Yes, that's sort of the idea, I think. The success of Citizens set a bad precedent. Schama's no fool, and he's a very good scholar, but there are plenty out there who're sloppy, stupid, or just don't care. The result of all this is apt to be things that really should be called "My Take on the Civil War", and the like. And let's face it: when you know you don't have to write notes, well, there are times you just don't bother to look it up...
Nobody really wants to publish anything unless they're sure it'll make really a lot of money, and not much scholarly work fits into that category. The irony is that they have to pretend that they want to, and even have to do it, because that's their job. Of course it's our job to write the stuff for them, and we have to pretend to want to do it, too. |
