8. A microhistory

[Milaarquen]

Guys, is "The Dorito Effect" a microhistory? It's about how we changed flavor and how it affects us.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[SadieReadsAgain]

Would Motherland (interviews with famous women about being working mothers) or A Hundred and One Days: A Baghdad Journal (about a reporters time among the Baghdad people at the time of the American military invasion) count?

[Jackie]

Milaarquen wrote: "Guys, is "The Dorito Effect" a microhistory? It's about how we changed flavor and how it affects us.

Yes.

Sarah wrote: "Would Motherland (interviews with famous women about being working mothers) or A Hundred and One Days: A Baghdad Journal (about a reporters time among the Baghdad peopl..."

No. These both seem a little too memoir / biography to be microhistory. Your challenge, your rules, but that's my two cents.

[Crumb]

willaful wrote: "I just read In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build a Perfect Language, which was a very good r..."

Willaful, Quackery would work for this one? Do you think this one would work as well? The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine? I'm interested in reading about the history of the medical field.. Or I am interested in reading:
Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital

I want to make sure these are "microhistories" . I am pretty sure they all are, but I'd like to consult the group.. if anyone could help that would be great. I don't want to read anything unless I know it is going to fulfill the prompt.

[Sarah]

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race Since this is about specific women in the history of NASA, does anyone think it would count?

[Sarah]

Would Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure count?

[Stina]

Would We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War count as a microhistory? It's about the music of the Vietnam War era.

[Elaine]

Stina wrote: "Would We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War count as a microhistory? It's about the music of the Vietnam War era."

That sounds awesome! Not weighing in on the rest, just that I like this idea.

[Tina]

Ally (the.imperfect.library) wrote: "This is an intriguing prompt. Would a book about witch trials in the UK/US count as a microhistory?"

I was looking for something along those lines, as well. Any help would be appreciated. I found The Witches: Salem, 1692 and was unsure if it would work.

[Crumb]

That sounds neat.. if anyone knows of a Microhistory about the Salem witch trials.. I'd be interested.

[Crumb]

Sarah wrote: "Would Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure count?"

WHAT?! How did I not know about this book!! I think it should work, Sarah.. and I am so excited.. thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[Sarah]

Crumb wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Would Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure count?"

WHAT?! How did I not know about this book!! I think it should work, Sarah.. and ..."

I just heard about it myself a few days ago. Super excited to read it when it comes out!

[Crumb]

Sarah wrote: "Crumb wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Would Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure count?"

WHAT?! How did I not know about this book!! I think it should work..."

Me too! Now that I know, I am so excited!

[Crumb]

Does anyone know of any microhistories about sex trafficking?

[Julia]

I just finished Hidden Tapestry and it is about Jan Yoors and his two wives. It talks about their history as well as World War 2 in detail. It was a fantastic novel.

[Danielle]

I was really unsure what to pick at first but decided on
Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two
I do not read a lot of non fiction books but I found this really interesting. I am glad I picked it!

[AnneS]

Elaine wrote: "I'm still unsure about this category. Please weigh in on my possible choices. TIA!

1. The Culper Ring: The History and Legacy of the Revolutionary War’s Most Famous Spy Ring
2. [bo..."

I just listened to "Get Well Soon" and really enjoyed it. If you listen to audiobooks, it is a good one because it has kind of chatty feel. Either way though, it was really fun and interesting. I bored my husband to death with the various arcane knowledge I learned!

[Elaine]

AnneS wrote: "Elaine wrote: "I'm still unsure about this category. Please weigh in on my possible choices. TIA!

1. [book:The Culper Ring: The History and Legacy of the Revolutionary War’s Most Famous Spy Ring|2..."

Marvellous! Thanks for that input. It sounds very interesting.

[Erin]

Would Radium Girls work for this?The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women

[Susan]

I read The Radium Girls and am counting it for microhistory.

[Tara]

I loved the Dorito effect. I’m not 100% sure I understand this category lol but I think it fits.

[Ingrid]

I was scrolling through your suggestions, totally uninspired for this prompt... So here is my question: I used to read "fictionalized" biographies, real bios in a form of a novel with a bit of extrapolation (like Wintering: A Novel of Sylvia Plath ). Do you guys know any microhistory book that would be of this type, in form of a novel but historically valid? I am not much into non fiction these days... Thanks!

[Johanne]

Maybe something like 'Girl with a pearl earring' by Tracy Chevalier? It is the fictionalized story of Vermeers painting, and in that way a micro art history.

[Johanne]

And I am also a bit uninspired, but thinking in the lines of something obscure about language/ etymology, which I find interesting. Any suggestions for me?

[Mandy]

I bought Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer would this count in Microhistory?

[Chinook]

Micro histories are, by definition, non-fiction, but I think that a fictional story about one small subject, like a single painting would fit the spirit of it.

[Johanne]

So, I just stumbled upon this guys books Mark Forsyth. I think A Short History of Drunkenness and The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language looks particularly interesting. (I might have to buy them, my library doesn´t have them...)

[Johanne]

Mandy wrote: "I bought Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer would this count in Microhistory?"

Yes, I think that´s more or less your definition of a microhistory.

[Chinook]

A microhistory is concentrated on one small event or idea. That sounds more like a survey of many different events/ideas to me.

[Miranda]

Would The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution fit this prompt? I'm thinking it does, since it's just focusing on the history of the birth control pill, but I'm not sure I'm entirely understanding the definition of 'microhistory.'

