WBH Weekly Digest 2023-04-21
Synoptic history of Europe, The Night Land, how epic fantasy has failed readers, the most horrifying anti-war satire I've read, and a cover reveal for Spengler's Future
Metahistory
Generation Y: The New Lost Generation
After last Monday’s re-visiting of the generational conflict in Great Teacher Onizuka, I wanted to turn to an illuminating collection of essays and short stories, Generation Y: The New Lost Generation 1979-1989 by JD Cowan, Brian Niemeier, and David V. Stewart. You can grab a free copy through JD’
The Power of Setting
Nathan, the Pulp Archivist, has an awesome blog up at Castalia House Why Settings Matter. He uses the tiki bar as an example of a bit of fiction that seemed so real that it perpetuated itself into reality. You should go read it, as Nathan along with JD Cowan is
Linkfest 2021-12-03: The Burden of Proof
The Harvard Crimson: Burden of Proof
This math course sounds kind of awesome. One of my few regrets is that I didn’t go further in mathematics. I wouldn’t have had enough preparation for this course as a undergrad, but I find it fascinating all the same.
BasedCon: A
Linkfest 2021-08-06: Twilight of Democracy
The Long View: The Twilight of Democracy
John J. Reilly’s 1997 review of Patrick E. Kennon’s The Twilight of Democracy is a fascinating read twenty four years later. Some version of Kennon’s point of view is still hugely important in how the United States is run, and
The Long View 2008-06-04: Toward the Courts of the Crimson Kings
At a request from a reader, I re-published ahead of schedule this review of S. M. Stirling’s In the Courts of the Crimson Kings a little less than a year ago, but I like it enough to re-publish it now when it comes around again.
Here are a couple
Linkfest 2020-11-20: Metahistorical Models
Peak Oil Never Went Away
Peak Oil is something I’ve often had cause to discuss on With Both Hands. It is of the class of theories that John J. Reilly loved, metahistorical theories using simplified assumptions like Henry Adam’s energy predictions, Moore’s Law, Eroom’s Law, and