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The Footnote: A Curious History Hardcover 1997 by Anthony Grafton (Author)
US $17.95
ApproximatelyS$ 23.00
Condition:
Good
A book that has been read but is in good condition. Very minimal damage to the cover including scuff marks, but no holes or tears. The dust jacket for hard covers may not be included. Binding has minimal wear. The majority of pages are undamaged with minimal creasing or tearing, minimal pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. No missing pages.
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Located in: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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Estimated between Thu, 28 Aug and Thu, 4 Sep to 94104
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eBay item number:136346876820
Item specifics
- Condition
- Book Title
- The Footnote: A Curious History
- book
- 1115
- Narrative Type
- Europe
- Genre
- N/A
- Topic
- Europe
- Intended Audience
- N/A
- ISBN
- 9780674902152
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Harvard University Press
ISBN-10
0674902157
ISBN-13
9780674902152
eBay Product ID (ePID)
623642
Product Key Features
Number of Pages
256 Pages
Publication Name
Footnote : a Curious History
Language
English
Publication Year
1997
Subject
General, Rhetoric, Modern / General, Europe / General
Features
Revised
Type
Textbook
Subject Area
Literary Criticism, Language Arts & Disciplines, History
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
0.9 in
Item Weight
14.7 Oz
Item Length
8.2 in
Item Width
5.5 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
97-017732
TitleLeading
The
Reviews
[An] excellent book...The Footnote is the study of an appealing, rather overlooked aspect of intellectual and cultural history. Yet it is also much more: an investigation into the historical imagination, a quick tour of 'the culture of erudition' and, not least, the most recent intellectual entertainment from one of the most learned and enjoyable scholars now at work., [It's] hard to imagine a defense of the footnote by any historian with the least sense of style. Yet here it is: The Footnote author, Anthony Grafton, is an anomaly in the American historical profession: a deeply learned scholar known for exacting work on the transformations of classical learning in early modern Europe and a sprightly writer capable of communicating his enthusiasm to anyone willing to listen. Mr. Grafton not only defends the footnote as a guarantee of the value of the historical currency. He also portrays it as a bulwark against tyranny., We accept it as a given of scholarly writing that 'the text persuades, the notes prove.' But this form of narrative architecture was created at a particular time by particular men to fill particular needs. And this unlikely and lively book presents the story of its creation. Anthony Grafton, tells when, where and why historians adopted the two-tiered structure of writing., A richly faceted story that interweaves the changes in the regard for and uses of the footnote with general developments in history writing...As Grafton traces his steps backward to the Renaissance with its admiration and imitation of ancient models, the world of the footnote emerges as one far more complex than expected...In the face of the seeming solidity of the text, the footnote serves as a reminder of the contingency of life as well as the precariousness of the text's construction., This is not a reference book to be consulted but an excursus to be savored, by a writer with a studied sense of style., A charming, intelligent volume that traces the footnote's development as a literary and historical device...The Footnote is an astonishing piece of scholarly writing, not least because it allows us to reconsider a subject that might charitably be called idiosyncratic, or even obscure. What makes the book work is Anthony Grafton's ability to write for a lay audience, to merge the ephemera of historical research with an accessible, nearly anecdotal, style., Mr. Grafton has produced a delightful gem of a book that will appeal to many tastes. He displays an extraordinary level of erudition, is extremely readable, frequently witty and provides a guided tour across almost two thousand years in the development of Western scholarship. Needless to say, his own footnotes are a model of their kind. Above all, the author is neither boring nor pedantic., Grafton argues convincingly that the history of the footnote is also the history of how scholars through the ages have evaluated, organized and presented information... The Footnote vividly evokes what it was like to conduct serious research in an era before Lexis-Nexis, Who's Who or even daily newspapers., Grafton argues convincingly that the history of the footnote is also the history of how scholars through the ages have evaluated, organized and presented information...The Footnote vividly evokes what it was like to conduct serious research in an era before Lexis-Nexis, Who's Who or even daily newspapers., A charming, intelligent volume that traces the footnote's development as a literary and historical device... The Footnote is an astonishing piece of scholarly writing, not least because it allows us to reconsider a subject that might charitably be called idiosyncratic, or even obscure. What makes the book work is Anthony Grafton's ability to write for a lay audience, to merge the ephemera of