"'There has always been 'too much to know'. In this lively and learned book, Ann Blair shows us how early modern Europeans managed to survive - and even to surf - what they saw as tidal waves of information. Her insightful comparisons, careful attention to the survival of traditional methods, and clear vision of the new culture of passionate curiosity that took place in the Renaissance give her work extraordinary range and depth.' (Anthony Grafton, Princeton University)"
Ann M. Blair is Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, MA.
"Fascinating. . . . If you like to know things, even in a world in
which there is already too much to know, Blair's book is a
mini-library in itself."—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
*The Washington Post*
"There has always been 'too much to know.' In this lively and
learned book, Ann Blair shows us how early modern Europeans managed
to survive—and even to surf—what they saw as tidal waves of
information. Her insightful comparisons, careful attention to the
survival of traditional methods, and clear vision of the new
culture of passionate curiosity that took place in the Renaissance
give her work extraordinary range and depth."—Anthony Grafton,
Princeton University
*Anthony Grafton*
"Staggering in its scope and impressive in its erudition, Too
Much to Know offers the first general account of both the causes
and cures of 'information overload' in Western culture, felt
with surprising force for many centuries even before the advent of
mass media or the internet. Blair's book is a history of reference
books and a reference book in its own right. It is a guide to the
working methods of past scholars that will greatly enhance the
research of present and future ones.”—William Sherman, The
University of York
*William Sherman*
"Blair's book is the combination of much original research with a
new point of view that brings together aspects of the history of
learning hitherto considered separately. An excellent and
wide-ranging study."—Nancy Siraisi, Hunter College and the Graduate
School, City University of New York
*Nancy Siraisi*
Listen here to Ann Blair's interview on NPR's "Talk of the
Nation."
*http://n.pr/hK9j9v*
"Too Much to Know is a fascinating account of the traditions,
ideals, and practices of early 'information management,' in
particular 'the collection and arrangement of textual experts' in
the centuries before our own computer age."—Michael Dirda, Book
World
*Book World*
"[a] timely book…Too Much to Know is our pre-history: a saga of
human search engines before the digital age….With extensive
learning, Blair explains how current concerns over information
overload are far from new."—James Delbourgo, Times Higher Education
Supplement
*Times Higher Education Supplement*
“Erudite and excellent…I am inclined to bestow a crown of laurels
on Blair…for undertaking such a herculean task.”—Paula Findlen, The
Nation
*The Nation*
"A major work of scholarship. . . . Blair clearly indicates the
path that future scholars will need to follow, and she has blazed
the first trails very well indeed. . . . Though her epilogue is
brief, it raises several questions that all scholars would do well
to consider."—Alan Jacobs, Books & Culture: A Christian
Review
*Books & Culture: A Christian Review*
“[A] landmark study.”—Choice
*Choice*
“Elegantly conceived…[Blair] expresses confidence in the progress
of the long struggle to master information overload.”—Jacob Soll,
The New Republic
*The New Republic*
“Too Much To Know is a book that, by the solidity of its prose and
the accurate richness of its scholarship, quietly reveals the
industry and ambition that has gone into making it.”—Richard
Serjeantson, Times Literary Supplement
*Times Literary Supplement*
"With a sure hand, Ann Blair has imposed system on an unusually
large mass of data. . . . Blair’s approach is original,
consistently leading to an innovative synthesis whose strong points
are the breadth and concreteness of her presentation."—Angela
Nuovo, Renaissance Quarterly
*Renaissance Quarterly*
Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2011 in the
History, Geography and Area Studies category.
*Choice*
"Ann Blair has achieved quite a scholarly feat in her pursuit to
understand the history of information management as exemplified by
the early modern Latin reference books. In her work these books are
thoroughly described and analyzed as to their driving forces,
variety, tools of text organization, impact, and methods used in
producing them, while all this is steeped in a rich analysis of
crucial diachronic and synchronic contexts. The discussion on early
modern note taking in chapter two [...] should be considered a
separate contribution to scholarship on the topic. This is also one
of the best illustrated books I have reviewed, in teh sense that
almost all of the provided illustrations are quite smoothly
connected with the argument, reinforcing it rather than simply
illustrating it."—Iordan Avramov, Divinatio: Studia Culturologica
Series
*Divinatio studia culturologica series*
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