The History Book Club Conspiracy?

[Epistemes]

I don’t know how many people here are familiar with the History Book Claub, one of those book clubs where you can receive your first books for one cent each, then receive a new book each month at full price plus shipping. I actually got sent a catalog in the mail not long ago, and I was interested in perhaps joining based on what books they offered in terms of Religion. Sure enough, there was a section for Religion, and as I browsed the selections, I wasn’t shocked…but I also wasn’t pleased.

Every book they offered on Christianity were books that I was already familiar with - such as Bart Ehrman’s Lost Christianities, Lost Scriptures, and Misquoting Jesus, in addition to Garry Willis’s What Paul Meant and What Jesus Meany - and most of these books were either written by authors who I’m quite aware are writing for the sake of exposing Christianity as an outdaed lie. The only book with any positive potential was a book by Karen Armstrong advocating Islam.

Now, I want to believe that the compilers of this catalog merely wanted to suggest some bestsellers for the sake of increasing their own business, but I really felt like calling the organization and asking, “Is your marketing department run by a bunch of non-Christians with no tact?”

It’s subtle things like this make a difference.

 

[skuld]

I doubt it’s an actual conspiracy; they just want to sell books and get money.

 

[catsrus]

I was a member of Book Of The Month Club for years and began to notice the same trend, after I took an interest in religion.
90% of the “religion” books they offered were to attack some aspect of Christianity.
I think that is what sells now. That and the usual anti Catholic evangelical / fundamentalist stuff.

 

[Dale_M]

I doubt it’s an actual conspiracy; they just want to sell books and get money.

I’m inclined to agree. There probably has been some marketing study which showed that the general public is more likely to buy a book which questions religion than a book favorable to religion.

That said, are there any book clubs which are pro-Catholic or pro-religion?

 

[TrishaW]

I was a member of Book Of The Month Club for years and began to notice the same trend, after I took an interest in religion.
90% of the “religion” books they offered were to attack some aspect of Christianity.
I think that is what sells now. That and the usual anti Catholic evangelical / fundamentalist stuff.

I have to sadly say that I agree. Most of the best-selling books on “religion” are those that are trying to throw a stone in the whole works.

Way too many times I’ve checked out an interesting sounding book from the library to find out a quarter of the way through that it’s basically debunking Christianity/Catholicism.

Sad, sad, sad.

God bless,

Trish

 

[Epistemes]

Well, with agnostic professors of religion such as Bart D. Ehrman publshing at least one book per year on where Christianity fails, there’s no wonder why this trend continues to grow. Instead of picking up any number of books by reputed Christian authors - even N.T. Wright - who try to appeal to a definite pro-Christian audience, it seems people already have the disposition to disbelief. It’s just sad that marketing trends couldn’t help steer that…

 

[catsrus]

Best bet is to only buy any book on religion at a Catholic book store.
That’s what I do now.

 

[puzzleannie]

my grad degree is in history, and the further I advance in the formal study of history the less I liked HBC, which I had belonged to for years. they tend to push mass market books by the kind of authors quoted on the History Channel and Discovery, not serious scholars. they go “top 40” with things that will sell in bookstores, not with a motive to advance real scholarship. Mostly pop history, heavy on military, pop culture, trendy ideas by authors whose work does not stand up under scrutiny and more rigorous academic standards.

that the academic rigor of history has deteriorated over the years is, sadly, undeniable as well, but not surprising when to survive you have to publish revisionist history, conspiracy theories or anachronistic analyses of past civilizations according to modern PC standards.

 

[puzzleannie]

my grad degree is in history, and the further I advance in the formal study of history the less I liked HBC, which I had belonged to for years. they tend to push mass market books by the kind of authors quoted on the History Channel and Discovery, not serious scholars. they go “top 40” with things that will sell in bookstores, not with a motive to advance real scholarship. Mostly pop history, heavy on military, pop culture, trendy ideas by authors whose work does not stand up under scrutiny and more rigorous academic standards.

that the academic rigor of history has deteriorated over the years is, sadly, undeniable as well, but not surprising when to survive you have to publish revisionist history, conspiracy theories or anachronistic analyses of past civilizations according to modern PC standards.

in that connection, may I take this opportunity to mourn the passing of a really great historian, Elizabeth Fox Genovese.

