NOVEMBER 30, 2019 – Occasionally, I look up from my shoes to survey my surroundings. Amidst the detritus of human activity I see wondrous works produced by human minds, hearts, and hands. One endeavor for which I have special admiration is academic scholarship.
As my blog readers know, I’m a sometime student of history. However scattered and superficial my studies are, I’m always chewing on a “serious” work by a “serious” historian.
I’ve just finished A Republic for which it Stands by Stanford professor emeritus, Richard White. (See my 10/2/2019 post for my first mention of the 872-page tome (excluding the bibliographical essay).) It’s so packed with information and insight, when opened it works as a Pandora’s Box upon the reader’s thoughts.
I’m awestruck by the Herculean effort required to gather sources, harvest the grain, identify connections, develop multiple themes and theses, bind them coherently, then express them in accessible language. Executed successfully, such work gives the patient reader access to a whole gallery of images and perspectives out of which s/he can better understand the past . . . all to better gauge the present and influence the future.
I was so moved by the titanic work of this particular scholar that I sent him the following email:
Dear Professor White,
For quite some time as I’ve been studying The Republic for which it Stands, I’ve wanted to express to you directly—as I have to so many friends and acquaintances—my awe, respect and appreciation for the scholarship, synthesis, and exposition comprised by your grand opus. As an undergraduate American history major eons ago (Bowdoin College ’76), I’d glossed over Reconstruction and the Gilded Age—and, as it turns out, quite a lot of other critical areas. Only much later did I gain sufficient perspective to profit more fully from the deep, detailed study of history.
Perhaps in some small way my vocational work—the practice of law (gathering, assessment, arrangement of facts; identification and analysis of legal issues)—has sharpened my appreciation for academic scholarship and writing of your caliber. And of course, how can a person begin to grapple with present challenges without knowing, let alone understanding, our past?
The Republic for which it Stands was last month’s choice by a member of my book club. No one finished the book in the allotted time, but each of us was so enthralled by it, we are continuing to the end. I place it among the more compelling works of my history reading list over the past number of years.
Thank you ever so much for your remarkable effort. Its influence on my view of American history will be deep and enduring. I have recommended it to many people and will continue to do so.
Kind regards,
Eric Nilsson
With a prompt reply, the professor rewarded his student:
Dear Eric,
I very much appreciate this. You are very much my imagined reader. I am very grateful.
Richard White
A “Hear, hear!” to all the Professor Whites out there.
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© 2019 Eric Nilsson
