[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChxUVscPrp4] This book raised some questions about what we should expect from biographers. Are they merely relating details of the life of a person, or should they provide more of a commentary on that life as well? Is what we might consider to be ‘neutral’ reporting actually just reinforcing the status quo? By not dwelling on the more questionable parts of a subject’s personality, is the biographer acting in an appropriate manner, or are they implicitly giving their approval by not spending more time […]
Bob Ripley was kind of an asshole
The subject of this book, Leroy Robert Ripley of “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!”, was very interesting. He was a strange, strange man who came up with an incredible concept and made quite a name for himself, although he remained unhappy for most of him life. The writing, however, left something to be desired. Thompson’s style is weirdly informal and relaxed, and comes off like he didn’t do his research (which I’m sure he did!) — more like he’s just making stuff up on the fly. The […]