Thursday, February 09, 2006

Something different to worry about

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If you were beginning to feel you had a handle on the diffulties and dangers of modern life, here's something new (and not too alarming).

On a more personal note (ho, ho), they installed memory in my computer at work for the second time, and so far it hasn't let me down. My boss is off his crutches. I have almost caught up from most of the things in which I or my predecessor was behind. Sooner or later I'll be able to make some kind of reasoned remark as to whether I like my new job.

If you are looking for a really excellent piece of non-fiction, try 1491. it is NOT the same as 1421, which I will not dignify with a link. 1491 is not just about the New World the year before Columbus arrived; it's about the whole settlement and cultivation and population of the Americas before their encounter with the rest of the world. It was written by a journalist, not an archaeologist, which my archaeology boss says sadly is probably why it's so easy to read. The author is frank about the disputes among the scholars (actually, he plays them down, because he doesn't want to sound like the NY Daily News) but presents the results of recent research -- lots of it-- and changes my whole idea about how quiet it was here. Really really good. Paperback due in October.

1 comment:

Beth S. said...

Aw geez, I use Post-Its in my knitting books all the time, to help me keep my place in charts. This spells bad news for my Nancy Bush collection.