TITLE: The Devil's Details: A History of Footnotes
AUTHOR: Chuck Zerby
STARTED: October 18, 2010
FINISHED: October 25, 2010
PAGES: 150
GENRE: Books about Books
FIRST SENTENCE: The need for an adequate book on footnotes is obvious.
SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com
] Beyond their basic function as a source of information and reference at the bottom of a page, can footnotes be a source of excitement, delight, and surprise? Maybe not in the eyes of most, especially students, novice writers, and some publishers. But Zerby, a former columnist and former dean of campus at Goddard, finds a lot to say, and convincingly so, for footnotes that do more than merely cite sources. He traces footnotes back to the 16th century, relating the story of the first genuine footnote and other trivia, such as a footnote that comprised a whole volume and another that served as the clue to a murder mystery. Alas, footnotes lost prestige when they became endnotes and were relegated to the back of books beginning in the 1950s. The author takes note of their unclear status in the new 21st-century electronic environment. Hardly stuffy or trivial, this is a unique book that is also entertaining, factual, and a good read. As if to live up to its title, this lighthearted but factual small volume has footnotes on nearly every page; there is even one on its cover. THOUGHTS: Aside from learning the Zerby absolutely adores footnotes, I have no idea what transpired in this book. I read a lot of history, learned a lot of trivia, and could possibly have acquired a philosophical understanding of notation…. But really, I was left thinking, “Um, What?” for most of this book.
Zerby seems to have set out to create a work showcasing the glory of the footnote and extolling its need for inclusion in modern citation. What he really created was a morass of disconnected stories that bounced between philosophy, history, and narrative story telling. While I enjoyed Zerby’s writing style (sometimes), more often than not I had no idea what I was supposed to be reading in the book.
I’m a books about books nerd – hence the library degree. I love reading about all things biblo-whateversuffixworkshere. What I don’t like is when those books are self-indulgent and seem to be written only to get something off the writer’s chest. Zerby needed a thesis. He needed an argument the reader could follow, and he desperately needed to stop loving his own writing so much. What could have been an interesting book turned into a quagmire of useless trivia and personal mental wanderings.
RATING: 3/10 [Poor, Lost Interest]
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