I had no idea who he was before reading an obituary when he died a couple of months ago but I've read "The Cheese and the Worms" and "The Night Battles" after that and I plan to read all his works -- he really presents a version of history that hasn't been much covered by others.
I read this in college, with a fantastic professor (RIP) who also assigned Huizinga's "Homo Ludens." I loved it ...if only the rest of academic history was so free-thinking and human-centric, I might have stayed.
"Night Battles" is amazing too. And the fact that some of the scholarship in both books is contested adds to the interest - he really rattled some cages and wasn't afraid to take an idea and run with it.
Interesting that the professor assigned "Homo Ludens" rather than "The Waning of the Middle Ages" (or "Autumn of the Middle Ages" in some translations) which is a more famous work by Huizinga.
Oh, how wonderful. I've been meaning to pick this up but was worried about the accuracy and completeness of the old edition (not that I'd be able to tell, really). So this is great to hear:
> This new edition – the publication of which shortly and sadly pre-dated Ginzburg’s death on 17 June this year – is therefore invaluable, both as an engaging history in its own right and as a ‘classic’ of microhistory. The new translation by Stephen Twilley is excellent, correcting numerous small mistakes and infelicities in the 1980 English edition. It also includes the author’s previously untranslated afterword and a new postscript, which together provide insightful and moving reflections on how Ginzburg’s experiences as a Jew in the 1940s shaped his commitment to studying individuals in all their complexity rather than as merely part of the anonymous masses.
Ordering one right now. If you're curious about this, look also into Ginzburg's "The Night Battles," which is another rabbit hole entirely (and one I hope gets a new edition too).
I'll definitely read it, if anyone knows of other microhistories like it I'd welcome the recommendations, I enjoy a good biography (auto or not) of people and places.
I had no idea who he was before reading an obituary when he died a couple of months ago but I've read "The Cheese and the Worms" and "The Night Battles" after that and I plan to read all his works -- he really presents a version of history that hasn't been much covered by others.
I read this in college, with a fantastic professor (RIP) who also assigned Huizinga's "Homo Ludens." I loved it ...if only the rest of academic history was so free-thinking and human-centric, I might have stayed.
"Night Battles" is amazing too. And the fact that some of the scholarship in both books is contested adds to the interest - he really rattled some cages and wasn't afraid to take an idea and run with it.
Interesting that the professor assigned "Homo Ludens" rather than "The Waning of the Middle Ages" (or "Autumn of the Middle Ages" in some translations) which is a more famous work by Huizinga.
Oh, how wonderful. I've been meaning to pick this up but was worried about the accuracy and completeness of the old edition (not that I'd be able to tell, really). So this is great to hear:
> This new edition – the publication of which shortly and sadly pre-dated Ginzburg’s death on 17 June this year – is therefore invaluable, both as an engaging history in its own right and as a ‘classic’ of microhistory. The new translation by Stephen Twilley is excellent, correcting numerous small mistakes and infelicities in the 1980 English edition. It also includes the author’s previously untranslated afterword and a new postscript, which together provide insightful and moving reflections on how Ginzburg’s experiences as a Jew in the 1940s shaped his commitment to studying individuals in all their complexity rather than as merely part of the anonymous masses.
Ordering one right now. If you're curious about this, look also into Ginzburg's "The Night Battles," which is another rabbit hole entirely (and one I hope gets a new edition too).
and here's the JHUP link: https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53948/cheese-and-worms
I'll definitely read it, if anyone knows of other microhistories like it I'd welcome the recommendations, I enjoy a good biography (auto or not) of people and places.