11 Feb
2015
11 Feb
'15
5:20 p.m.
On 02/11/2015 08:42 AM, Kelly Leavitt wrote:
Right with you there Kelly. I'm not sure what makes Evan any less
unqualified to write a book about any particular subject than any one
else. Being a professional tech journalist who runs a successful retro
computing club, probably makes him more qualified than most. Certainly
more qualified than folks like me who's publishing prowess is limited to
spouting off on internet mailing lists.
A college history professor had a great quote, which I'm about to
butcher, which relates:
"Every historian suffers from one of two fundamental detriments. He
either experienced the events of which he writes, or he did not."
Countless books are written every year about events of which the author
has had no hand in creating. As long as the text is well researched and
documented, it's as valid a source as any other.
--Jason
Your
experience compared to the Real Guys on this list (of which I don't qualify to rank as
either)
barely qualifies you as anything, much less a "talking head" for vintage
computing. You're a talking
head for MARCH. That's it.
Knowing history and how to write about it does not
mean you have created it or even experienced it. Many of the "Real Guys" I have
dealt with on and off this list are egoists that need regular stroking. Who better to
write about your history than someone that knows how to research.
Kelly