> like Bill Bryson's books, are great at presenting "information" that seems completely plausible, authoritative, and convincing to the reader. But when you actually do know the truth about a subject, you realize how completely full of crap
Wow, I have a couple Bill Bryson books on my reading list, can you share some examples of that?
Hmm. Why should I take this critique as being any more accurate than Bryson, given that the writer says in so many words:
"[...] I - someone who’s far from an expert at linguistics [...]"
The rather sniffy observation about Wikipedia falls very flat as the book was written 10 years before Wikipedia existed!
In fact Bryson wrote his book a good 20 years earlier than this critique so perhaps this huffy person has resources to draw upon that were not available in 1990.
Not that I really expect Bryson's stuff to dot every i and cross every t - he's a humourist.
The writer doesn't claim that Bryson should have consulted Wikipedia, more that the myth that eskimos have 500 words for snow is so famous that the myth itself has a Wikipedia page dedicated to it. The discussion had been going on a long time when Bryson wrote this book, and I remember well being told this as a child in the 80's. To present what was either known as an urban myth or at least under a more nuanced discussion (they do, but it's due to how root words are easier to pluralise, not snow per se) is pretty lazy in a non-fiction book.
Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. He's a wonderful writer, the problem is that he doesn't let reality get in the way of a good story. Just classify them with the rest of the fiction-non-fiction books and enjoy the journey. If you ever find yourself asking "wow is that true?" then it probably isn't.
Wow, I have a couple Bill Bryson books on my reading list, can you share some examples of that?