The main problem with sharing highlights would be deciding where to start, because the book is just so jam-packed with interesting facts. I very much enjoyed an anecdote - relegated to a footnote! because there was just so much going on! - about Emerson refusing to invite Bronson Alcott's BFF Charles Lane to Thanksgiving dinner, because he couldn't bear the prospect of listening to the vegan Lane eulogize the turkey.
Actually there's a bunch of interesting stuff about dietary fads of the 19th century, although it's not Jennings' main topic so he doesn't go into much detail. But clearly a near-religious fervor about diet is a hallowed American tradition, right up there with apple pie.
Fourier's animus against giraffes puzzles me. Wouldn't it be better to keep giraffes around to delight the residents of utopia with their long necks and the weird stumpy antenna things on their heads? Surely the weirdness of giraffes is a natural mood-enhancer.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2016-05-10 01:15 am (UTC)Actually there's a bunch of interesting stuff about dietary fads of the 19th century, although it's not Jennings' main topic so he doesn't go into much detail. But clearly a near-religious fervor about diet is a hallowed American tradition, right up there with apple pie.
Fourier's animus against giraffes puzzles me. Wouldn't it be better to keep giraffes around to delight the residents of utopia with their long necks and the weird stumpy antenna things on their heads? Surely the weirdness of giraffes is a natural mood-enhancer.