Microhistory: Social Histories of Just One Thing (1825 books)

To borrow from Wikipedia, "Microhistory is the intensive historical investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (most often a single event, the community of a village, a family or a person)."

flag

All Votes Add Books To This List

1	Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach 4.06 avg rating — 238,940 ratings score: 31,765, and 324 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky 3.75 avg rating — 76,368 ratings score: 27,701, and 281 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester 3.84 avg rating — 121,553 ratings score: 22,682, and 233 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson (Goodreads Author) 3.89 avg rating — 56,031 ratings score: 16,116, and 165 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel 3.99 avg rating — 76,086 ratings score: 15,214, and 156 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.34 avg rating — 113,626 ratings score: 14,095, and 144 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Goodreads Author) 4.13 avg rating — 800,376 ratings score: 11,740, and 122 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick (Goodreads Author) 4.17 avg rating — 118,245 ratings score: 11,660, and 120 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand 4.23 avg rating — 168,150 ratings score: 10,679, and 110 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson 3.99 avg rating — 98,297 ratings score: 10,260, and 106 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum 4.01 avg rating — 37,033 ratings score: 9,960, and 104 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky 3.92 avg rating — 24,997 ratings score: 9,821, and 102 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (Goodreads Author) 3.81 avg rating — 33,608 ratings score: 9,174, and 95 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson (Goodreads Author) 4.05 avg rating — 71,946 ratings score: 8,637, and 90 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry 3.98 avg rating — 42,463 ratings score: 8,499, and 89 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach 3.85 avg rating — 60,118 ratings score: 8,116, and 85 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author) 4.01 avg rating — 224,289 ratings score: 7,824, and 82 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh 4.30 avg rating — 28,856 ratings score: 7,608, and 79 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (Goodreads Author) 4.39 avg rating — 359,530 ratings score: 7,271, and 75 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson (Goodreads Author) 3.89 avg rating — 218,879 ratings score: 7,204, and 76 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach 3.95 avg rating — 60,155 ratings score: 6,981, and 73 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay 3.79 avg rating — 72,591 ratings score: 6,598, and 69 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann 4.05 avg rating — 94,767 ratings score: 6,167, and 64 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (Goodreads Author) 3.78 avg rating — 56,266 ratings score: 5,878, and 63 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (Goodreads Author) 3.92 avg rating — 55,991 ratings score: 5,493, and 58 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne 4.25 avg rating — 66,661 ratings score: 5,409, and 56 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard 4.23 avg rating — 83,967 ratings score: 5,318, and 56 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester 3.82 avg rating — 14,097 ratings score: 5,297, and 56 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World by Dan Koeppel 3.81 avg rating — 5,375 ratings score: 5,253, and 57 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (Goodreads Author) 4.48 avg rating — 116,110 ratings score: 5,231, and 54 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded [August 27, 1883] by Simon Winchester 3.88 avg rating — 21,798 ratings score: 5,190, and 55 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts 4.39 avg rating — 29,194 ratings score: 4,749, and 50 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King 3.91 avg rating — 28,143 ratings score: 4,741, and 50 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore (Goodreads Author) 4.16 avg rating — 183,675 ratings score: 4,462, and 47 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach 3.60 avg rating — 40,597 ratings score: 4,105, and 44 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife 3.97 avg rating — 11,734 ratings score: 3,948, and 42 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell 4.01 avg rating — 852,199 ratings score: 3,922, and 42 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield 3.95 avg rating — 61,589 ratings score: 3,793, and 40 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	Tulipomania: The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower & the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused by Mike Dash 3.66 avg rating — 2,919 ratings score: 3,415, and 37 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin (Goodreads Author) 3.89 avg rating — 13,063 ratings score: 3,278, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz 4.10 avg rating — 25,345 ratings score: 3,229, and 34 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean (Goodreads Author) 3.66 avg rating — 21,801 ratings score: 3,085, and 34 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson (Goodreads Author) 4.13 avg rating — 160,618 ratings score: 3,079, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh 4.30 avg rating — 33,304 ratings score: 3,074, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing 4.46 avg rating — 162,997 ratings score: 3,001, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do and What It Says About Us by Tom Vanderbilt 3.72 avg rating — 8,176 ratings score: 2,994, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (Goodreads Author) 4.46 avg rating — 98,949 ratings score: 2,958, and 31 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul by Karen Abbott (Goodreads Author) 3.63 avg rating — 13,185 ratings score: 2,934, and 31 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough 4.13 avg rating — 25,241 ratings score: 2,907, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast (Goodreads Author) 3.69 avg rating — 3,045 ratings score: 2,850, and 31 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	The Calendar : The 5000 Year Struggle to Align the Clock and the Heavens and What Happened to the Missing Ten Days by David Ewing Duncan 3.84 avg rating — 1,107 ratings score: 2,848, and 31 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	Mauve: How One Man Invented a Colour That Changed the World by Simon Garfield 3.67 avg rating — 1,893 ratings score: 2,842, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan 3.71 avg rating — 4,538 ratings score: 2,809, and 30 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 by David McCullough 4.22 avg rating — 22,896 ratings score: 2,703, and 29 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield (Goodreads Author) 3.88 avg rating — 3,079 ratings score: 2,633, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson (Goodreads Author) 3.86 avg rating — 10,287 ratings score: 2,616, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell 3.64 avg rating — 15,461 ratings score: 2,611, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt 3.87 avg rating — 35,112 ratings score: 2,557, and 27 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean by Trevor Corson really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4,657 ratings score: 2,329, and 25 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	The True History of Chocolate by Sophie D. Coe 3.80 avg rating — 1,540 ratings score: 2,327, and 27 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages by Anne Mendelson 3.62 avg rating — 557 ratings score: 2,274, and 26 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner 3.64 avg rating — 2,563 ratings score: 2,270, and 26 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind by Henry Hobhouse 3.82 avg rating — 625 ratings score: 2,214, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
