- The New York Times runs an excellent profile of college rare book libraries and their increasing integration with undergraduate curricula (a victory of sorts for those of us who recognize the importance of hands-on experience).
- Ed's got a great calendar outlining some of the many events coming up in Philly for the bicentennial year. It's going to be quite a time down there!
- The copy of Audubon's Birds of America belonging to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick has returned to Fredericton after a lengthy conservation project (the first preservation assessment was made almost thirty years ago!). The work was carried out at Ottawa's Canadian Conservation Institute.
- Laura's written the best post I've seen on the discovery of a pottery shard containing what may be the earliest example of Hebrew script.
- Some more feedback on the Google/publishers agreement: at The Millions, C. Max Magee examines the implications for libraries and readers, Carolyn Kellogg does the same for publishers and others at Jacket Copy, and Chris O'Brien of the San Jose Mercury News touches base with Brewster Kahle (who's not a fan of the settlement). Fundamentally I agree with Kahle's criticisms and vision, but without a pretty hefty infusion of cash, it seems a tall order.
- In the TLS, Lynda Pratt has an essay on a new edition of Frankenstein which examines the authorship process and the role of Percy Shelley in the work's creation. Jennifer Howard has a similar piece in the Chronicle of Higher Ed.
- At Paper Cuts, David Kelly has some choice excerpts from John Hodgman's new book, More Information Than You Require. Some more Hodgman here from an appearance on NPR.
- David Mehegan has a short Q&A with John Demos about his The Enemy Within.
- Britannica Blog's been running a fascinating series on haunted libraries. The post covering the Northeast is here.
Reviews
- Stéphane Audeguy's The Only Son, a novel about Rousseau's brother François, is reviewed by Judith Warner in the NYTimes.
- Max Boot reviews David Hackett Fischer's Champlain's Dream, also in the NYTimes. There's a bit too much fawning for my taste, but Boot certainly liked the book.
- I'm going to have to mention new Lincoln books sparingly since they'll overwhelm us all otherwise, but Harold's Holzer's Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter, 1860-1861 is reviewed by Chandra Manning for the Washington Post.
- Three new Andrew Jackson-centered books are reviewed by Douglas Brinkley for the Washington Post.
- Gordon Wood reviews Annette Gordon-Reed's The Hemingses of Monticello in The New Republic.
- Erika Schickel reviews Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates for the LATimes.
- In The Telegraph, Noel Malcolm reviews Ruth Richardson's The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy.
