Saturday, March 10, 2007
'But Pigs of my owne Sow ...'
Reviewer Tony Horwitz feels compelled to bad-mouth our New England Pilgrims in order to boost the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia. I suppose not resorting to self-destructive crime, mutiny, torture, executions, cannibalism, slavery and general all around indolence is something the Pilgrims now also have to be faulted for these days. ... I happen to have gotten hold of a copy of Karen Ordahl Kupperman's 'The Jamestown Project.' Horwitz notes it takes 200 pages before the book gets into the actual English landings in Virginia. Ugh. Isn't there an unwritten 100 Page Rule in publishing that says you lose readers if you don't get into a subject matter relatively fast? But I'll read the book anyway -- one of these days. ...
Reviewer Tony Horwitz feels compelled to bad-mouth our New England Pilgrims in order to boost the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia. I suppose not resorting to self-destructive crime, mutiny, torture, executions, cannibalism, slavery and general all around indolence is something the Pilgrims now also have to be faulted for these days. ... I happen to have gotten hold of a copy of Karen Ordahl Kupperman's 'The Jamestown Project.' Horwitz notes it takes 200 pages before the book gets into the actual English landings in Virginia. Ugh. Isn't there an unwritten 100 Page Rule in publishing that says you lose readers if you don't get into a subject matter relatively fast? But I'll read the book anyway -- one of these days. ...
