"Flyboys" by James Bradley

I just finished reading Mr. Bradley's latest book, "Flyboys", about
the use of air power against the Japaneses in WWII. I expect this book
will become a classic. However, it is likely there will be some
negative feedback because of the discussion of American atrocities
during the Pacific war.

What really amazes me is that a book can be written 63 years after
WWII started and offer readers a fresh perspective on the events in
the Pacific.

Art Layton
Stamford CT

"Art Layton" wrote in message
om...

What really amazes me is that a book can be written 63 years after
WWII started and offer readers a fresh perspective on the events in
the Pacific.



Art, did you see this year's MacArthur Fellowships--the so-called genius
awards? For the first time, they have given an award ($500,000, paid
quarterly over five years--no strings attached) to a medieval historian,
Anders Winroth, mostly for his book *The Making of Gratian's Decretum*
(2000):

http://www.macfound.org/programs/fel...oth_anders.htm

I emailed all my buddies from graduate school that a medievalist had won,
and one of them emailed back that it was amazing but much deserved: that
Winroth's book had revolutionized the study of the history of canon law,
explicating a whole new understanding of the composition of the first
important synthesis of canon law in the Western church, Gratian's *Decretum*
(1140). In fact, this particular friend, a law professor, with a Ph.D. in
history and degrees in civil and canon law, and not given to hyperbole, said
that it is one of the three best books ever written on medieval history. He
urged me to get the book--which I did, despite the fact that I don't really
keep up with medieval scholarship any more.

So fresh perspectives are always possible. Dum spiro, spero.


William M. Klimon
http://www.gateofbliss.com

Art, did you see this year's MacArthur Fellowships--the so-called genius
awards? For the first time, they have given an award ($500,000, paid
quarterly over five years--no strings attached) to a medieval historian,
Anders Winroth, mostly for his book *The Making of Gratian's Decretum*
(2000):

http://www.macfound.org/programs/fel...oth_anders.htm

I emailed all my buddies from graduate school that a medievalist had won,
and one of them emailed back that it was amazing but much deserved: that
Winroth's book had revolutionized the study of the history of canon law,
explicating a whole new understanding of the composition of the first
important synthesis of canon law in the Western church, Gratian's *Decretum*
(1140). In fact, this particular friend, a law professor, with a Ph.D. in
history and degrees in civil and canon law, and not given to hyperbole, said
that it is one of the three best books ever written on medieval history. He
urged me to get the book--which I did, despite the fact that I don't really
keep up with medieval scholarship any more.

So fresh perspectives are always possible. Dum spiro, spero.


William M. Klimon
http://www.gateofbliss.com

My parochialism is showing.

Art Layton
Stamford, CT

Uh Bill, what are the OTHER "greatest
books on Medieval history"?
Just curious....
--Dave Conford

wrote in message
...

Uh Bill, what are the OTHER "greatest
books on Medieval history"?
Just curious....



Good question. I checked with my friend and I determined that he is
speaking much more narrowly than I thought. He listed:

(1) Anders Winroth, *The Making of Gratian's Decretum*
(2) Brian Tierney, *Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on natural rights,
natural law, and church law, 1150-1625*
(3) James A. Brundage (author of the seminal *Law, Sex, and Christian
Society in Medieval Europe*), History of the Legal Profession (forthcoming).


Obviously, those are all important books in the history of medieval law--but
they hardly cover the entire span of medieval history. One good place to
look is Norman Cantor's *Inventing the Middle Ages*: he talks about David
Knowles' *The Monastic Order in England: 943-1216* and Huizinga's *Waning of
the Middle Ages* and C.S. Lewis' *The Discarded Image*. It's a really
fascinating history of medieval scholarship.


William M. Klimon
http://www.gateofbliss.com

Dear Bill,
I have the Cantor and enjoyed it (although
I didn't always agree with him). I trained
back in the early 60's as a specialist in
Medieval English Lit and am always
curious to see what the historians are
cooking up now. Thanks for the info.
--Dave Conford

wrote in message
...

I have the Cantor and enjoyed it (although
I didn't always agree with him). I trained
back in the early 60's as a specialist in
Medieval English Lit and am always
curious to see what the historians are
cooking up now. Thanks for the info.



Yes, Cantor is good, but nobody is perfect. My biggest complaint with the
book was the one school of scholarship that he ignored, the group I call, in
Cantorian fashion, the Catholic Canonists: Walter Ullmann, Brian Tierney,
Stephan Kuttner (a convert, by the way)--and all their many students and
collaborators.

One of his most interesting judgments is that David Knowles' monumental
series *The Monastic* and *The Religious Orders in England* is one of the
greatest works of history in the English language. Of course, Cantor also
made all kinds of accusations about Dom David's personal life and was most
unkind to Christopher Brooke, one of Dom David's disciples.

In 1946, Dom David did a special subject, like a graduate seminar, at
Cambridge on St. Francis of Assisi. In that class were Brian Tierney, Giles
Constable, Christopher and Rosalind Brooke--it was basically an incubator of
the greatest talent of that generation of historians of medieval religion.

In 1992, I took Brian Tierney's valedictory seminar on St. Francis and the
Early Franciscans at Cornell, thus closing that loop. If nothing else, I
take great pride in being in the lineage of Dom David.

To bring this back on topic, Prof. Tierney made me a collector of Franciscan
literature, particularly lives of St. Francis. I have not retained most of
them, but I do have a micro-collection of lives of St. Francis by Catholic
converts, with works by G. K. Chesterton, Julien Green, Maria Sticco,
Johannes Jorgensen, among the more prominent.


William M. Klimon
http://www.gateofbliss.com

Yes, Cantor is good, but nobody is perfect. My biggest complaint with the
book was the one school of scholarship that he ignored, the group I call, in
Cantorian fashion, the Catholic Canonists: Walter Ullmann, Brian Tierney,
Stephan Kuttner (a convert, by the way)--and all their many students and
collaborators.

One of his most interesting judgments is that David Knowles' monumental
series *The Monastic* and *The Religious Orders in England* is one of the
greatest works of history in the English language. Of course, Cantor also
made all kinds of accusations about Dom David's personal life and was most
unkind to Christopher Brooke, one of Dom David's disciples.

In 1946, Dom David did a special subject, like a graduate seminar, at
Cambridge on St. Francis of Assisi. In that class were Brian Tierney, Giles
Constable, Christopher and Rosalind Brooke--it was basically an incubator of
the greatest talent of that generation of historians of medieval religion.

In 1992, I took Brian Tierney's valedictory seminar on St. Francis and the
Early Franciscans at Cornell, thus closing that loop. If nothing else, I
take great pride in being in the lineage of Dom David.

To bring this back on topic, Prof. Tierney made me a collector of Franciscan
literature, particularly lives of St. Francis. I have not retained most of
them, but I do have a micro-collection of lives of St. Francis by Catholic
converts, with works by G. K. Chesterton, Julien Green, Maria Sticco,
Johannes Jorgensen, among the more prominent.


William M. Klimon
http://www.gateofbliss.com

One minute we are talkin about WWII books and the next we are talking
about medieval books?

Art Layton
Stamford CT

Yo, Art:
You got a problem with that?
(Schmiessers or morningstars--your
choice....)
Best,
Dave Conford

wrote in message ...
Yo, Art:
You got a problem with that?
(Schmiessers or morningstars--your
choice....)
Best,
Dave Conford

Thanks for the humor. I was hoping to find someone else looking at
more recent publications who had an opinion about Bradley's book.

Art Layton
Stamford

PS: I prefer morningstars.