#AcademicRunPlaylist - 5/4/25

I had a pretty relaxing weekend, which gave me some time to listen to books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was "The Enlightenment" by Ritchie Robertson. If you want to get a sense of how messy and complex the "Enlightenment" era/concept is and enjoy deep scholarly works of history (✋) this is your book. Robertson methodically dissects different aspects of the period, reviewing not only the philosophical, political, and scientific movements but also changes in social norms such as travel and the arts to reveal the important developments that occurred during the Enlightenment. What emerges is a world with discourse that feels strikingly modern, but Robertson properly situates these changes in their historical context to encourage the reader to avoid interpreting these events through our present lens. I would have liked a bit more analytical connective tissue, as most of the high level conclusions are in the beginning and end of the book. Still, as a rich entry point to one of humanity's most important periods, and the one that set the table for the Industrial Revolution, you can't do better. Highly recommend https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-enlightenment-ritchie-robertson

Last was "The Invention of Yesterday" by Tamim Ansary. This book is a speedrun of human history that essentially sidelines the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa until recent centuries. It's an accessible history, with the tradeoff that most of the book lacks citations and is replete with sweeping assertions with little backing. It's somewhat understandable - covering 50,000 years in a single book adequately is basically impossible - but the lack of coherent analysis to tie together disparate geographies and time periods position the book more as a historical index. Identifying events that you want to follow up on with further reading is probably the best way to approach this book https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tamim-ansary/the-invention-of-yesterday/9781610397971/