64	London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd 3.96 avg rating — 5,976 ratings score: 2,204, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
65	How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer 3.79 avg rating — 13,288 ratings score: 2,199, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
66	Flu: The Story Of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It by Gina Kolata 3.91 avg rating — 7,649 ratings score: 2,192, and 25 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
66	Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese 3.73 avg rating — 2,266 ratings score: 2,192, and 26 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
68	The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History by Katherine Ashenburg 3.72 avg rating — 2,506 ratings score: 2,113, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
69	Tea: The Drink that Changed the World by Laura C. Martin (Goodreads Author) 3.71 avg rating — 578 ratings score: 2,080, and 25 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
70	The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky 3.96 avg rating — 5,272 ratings score: 2,074, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
71	The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World by Larry Zuckerman 3.62 avg rating — 567 ratings score: 2,058, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
72	Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats by Steve Ettlinger (Goodreads Author) 3.38 avg rating — 2,330 ratings score: 2,029, and 22 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
73	The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters by Rose George (Goodreads Author) 4.01 avg rating — 2,628 ratings score: 2,014, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
74	Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik (Goodreads Author) 3.72 avg rating — 11,903 ratings score: 1,871, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
75	The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance by Henry Petroski 3.81 avg rating — 651 ratings score: 1,858, and 22 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
76	Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand 4.39 avg rating — 993,416 ratings score: 1,827, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
77	The Family that Couldn't Sleep by D.T. Max (Goodreads Author) 3.93 avg rating — 6,456 ratings score: 1,815, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
78	Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder 4.20 avg rating — 88,490 ratings score: 1,801, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
79	A History of the Breast by Marilyn Yalom 3.96 avg rating — 592 ratings score: 1,727, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
80	The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Marc Levinson 3.86 avg rating — 6,884 ratings score: 1,726, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
81	The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-line Pioneers by Tom Standage (Goodreads Author) 3.96 avg rating — 3,581 ratings score: 1,717, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
82	Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage by Stephanie Coontz (Goodreads Author) 3.98 avg rating — 3,694 ratings score: 1,715, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
83	1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann 4.12 avg rating — 20,921 ratings score: 1,714, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
84	A History of the Wife: An Intellectually Vigorous Cultural History of Marriage―From Medieval Europe to Contemporary America by Marilyn Yalom 3.84 avg rating — 1,651 ratings score: 1,711, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
85	The Devil's Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee by Stewart Lee Allen 3.64 avg rating — 2,062 ratings score: 1,668, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
86	No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne Macdonald 4.03 avg rating — 700 ratings score: 1,662, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
87	The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 by Barbara W. Tuchman 4.12 avg rating — 9,646 ratings score: 1,644, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
88	Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History by Giles Milton 3.82 avg rating — 5,357 ratings score: 1,609, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
89	The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John Vaillant 4.11 avg rating — 12,865 ratings score: 1,584, and 17 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
90	Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber 4.21 avg rating — 26,639 ratings score: 1,543, and 17 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
91	Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall 4.30 avg rating — 232,755 ratings score: 1,520, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
92	Paris, 1919: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan 4.13 avg rating — 15,059 ratings score: 1,513, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
93	Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz (Goodreads Author) 3.84 avg rating — 3,449 ratings score: 1,508, and 17 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
94	Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany by Norman Ohler 4.06 avg rating — 32,142 ratings score: 1,505, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
95	The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America by Russell Shorto (Goodreads Author) 4.17 avg rating — 11,421 ratings score: 1,503, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
96	E=mc²: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis (Goodreads Author) 4.10 avg rating — 8,328 ratings score: 1,487, and 17 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
97	Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo 3.98 avg rating — 116,408 ratings score: 1,451, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
98	The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis 3.76 avg rating — 5,313 ratings score: 1,433, and 15 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
99	The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston 4.16 avg rating — 121,068 ratings score: 1,432, and 15 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
100	1968: The Year that Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky 3.82 avg rating — 3,381 ratings score: 1,429, and 15 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

← Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 18 19 Next →

1,825 books · 2,213 voters · list created November 10th, 2008 by Blueguitar411 Ross (votes) .

Tags: 18th-century-history, 19th-century-history, 20th-century-history, american-history, botany, british-history, european-history, food-history, history, history-of, history-of-medicine, microhistory, natural-history, one-subject, one-topic, science, technology, united-states-history, world-history

3647 likes · Like

Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.

People Who Voted On This List (2213)

Blueguitar411 37 books
18 friends

Marie 2546 books
177 friends

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3386 books
851 friends

Sally 6019 books
121 friends

Angel 2520 books
114 friends

Karen 626 books
9 friends

Amy 481 books
48 friends

Sherri 2070 books
78 friends

More voters…

Post a comment »
Comments Showing 1-50 of 68 (68 new)

date

newest »

message 1: by Blueguitar411 (last edited Nov 10, 2008 09:05AM) (new)

Nov 10, 2008 08:49AM

This list is my brainstorming session before setting up a display in the case outside the small branch library where I work.

Written by me (public librarian in New York) my Dad (urban planner and should-be history teacher in Toronto) and my librarian friends on Facebook.

Please add books, comments..!

reply | flag

message 2: by Angel (new)

Nov 18, 2008 04:59PM

This is one of my favorite book categories to read. Glad someone made a list for it.

reply | flag

message 3: by Doris (new)

Apr 01, 2009 08:20AM

and where are the classics? Cheese and worms by Ginzburg, Martin Guerre by Zamon-Davis and Montaillou by Ladurie?

reply | flag

message 4: by Stephen (new)

Oct 05, 2009 06:19PM

I love this book category as well. In fact I write these sorts of books, although they have gone somewhat out of favour for publishers lately. The list should include Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner and a Gentleman Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail, by Stephen R. Bown

reply | flag

message 5: by Damaris (new)

Nov 18, 2009 01:18PM

what a great list!! i really enjoyed it. honestly all i can see are gaps where more single-minded books need to be written... where is pepper? cats?

reply | flag

message 6: by Jessica (new)

Jan 09, 2011 11:01AM

Good list! I found more than a few to add to my own "To-be Read List". However, I would recommend that you include: "Chicago: A Biography" by Dominic A. Pacyga.

reply | flag

message 7: by Deanna (new)

Jan 09, 2011 09:38PM

Great list! I'm glad to learn that I'm not so odd, friends tease me because I love books on the history of random inanimate objects...

reply | flag

message 8: by Gregory (new)

May 31, 2011 05:28AM

I think these type of books are my favorite types. They follow one idea and show their connection to the whole historical moment. In an ideal world, I wish U.S. High School History was taught throw one of these books, and the the teacher could fill in the dates and other important markers for the kids to know. History is hard to learn because it is taught as disjointed moments; these books present memorable history.

