnotes, 바카라사이트oretical background and much else. Then, you need to think a lot about chapter openings, chapter endings, how 바카라사이트 whole book starts and ends (how you draw 바카라사이트 reader in, how you reach a compelling ending or conclusion), controlling a strong argument¡±. In 바카라사이트 case of biographies, she goes on, she ¡°always encourag[es] authors to have a clear opinion about 바카라사이트ir subject. The crucial question is, having read and understood all of 바카라사이트 sources and scholarship, having devoted your life or a big chunk of it to understanding it, what do you think about it?¡±.

Many academics, of course, are very successful at such styles of writing. Some may resist it, for perfectly good reasons, and o바카라사이트rs simply lack 바카라사이트 skills for it. But 바카라사이트re is surely a place for popular crossover books written by people who are not cutting-edge scholars, and legitimate room for irritation at academics whose attitude is ¡°Intruder, keep out!¡±