NYTimes Charles Blow Opinion

[Rob Wick]

Quote:Can you please explain, if you are able to do so, how a book "notorious as bad history" is able to sell two million copies? Did not other reputable historians criticize the book on this basis?

I'll tell you why exactly. People know as much about what makes for reputable history as I do about nuclear physics. Sales of a book tell us absolutely nothing about the quality of the book (see, for example, 50 Shades of Grey), just as a book winning the Pulitzer Prize tells us nothing about whether or not it deserved it or if winning it even matters.

Quote:Unfortunately, most opinion writers are better at stirring up emotions than they are at suggesting and working towards practical solutions.

Stirring up emotion is the point of opinion writing. Plus, your definition of practical is far different from mine.

Best
Rob