reply | flag

message 9: by Jim (new)

Jun 28, 2011 02:02PM

Great list. Added a bunch to my to read list.

reply | flag

message 10: by Lobstergirl (new)

Jul 27, 2011 08:47PM

Bear in mind what microhistory is, and also social history. A book covering the entirety of the British Empire is neither.

reply | flag

message 11: by James (new)

Sep 03, 2011 08:54PM

Oranges, by John McPhee (and really most of McPhee's excellent work).

reply | flag

message 12: by Bluth (new)

Feb 22, 2012 02:01AM

Thank you for making this list.Found a few new additions to my reading pile.

reply | flag

message 13: by Ali Raza (new)

Mar 16, 2012 09:31PM

The list is very interesting read.some topics are quite amazing!

reply | flag

message 14: by Jeppe (new)

May 02, 2012 09:40AM

What an odd list. Most of these books have nothing to do with microhistory at all, but are just regular works of history, popular or otherwise.

reply | flag

message 15: by Kay (new)

May 09, 2012 12:53PM

Jeppe wrote: "What an odd list. Most of these books have nothing to do with microhistory at all, but are just regular works of history, popular or otherwise."

I agree. These aren't microhistories.

reply | flag

message 16: by Manchespoetra (new)

Jun 26, 2012 02:56PM

reply | flag

message 17: by Steve (new)

Aug 23, 2012 07:12PM

Funny to me how many of these titles that contain the words "That Changed the World."

reply | flag

message 18: by Gary F (new)

Oct 11, 2012 07:19AM

This list is an absolute treasure as this genre is my favorite to read.

reply | flag

message 19: by Fiona (new)

Jan 23, 2013 06:38AM

Great list, but some of these books are not microhistories:
- Guns, Germs and Steel: It doesn't cover "just one thing" but has a much broader scope, more of a "macrohistory" than a micro.
- Year of Wonders: historical fiction
- The Diary of a Young Girl: memoir

reply | flag

message 20: by Catherine (new)

Mar 02, 2013 06:48PM

I love delving into this genre. Many thanks for generating such a comprehensive list. I had already read many of them and am delighted to add so many more to my wish list.

reply | flag

message 21: by Pixelina (new)

Oct 22, 2013 04:06PM

I think I want to read ALL of these lol.

reply | flag

message 22: by Ashley (new)

Nov 24, 2013 11:09PM

Kay wrote: "Jeppe wrote: "What an odd list. Most of these books have nothing to do with microhistory at all, but are just regular works of history, popular or otherwise."

I agree. These aren't microhistories."

Books like "Quiet" aren't even history, much less microhistory. Still, more winners than losers.

reply | flag

message 23: by Grumpus (last edited Mar 24, 2014 04:50AM) (new)

Mar 24, 2014 04:50AM

A few books are listed twice.
Overall a fairly interesting list.

More Steven Johnson may be needed.

Also: "Speed Tribes: Days and Night's with Japan's Next Generation."
A book about bōsōzoku, Japanese motorcycle 'gangs.'

reply | flag

message 24: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (new)

Mar 24, 2014 09:00AM

It's easy to add books to lists; at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."

reply | flag

message 25: by Grumpus (new)

Mar 24, 2014 11:28PM

Oh, thanks for that.

reply | flag

message 26: by Rainbowheart (new)

Sep 18, 2014 02:44PM

Ok, this list is a huge mess. Many of the books aren't microhistories at all. I'm going to try to go through and remove some of them. Suggestions?

reply | flag

message 27: by Ashley (new)

Sep 19, 2014 03:06AM

Rainbowheart wrote: "Ok, this list is a huge mess. Many of the books aren't microhistories at all. I'm going to try to go through and remove some of them. Suggestions?"

I've wanted to do that several times, but I can't figure out how and don't know the etiquette there. Part of me thinks we should be democratic and leave anything with multiple votes, but I really don't know.

reply | flag

message 28: by Rainbowheart (new)

Sep 19, 2014 08:05AM

Hi Ashley, I'm a librarian, so I have powers to do cleanup on lists. As long as the book is clearly miscategorized, it's considered kosher to remove them. I think a lot of people who voted were unaware of the definition of "microhistory," specifically the "one thing" and "sweeping" parts. Biographies shouldn't be on here, nor should accounts of particular historical incidents.

I see some people up above mentioned Guns, Germs, and Steel, and I would agree. That appears to be a macrohistory, not a microhistory. Quiet by Susan Cain is not a history at all. So I'm going to go ahead and delete those two. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as well. That's a biography of a woman, not a sweeping social history of a thing.

If anyone else has ideas, please post here in the comments.

reply | flag

message 29: by Laura (new)

Feb 20, 2015 02:12PM

Rainbowheart wrote: "Hi Ashley, I'm a librarian, so I have powers to do cleanup on lists. As long as the book is clearly miscategorized, it's considered kosher to remove them. I think a lot of people who voted were una..."

I'm not particularly invested in keeping these lists clean and accurate (whatever that means), but "Immortal Life..." is absolutely a microhistory. It is a history of HeLa Cells, through which Skloot is able to tell a history of race and medicine in 20th century America. Not looking for revisions or corrections, just felt that was important to say.

reply | flag

message 30: by Chandler (new)

Mar 17, 2015 07:11AM

I've heard this genre referred to as "Microhistory" before. At least I think it's the same thing. Is there a difference?

reply | flag

message 31: by Lobstergirl (new)

Mar 27, 2015 10:39PM

Well now someone (not the list creator) has completely changed the title, description, and meaning of the list. !?!

None of the books I voted onto the list a long time ago are histories of commodities. I don't read histories of commodities...but I do sometimes read "microhistories," which was what I was voting.

reply | flag

message 32: by Lobstergirl (new)

Mar 27, 2015 10:39PM

Chandler wrote: "I've heard this genre referred to as "Microhistory" before. At least I think it's the same thing. Is there a difference?"

The title used to be "Microhistories." Someone changed it.

reply | flag

message 33: by Rainbowheart (new)

Mar 27, 2015 10:46PM

It's confusing. Is the original list creator still around? I think there was some debate over whether single items were actually microhistories or not. I got a PM from someone recently about that. Maybe we should split this up into two separate lists. Keep this one for microhistories, and make a new list for commodity histories?

reply | flag

message 34: by Lobstergirl (new)

Mar 27, 2015 10:57PM

The creator hasn't been onsite since 2013, looks like.

I think a history of a single item is certainly a microhistory. The problem as I see it is narrowing the header to "commodities." A microhistory doesn't have to be a history of a commodity, or a thing. It can be a history of bad manners, like one of the books I voted on. Wiki has a definition:

Microhistory is the intensive historical investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (most often a single event, the community of a village, a family or a person).

In terms of "splitting" the list, certainly I would say revert this one back to what it was. Others can start a new list for commodities (I tend not to read books like that).

I hope no one deleted books from the list that were microhistories, but not specifically about commodities...

reply | flag

message 35: by Rainbowheart (last edited Mar 27, 2015 11:05PM) (new)

Mar 27, 2015 11:05PM

I agree, the Wikipedia definition seems pretty clear. As far as I can tell, the person who changed the title didn't delete any books, so it looks like all the votes are still here. Reverting back to the list's original title makes sense to me.

reply | flag

message 36: by Lobstergirl (new)

Apr 01, 2015 10:42PM

I changed it, and added the definition to make it more clear. It was confusing before, because the header contained both the words "microhistory" and "sweeping," which are contradictory.

reply | flag

message 37: by Rebecca (new)

Apr 10, 2015 06:30AM

These books are still not microhistories. Ah. The great Goodreads debate.

reply | flag

message 38: by Rebecca (last edited Apr 10, 2015 06:55AM) (new)