historical research with an accessible, nearly anecdotal, style., Anthony Grafton has written a fascinating book about this important, though often maligned, scholarly apparatus...Historians of all stripes will profit from reading Grafton's history of historical research and writing (often called historiography) and especially from his detective work tracing history of the footnote, this vital academic detail which so many take for granted., A witty and characteristically erudite book...Grafton's subject, apparently so trivial in itself and yet potentially so enlivening, offers cause for somewhat uneasy mirth. We may recall the toilers of Gulliver's Travels, who sought to make sunbeams from cucumbers. Not surprisingly, the pages of The Footnote are peppered with human folly., The unwashed read the text, the learned check the footnotes. This, after all, is just what Grafton has taught us to expect. Grafton's footnotes, however, are short on polemic and long on accolades...They illustrate Grafton's generous spirit, and they call attention to the one use of footnotes that he conspicuously fails to discuss: praise instead of polemic. Grafton's own irenic practice is a model of decency. But if his footnotes are not so much fun as Gibbon's or Bayle's, his lively and searching text most assuredly is. For a pioneering discussion of these points, see A. Grafton...., [It's] hard to imagine a defense of the footnote by any historian with the least sense of style. Yet here it is: The Footnoteauthor, Anthony Grafton, is an anomaly in the American historical profession: a deeply learned scholar known for exacting work on the transformations of classical learning in early modern Europe and a sprightly writer capable of communicating his enthusiasm to anyone willing to listen. Mr. Grafton not only defends the footnote as a guarantee of the value of the historical currency. He also portrays it as a bulwark against tyranny., [An] excellent book... The Footnote is the study of an appealing, rather overlooked aspect of intellectual and cultural history. Yet it is also much more: an investigation into the historical imagination, a quick tour of 'the culture of erudition' and, not least, the most recent intellectual entertainment from one of the most learned and enjoyable scholars now at work., A curious history, indeed. Few accoutrements of scholarship have been as denigrated as the lowly footnote, as this lively and fascinating narrative demonstrates...The footnote, as [Grafton] correctly and convincingly points out, is critical to the scientific nature of historical writing and therefore reflects both the ideology and technical practices of the craft. The footnote confers 'proof' that the historian has visited the appropriate archives, dusted off the necessary documents, and consulted and exhausted the secondary literature. It is, in short, a badge of legitimacy. The reader familiar with Grafton's work will recognize the author's extraordinary range and familiarity with German, French, English, and Italian historical writing from the early modern period to the late 20th century. Grafton has, in fact, written a sly work of historiography, a kind of celebration of the gritty details of scholarly exploration, and not merely a chronicle of the despised footnote., A witty and characteristically erudite book...Grafton's subject, apparently so trivial in itself and yet potentially so enlivening, offers cause for somewhat uneasy mirth. We may recall the toilers of Gulliver's Travels , who sought to make sunbeams from cucumbers. Not surprisingly, the pages of The Footnote are peppered with human folly.
Dewey Edition
21
Illustrated
Yes
Dewey Decimal
907.2
Edition Description
Revised edition
Table Of Content
Preface Acknowledgments 1. Footnotes: The Origin of a Species 2. Ranke: A Footnote about Scientific History 3. How the Historian Found His Muse: Ranke's Path to the Footnote 4. Footnotes and Philosophie: An Enlightenment Interlude 5. Back to the Future, 1: De Thou Documents the Details 6. Back to the Future, 2: The Antlike Industry of Ecclesiastical Historians and Antiquaries 7. Clarity and Distinctness in the Abysses of Erudition: The Cartesian Origins of the Modern Footnote Epilogue: Some Concluding Footnotes Index
Synopsis
The footnote emerges in this book as a singular resource which reveals much about the evolution of modern scholarship and the progress of knowledge in written form. Grafton treats the development of the footnote - a form of proof normally supplied by historians in support of their assertions - as writers on science treat the development of laboratory equipment, statistical arguments and reports on experiments as a complex history. The book begins in the Berlin of the 19th century and explores the work of historian, Leopold von Ranke, who is often credited with inventing documentary history in its modern form. It then looks back to antiquity and forward to the 20th century, offering a theory of the true origins and gradual development of the footnote."
LC Classification Number
PN171.F56G73 1997
Item description from the seller
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Seller feedback (2,296)
- s***e (251)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseAs described, good price. Thanks
- s***a (610)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseA+++++ SELLER....THANKS GREAT SNEAKERS
- r***b (554)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseGreat.