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This is the first in an ongoing series that delves into
the contents of the bookshelf in my cluttered office,
in an attempt to answer the question, “Why is this still
sitting here?” Admittedly, this is not a timeless
or pressing question like, “Why is there war?”, “Why
bother with cabbage?” or “If the Creator has a Master
Plan, how do you account for Rod Stewart?”. These
questions are too big to tackle, so I need to aim lower.
My bookshelf is as good a place to start as any.
Obesity
and Depression in the Enlightenment: The Life and Times
of George Cheyne, by Anita Guerrini.
Waiters
tend to show solidarity to fellow food servers through
over-tipping. A similar compulsion prompted me
to buy this book, which I never really intended to read.
Anita Guerrini is a professor I know at the University
of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) who specializes
in—among other things—people’s diets in early modern
Europe and women’s roles in the anti-vivisection movement.
As you can tell, she also has a knack for the catchy
title, a trait lacking among most historians.
After
I wisely dropped out of the UCSB history of science
program in 1997, my ties to the study of history faded.
Over the next couple of years, I periodically checked
to see if the professors that I’d studied with had produced
any books. This was the first that I came across,
so its purchase became my show of solidarity, ensuring
that at least one copy of the book resided outside of
a university library or a graduate student’s tattered
black shoulder bag. I was thankful that the book
wasn’t about the history of vivisection, which is a
topic that I cannot stomach. Also, it didn’t hurt
that the book had such a flashy title, one that spices
up any bookshelf.
Ironically,
it’s impossible to see the book’s title now, because
it is gift-wrapped. I gave the book to my niece
Emily for Christmas a few years back, but she didn’t
appreciate it. She was eleven, so I understood.
I took it back, rewrapped it and it’s now waiting for
the right recipient. Who knows, now that Emily
is thirteen, it might finally make a good Christmas
present.
Because
the book is gift-wrapped I can’t remember what it’s
about, so I looked up its description on Amazon.com.
The passage is a little cryptic, but here it is:
Tipping
in at 450 pounds, English doctor Cheyne (1673-1743)
was able if anyone [sic] to embody the contradictions
and obsessions of the Enlightenment. Guerrini
… describes how he advocated moderation, admired Newton,
wrote on mathematics and natural philosophy, linked
mysticism and science, and invented the all-lettuce
diet.
After
reading this, I feel that I should unwrap the book and
find out more about this all-lettuce diet.
Lonely
Planet Guide to Montreal
I
didn’t realize this at the time of purchase, but I know
someone involved in the publishing of this book, as
well. However, that had nothing to do with this
book’s life on my shelf. I own this book because
I felt compelled to see a Montreal Expos home game before
they moved out of Montreal. The Expos’ home field,
Olympic Stadium, is widely regarded as the worst in
Major League Baseball (MLB), they have the worst attendance
and are one of the worst teams. The experience
of watching a game at Olympic Stadium is reputed to
be so bad that MLB decided to schedule a quarter of
the Expos’ home games in Puerto Rico, rather than subject
Montreal fans to a full slate. I looked forward
to sitting behind the dugout in a nearly empty stadium,
listening to the players chat on the bench.
In
the middle of the 2003 baseball season, MLB executives
threatened to relocate the team to Washington, D.C.,
which would spell the end of Les Expos. Near the
close of that season, the Expos played the feeble Milwaukee
Brewers, in what promised to be the most unmemorable
series in baseball history. I wanted to watch
the most unremarkable teams play out the string in the
worst ballpark in the Majors. My lovely wife indulged
this ridiculous wish, so I bought the Lonely Planet
guide to plan the trip.
We
didn’t have enough vacation time to properly explore
Quebec, so we basically were going to fly out just to
watch a couple of horrible games. Not long into
the planning process, I came to my senses and we avoided
spending a grand or two on this quixotic weekend getaway.
On
September 27, MLB announced that the Expos will become
the Washington Senators after the end of this season.
Alas, the opportunity to see Les Expos is gone forever,
but I’m sure a few thousand French Canadians would tell
me that I didn’t miss much. Anyway, we all need
to learn to live with disappointment.
Mr.
Lewis can be reached at jeff@babblog.com.
Copyright
Jeff Lewis, 2004 |
