The book was written by Melvyn Bragg, whose work I normally enjoy reading, but this tome I really did struggle with. Perhaps I was not in the right frame of mind to read it, with Mum being so poorly in hospital, but I really did struggle to get through it.
He describes the following as seminal works :
- Principia Mathematica by Sir Isaac Newton - fair enough; that was important and world-changing
- Married Love by Marie Stopes - she who disinherited one of her children for marrying someone who needed to wear glasses and therefore was sullying the eugenic gene pool as she perceived it.
- Magna Carta (1215) - I'll allow this one, though whether it was entirely A Good Thing could be debated :-)
- The Rule Book Of Association Football (1863) - well, I find UK football heartily boring. Enough said.
- On The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin. Yawn.
- On The Abolition Of The Slave Trade by William Wilberforce - fair enough.
- A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women (1792) by Mary Wollstonecraft - fair enough
- Experimental Research On Electricity by Michael Faraday. Important, certainly. Boring, yes.
- Patent Specification for Arkwright's Spinning Machine (1769) Definitely important and heralding major innovation in Britain's Industrial Revolution. But fascinating ? Not really.
- The King James Bible (1611) By William Tyndale et al - well, this has had major influence throughout the world :-)
- An Inquiry Into The Nature and Causes Of The Wealth Of Nations (1776) by Adam Smith. Tedious.
- The First Folio by William Shakespeare - definitely "right up there" with the Bible, IMO
1 comment:
I so agree on #11, I was just discussing that with a friend the other day.
And thanks! I was curious.
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