Awesome list. I’d add El Borak: And Other Desert Adventures. Another Howard story, which I just started reading. It’s excellent so far. Great for those who desire stories of adventure, combat, and strong leading men.
I think Ibrahim suffers from a case of 'academ-itis', wherein he feels the need to be absolutely above the reproach of the mendacious majority of historians & the midwits who appeal to their authority. Most people can't weigh evidence at all, or grapple cut through dishonest attempts to bind people to ridiculous standards. Raymond needs his work to be a beating stick for the liars with degrees, so he jumps through their hoops.
I remember looking up what people thought of Rodney Stark's "God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades". I came upon a reddit thread wherein a user & moderator belittled the book as a "non-academic" work; then the moderator flipped through the introduction & dismissed it based on some crypto-leftist academic shibboleths. These liars never entertained the idea they should examine even part of the work for why Stark came to the conclusions relayed in the introduction.
Leaving the raw translations in the work lets outsiders deliver an intellectual beating to these kinds of liars. Regular readers don't have the time, knowledge, or inclination to dig these quotes up out of the primary sources or academic reference books they came from. Also, Raymond seems to have an outside preference for the words of primary sources purely on a personal basis.
I should add I didn't find the block quotes particularly distracting, given they contained an entire anecdote from an original source. I thought it was interesting chance to see how people at the time conveyed these stories.
I suspect you’re right on the cause. And just to be clear, I generally think Ibrahim’s work is fantastic, and it is incredibly important. My disappointment in that I largely got it to read his tales of what the orders were up to, as that’s what made his other two so great, rather than a more academic work about them. But I can see why he did it
Nice, appreciated this and added a few to the list
Excellent! Glad to hear it
As a youngster, I could read and finish about any book in one day, maybe two. Now, as an octogenarian, ten or twenty pages in one sitting is my max.
I just ordered the Mellon book. That'll keep me occupied for awhile. Thanks.
I think it's wonderful that you read ~6400 pages in January. Don't take that for granted. Keep going!
Thank you! Yes I am very fortunate to have a great deal of time for reading right now
I think you’ll like the Mellon book. I was fascinated by it. His father was quite a character
Awesome list. I’d add El Borak: And Other Desert Adventures. Another Howard story, which I just started reading. It’s excellent so far. Great for those who desire stories of adventure, combat, and strong leading men.
Thank you!
Your welcome. 👍
I think Ibrahim suffers from a case of 'academ-itis', wherein he feels the need to be absolutely above the reproach of the mendacious majority of historians & the midwits who appeal to their authority. Most people can't weigh evidence at all, or grapple cut through dishonest attempts to bind people to ridiculous standards. Raymond needs his work to be a beating stick for the liars with degrees, so he jumps through their hoops.
I remember looking up what people thought of Rodney Stark's "God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades". I came upon a reddit thread wherein a user & moderator belittled the book as a "non-academic" work; then the moderator flipped through the introduction & dismissed it based on some crypto-leftist academic shibboleths. These liars never entertained the idea they should examine even part of the work for why Stark came to the conclusions relayed in the introduction.
Leaving the raw translations in the work lets outsiders deliver an intellectual beating to these kinds of liars. Regular readers don't have the time, knowledge, or inclination to dig these quotes up out of the primary sources or academic reference books they came from. Also, Raymond seems to have an outside preference for the words of primary sources purely on a personal basis.
I should add I didn't find the block quotes particularly distracting, given they contained an entire anecdote from an original source. I thought it was interesting chance to see how people at the time conveyed these stories.
I suspect you’re right on the cause. And just to be clear, I generally think Ibrahim’s work is fantastic, and it is incredibly important. My disappointment in that I largely got it to read his tales of what the orders were up to, as that’s what made his other two so great, rather than a more academic work about them. But I can see why he did it
Great list, definitely added a few to the cart
Thanks! Glad to hear it
Typo in my last comment.
Thanks! Great list of recommendations and warnings.