Apr 10, 2015 06:48AM

Lobstergirl wrote: "I changed it, and added the definition to make it more clear. It was confusing before, because the header contained both the words "microhistory" and "sweeping," which are contradictory."
I am also a librarian and I am the one who took microhistory out of the title. I thought it was a simple way to clarify the issue. These books and the definition you put in are just incorrect. Microhistory is not defined as "the social history of just one thing" any more than "flower" is defined as "an Italian food made using leftovers that has become an American staple." No matter how much people may come to think so, a flower is still not a pizza. This list itself seems to be the origin of the confusion about what microhistory is. If you look back at original comments, you'll see confused people asking things like "where is the cheese and the worms?" and noting "these are not microhistory."
Also, many of these books are cultural histories, not social histories. Most of them look at vast periods of time, making the subtitle, but not the word "microhistory" the only thing that was correct about the list of books. Books like sugar, salt, cod, etc. are better termed general cultural history, food studies or commodity history. I actually think we should just change the title to popular books about history, since people's efforts to add actual microhistories, along with various journalistic studies and history of science, have made the whole thing into a huge muddle.
Pretty much any book about any topic is going to be about "just one thing." That definition is close to meaningless if you are trying to define a genre in non-fiction writing.
Microhistory refers to a specific school of historical research and writing created in the 1960s-1970s. The main proponent and theorist who defined it is an Italian historian named Carlo Ginzburg. Please look at this website: http://microhistory.org/ which includes a bibliography.

reply | flag

message 39: by Lobstergirl (last edited Apr 10, 2015 05:06PM) (new)

Apr 10, 2015 05:04PM

Rebecca, first of all, I didn't start the list. The person who started it used the label Microhistory. People began voting for books they thought were microhistories. Some of these included histories of commodities, but many didn't. Then you changed the list title to refer to commodities. Well, none of the books I voted for, when the list was about Microhistories, were about commodities. So all of a sudden, my books did not apply to the list. Your attempt to "clarify the issue" clarified nothing, but instead rendered many people's votes suddenly invalid, which isn't fair to them, or to the list creator. As a librarian you can't just change the title and description of a list to fit your perception of what the list has become after it has accumulated a bunch of books. Librarians first and foremost need to defer to the wishes of the list creator. I think it was a little brazen of you to make such a radical change to the title and the list.

I suggest if you want a different list, whether it's commodity histories or whatever, that you start it yourself rather than hijacking this list.

reply | flag

message 40: by Rebecca (last edited Apr 10, 2015 07:03PM) (new)

Apr 10, 2015 07:02PM

Lobstergirl wrote: "Rebecca, first of all, I didn't start the list. The person who started it used the label Microhistory. People began voting for books they thought were microhistories. Some of these included hist..."

I know you didn't make the list. I wasn't trying to invalidate anyone's votes or remove anyone's books - quite the opposite. Rather than trying to correct the list by deleting everything that is not a microhistory (probably about 90% of the list) I thought I would change the title to reflect what's in the list. I'm sorry that the title I came up with, which I thought applied to most of the books people wanted to include (Salt, Beer, etc) doesn't apply to the books you put there. So, why not change the title to something more general that embraces all the books on the list?
Keeping the title as "microhistory" makes it easier for people to find the list, but then it's perpetuating an actual mistake. This mistake is erasing the field of microhistory which is a real thing and is entirely different from most of what appears on this list. Really, as Jeppe says a few comments above, almost nothing on this list is a microhistory. There are almost 900 books on the list with 1400 people voting for them, and I haven't counted, but I'd guess that 10 of the books are actually microhistories.
As for deferring to a list creator's wishes, does that apply when the list creator has changed the definition of a word for an academic subfield in order to use it to mean some books that he/she likes? What if the original list editor was just making a mistake? Is it possible to correct a mistake on the internet?
If you look back into the edits that is actually what happened. The definition was adapted from Wikipedia which defines Microhistory as a detailed historical study of an "individual event, person or community." The list creator changed "person or community" to a "trend or concept."
There is a huge difference between writing about an individual person in one specific place and time and connecting their actions to a broader culture (microhistory) and writing about a trend, object, food, or concept over a long period of time. (cultural history, general history, or whatever you want to call it)
If you think I am making this up, please look at the following website: http://microhistory.org
There's also a decent article on the History News Network about the field that you can read here: http://historynewsnetwork.org/article...

reply | flag

message 41: by Lobstergirl (new)

Apr 10, 2015 07:23PM

Deleted Year of Wonders which is fiction.

reply | flag

message 42: by Lobstergirl (new)

Apr 10, 2015 07:28PM

Rebecca wrote: "Rather than trying to correct the list by deleting everything that is not a microhistory (probably about 90% of the list) I thought I would change the title to reflect what's in the list. I'm sorry that the title I came up with, which I thought applied to most of the books people wanted to include (Salt, Beer, etc) doesn't apply to the books you put there. So, why not change the title to something more general that embraces all the books on the list? "