[Chinook]

A History of all Birth Control - a survey
A History of the Birth Control Pill - specific

The thing is that this term is used a bit differently academically, when it’s more of a look at all the research on one topic, vs in popular use, where it basically is taken to mean a history of a smaller subject, looked at in some depth, rather than a survey.

[Ruth]

Would an autobiography of an Israeli prime minister count as a microhistory? My Mom has a book she wants to lend me when she's done reading it, but I don't have the title in front of me (because she's not done reading it yet.)

[Rebecca]

I looked up micro history on GR and found two that interest me. One is called The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, or, the other one is called Color: A Natural History of the Palette.

[Kim]

Okay, this is crazy! I knew that my mom's cousin had written a book on the flooding of the Big Thompson River, in CO. I thought it would be perfect for this prompt, and I would get to read her book, maybe even give her a sale. I Googled it, and found it on Amazon. Reflection On The River: The Big Thompson Canyon Flood Of July 31, 1976. I clicked to the link (actually, I was surprised to even find it), and it is going for $155.30 used, to $199.95 new! It's just a little paperback, from 2001, for Pete's Sake! And the nearest library that has it is over 800 miles away from me. I wonder if she's given my mom a copy...

[Stina]

Kim wrote: "Okay, this is crazy! I knew that my mom's cousin had written a book on the flooding of the Big Thompson River, in CO. I thought it would be perfect for this prompt, and I would get to read her book..."

I'm in Fort Collins and our Friends of the Library book sale is next weekend. I will watch for it. You never know....

[Nadine in NY]

Johanne wrote: "And I am also a bit uninspired, but thinking in the lines of something obscure about language/ etymology, which I find interesting. Any suggestions for me?"

I'm guessing this book is about the English language only (but maybe not - I don't know - I haven't read it ... yet!), so I don't know if it will be interesting for you, but a friend of mine gave it a good review, and I think it counts as a microhistory: What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves

[Johanne]

Nadine wrote: "Johanne wrote: "And I am also a bit uninspired, but thinking in the lines of something obscure about language/ etymology, which I find interesting. Any suggestions for me?"

I'm guessing this book ..."

I was looking at that myself. Glad to hear it recommended - I might go with that - thanks :)

[Nadine in NY]

Ingrid wrote: "I was scrolling through your suggestions, totally uninspired for this prompt... So here is my question: I used to read "fictionalized" biographies, real bios in a form of a novel with a bit of extr..."

I think what you might like is "narrative nonfiction" - that's nonfiction that reads like a novel. They're not all microhistories, but there is a significant overlap. Something like The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon or The Last Days of Night or The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America might all work as microhistories (someone who is more expert in this genre than I am will hopefully speak up!)

Ruthla8 wrote: "Would an autobiography of an Israeli prime minister count as a microhistory? My Mom has a book she wants to lend me when she's done reading it, but I don't have the title in front of me (because sh..."

I don't think autobiographies count as microhistories.

[Rachael]

Not 100% sure I get what counts as a microhistory either. Does Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing count?

[Jackie]

Rachael wrote: "Not 100% sure I get what counts as a microhistory either. Does Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing count?"

Yes I'd count that. Basically what you're looking for is a history book (not a biography, not a memoir) that covers a small topic (or short time span). A typical history book might cover say the American Civil War, whereas a microhistory would be over say just the recovery and relocation of war dead following the civil war. Microhistories are just history books that have a much more limited scope.

[Rachael]

Jackie wrote: "Rachael wrote: "Not 100% sure I get what counts as a microhistory either. Does Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing count?"

Yes I'd count that. Basically what you're looking for ..."

Thanks Jackie, that's a really helpful explanation.

[Jackie]

Rachael wrote: "Jackie wrote: "Rachael wrote: "Not 100% sure I get what counts as a microhistory either. Does Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing count?"

Yes I'd count that. Basically what you'..."

You're welcome :)

What I love about this group is that we can all help each other with the prompts that are out of our comfort zone.

[Matt]

12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers

Is this a microhistory? I think it is since it is a specific event just wanted to get another pair of eyes on it.

[Јована]

Does The Bridge on the Drina count? It's a historical novel listing events that happened around a single bridge.

[Chinook]

No, it should be non-fiction.

[Sharyn]

this prompt is confusing me a bit... i have been wanting to read Stasiland by anna funder though.... wpuld it possibly count? thoughts?

[Liza]

I've had No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting on my TBR list for about three years now so this is the perfect opportunity.

[Johanne]

Liza wrote: "I've had No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting on my TBR list for about three years now so this is the perfect opportunity."

I don´t knit, but I love that title!

[Cyndy]

I read (with my book club) The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America's Enemies by Jason Fagone. It's described as a biography and while it is; it is more of a microhistory of codebreaking in the US government. This was an interesting read and I learned so much, that said, it was a struggle for me to pick the book up daily. I would recommend if you are interested in cryptography or in women breaking into a profession that is new or dominated by men. I think this could also count under the feminism category, because Elizebeth Smith Friedman was a working woman during WWI when women's options were nowhere near where they are today.

[Fran]

Liza wrote: "I've had No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting on my TBR list for about three years now so this is the perfect opportunity."

I knit, crochet, plastic canvas you name it! Thanks for sharing this I think I'll read it