Comments on: Verbing the adjectivised abstraction

By: Van Hayhow

Van Hayhow — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:16:30 +0000

Wish I could take credit for this, but I can’t. Someone once posted on HNN that he was waiting for the book: Ketchup, the condiment that changed society.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:12:09 +0000

Books on programming tend to have the form Programming Book: Very Long Subtitle You Can’t Remember and Will Need Your Copy In Order To Cite Correctly.

By: Chris Williams

Chris Williams — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:31:39 +0000

Why wait?

By: ajay

ajay — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:25:15 +0000

In fifty years’ time, an ambitious young historian will start work on “A Little Learning: How Books Of Shallow Popular History Distorted Discourse, Deluded Governments And Changed The World”, with specific reference to Max Boot, Victor David Hanson, Bernard Lewis, etc, etc.

By: Zippy the Comment Frog

Zippy the Comment Frog — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:45:11 +0000

Subtitles of the form “Reading [X] With [Y]” are also very effective.

By: John Quiggin

John Quiggin — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:30:23 +0000

Chris and others, as I tried to say, I didn’t take Dalrymple as offering a fair assessment, but rather an amusing snark.

By: Kieran Healy

Kieran Healy — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:21:00 +0000

There’s also the ambitious but often seen “Noun.”

By: Roy Belmont

Roy Belmont — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:03:17 +0000

Noun colon article noun preposition adjective noun

By: engels

engels — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:50:28 +0000

Might be of interest:

The Black Death and the Transformation of the West by David Herlihy (1997)

In this small book David Herlihy makes subtle and subversive inquiries that challenge historical thinking about the Black Death. Looking beyond the view of the plague as unmitigated catastrophe, Herlihy finds evidence for its role in the advent of new population controls, the establishment of universities, the spread of Christianity, the dissemination of vernacular cultures, and even the rise of nationalism. This book, which displays a distinguished scholar's masterly synthesis of diverse materials, reveals that the Black Death can be considered the cornerstone of the transformation of Europe.

By: Zippy the Comment Frog

Zippy the Comment Frog — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:46:25 +0000

Another time-honored title format: “[Verb]ing the [Abstraction]: Toward an [X] Theory of [Y].”

(It’s “toward” because then you’re not expected to actually come right out and accomplish something.)

By: Uncle Kvetch

Uncle Kvetch — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:53:19 +0000

Well, nick l, thanks for totally harshing my buzz there. 8^)

By: sal

sal — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:57:35 +0000

Then that should rather be ““Abstract Noun, Different Abstract Noun, Yet Different Again Abstract Noun.”

By: BCist

BCist — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:56:39 +0000

So I should avoid the title “Calling Radio Machete: The Nahimana Trial and Emerging Norms in International Hate Speech?”

By: rm

rm — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:47:05 +0000

Observed in philosophy articles, the form “Abstract Noun, Abstract Noun, Abstract Noun.” Three different nouns, of course.

By: Nick L

Nick L — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:35:17 +0000

Erm… I hate to sound like a neo-con shill defending the bubonic plague and all, but I’ve heard the argument made that the black death in Europe lead to the emergence of early capitalism by upping the bargaining power of tenant farmers and providing new opportunities for petty land owners to amass private property. Wow, this is off topic.