But that's not the way listopias are supposed to work. The parameters of the list are not supposed to change as people add, mistakenly, what they think should be on the list. The list creator's intent is what determines the parameters. I agree that the list creator was a bit confused about what microhistory is, but that doesn't invalidate her intentions. I understand a reluctance to delete books on a list if they comprise 90% of the list. I agree there are a ton of books on the list which do not belong, and are not microhistory. But deleting them is the correct action. Retitling the list to fit completely different parameters is not the correct action.

reply | flag

message 43: by Rebecca (new)

Apr 10, 2015 07:53PM

There are 15 books on this list that are even close to the definition of microhistory and that's with a very loose definition, The problem is that microhistory not the defined as the history of "just one thing. "The list is perpetuating a mistaken definition of the term and is also erasing and obscuring actual microhistory, None of the classic works of microhistory appear on the list.

reply | flag

message 44: by Lobstergirl (new)

Apr 11, 2015 04:28PM

(Copying this from the thread about listopias in Feedback Group.)

"The Cheese and the Worms" does appear above. ~~on that list (which I believe you are calling the first microhistory list, the one with 893 books on it, created November 10, 2008).~~ I know because I voted for it, eons ago now.

I don't want to belabor this issue forever (I'd like to stop now, really), but maybe you should just concentrate on the microhistory list you created, since it seems to be the only one that can satisfy your very stringent definition of microhistory. I would be in favor of culling some of the books on the 893-list that use much too wide an understanding of microhistory, but I certainly don't want to see the list shrunk down to a tiny handful of books.

reply | flag

message 45: by Lobstergirl (new)

Apr 11, 2015 04:38PM

Deleted The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You which is not even history.

reply | flag

message 46: by Moloch (new)

Apr 12, 2015 11:05AM

Is it absolutely out of the question to title this list just "Social Histories of Just One Thing"?

reply | flag

message 47: by Catherine (new)

Apr 12, 2015 11:38AM

Thank you Ladies for taking the time and expending so much effort to ensure that each and every list in Listopia complies with stringent parameters. What a mission you have set for yourselves! I am just a casual user of GoodReads. I admire the dedication that members feel about accuracy within the lists. I have no idea how many lists have been created over the years. There appear to be thousands!

reply | flag

message 48: by Rebecca (new)

Apr 15, 2015 05:38AM

Moloch wrote: "Is it absolutely out of the question to title this list just "Social Histories of Just One Thing"?"
I don't see why not. I think that would keep the spirit of the list and stop people from feeling they had to delete books from it.

reply | flag

message 49: by Lobstergirl (new)

Apr 15, 2015 05:08PM

How about we leave the title as is, since the list creator chose to use the term microhistory.

Rebecca, you've created your own Microhistory list. Do you really need to dictate the terms of two such lists?

reply | flag

message 50: by Rebecca (last edited Apr 15, 2015 08:52PM) (new)

Apr 15, 2015 08:50PM

Lobstergirl wrote: "How about we leave the title as is, since the list creator chose to use the term microhistory.

Rebecca, you've created your own Microhistory list. Do you really need to dictate the terms of two s..."

I said early on that my quest to seize back the definition of microhistory for its founders was a Quixotic one, but even I have tired of tilting at this windmill.

For anyone else who's been following this discussion or has happened upon this comment thread with wonder and amazement, Wikipedia's editors answered a question about this almost 10 years ago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AM...

I also want to note the awesomeness of this blog from the Seattle Public Library discussing the trend of books that dominate this list. In the comments thread, someone told them that the word for these books was "microhistory" Here was their response:

" We did some research while debating what to call these books and discovered that there is a very specific definition for Microhistory –
"Rather than describing and analyzing broad topics, such as the American Civil War, microhistorians focus on specific events, such as Pickett’s Charge, which occurred within the context of broader fields of study.” http://web.uvic.ca/vv/student/vicbrew...
None of the sites or definitions we found included any of the books mentioned within their bibliographies. Indeed none of them mentioned focusing on a phenomenon over time. Therefore our mono-history definition as the history of a single item rather than a single event or place."

You can read the rest here: https://shelftalkblog.wordpress.com/2...

reply | flag

« previous 1 2 next »