 

[puzzleannie]

my grad degree is in history, and the further I advance in the formal study of history the less I liked HBC, which I had belonged to for years. they tend to push mass market books by the kind of authors quoted on the History Channel and Discovery, not serious scholars. they go “top 40” with things that will sell in bookstores, not with a motive to advance real scholarship. Mostly pop history, heavy on military, pop culture, trendy ideas by authors whose work does not stand up under scrutiny and more rigorous academic standards.

that the academic rigor of history has deteriorated over the years is, sadly, undeniable as well, but not surprising when to survive you have to publish revisionist history, conspiracy theories or anachronistic analyses of past civilizations according to modern PC standards.

in that connection, may I take this opportunity to mourn the passing of a really great historian, Elizabeth Fox Genovese.

 

[puzzleannie]

my grad degree is in history, and the further I advance in the formal study of history the less I liked HBC, which I had belonged to for years. they tend to push mass market books by the kind of authors quoted on the History Channel and Discovery, not serious scholars. they go “top 40” with things that will sell in bookstores, not with a motive to advance real scholarship. Mostly pop history, heavy on military, pop culture, trendy ideas by authors whose work does not stand up under scrutiny and more rigorous academic standards.

that the academic rigor of history has deteriorated over the years is, sadly, undeniable as well, but not surprising when to survive you have to publish revisionist history, conspiracy theories or anachronistic analyses of past civilizations according to modern PC standards.

in that connection, may I take this opportunity to mourn the passing of a really great historian, Elizabeth Fox Genovese.

 

[didymus]

my grad degree is in history, and the further I advance in the formal study of history the less I liked HBC, which I had belonged to for years. they tend to push mass market books by the kind of authors quoted on the History Channel and Discovery, not serious scholars. they go “top 40” with things that will sell in bookstores, not with a motive to advance real scholarship. Mostly pop history, heavy on military, pop culture, trendy ideas by authors whose work does not stand up under scrutiny and more rigorous academic standards.

that the academic rigor of history has deteriorated over the years is, sadly, undeniable as well, but not surprising when to survive you have to publish revisionist history, conspiracy theories or anachronistic analyses of past civilizations according to modern PC standards.

in that connection, may I take this opportunity to mourn the passing of a really great historian, Elizabeth Fox Genovese.

It’s not exactly a book club but check out the Library of America. They put out very nicely printed volumes not just of American classics but also historical stuff like memoirs, speeches, reportage from WW2 and the civil rights movement.

 

[Marysann]

I don’t know if there is actually a conspiracy going on at the History Book Club, but my husband was so disgusted at the selection of books that were being passed off as “history,” that he cancelled his membership.

 

[Epistemes]

I don’t know if there is actually a conspiracy going on at the History Book Club, but my husband was so disgusted at the selection of books that were being passed off as “history,” that he cancelled his membership.

Yeah, I joined a different book club about a couple of years ago with the intention of getting most of my history books from them, but the selection was so horrible that it didn’t take long for me to cancel, either.

These books clubs wouldn’t dare offering cognitive material like Meier’s Marginal Jew or ANY decent history of Christianity; instead, they resort to Ehrman’s regurgitated “scholarship.” I’m not saying Prof. Ehrman is all bad since he has contributed some valuable books to early Christian scholarship, but lately he’s been releasing one book per year for no other reason than profit

 

[brotherhrolf]

I gave up my membership in HBC around ten years ago, along with the Science Fiction Book Club, and Musical Heritage Society. Conspiracy? No. Pandering to the most common denominator, yes.

HBC used to offer decent historical books, just like the History Channel used to offer decent documentaries. All three clubs continue to send me periodic invitations to rejoin and all three clubs have become “hacks” catering to whatever is selling the most in popular circles…DaVinci Code for HBC. Trite, puerile fantasy for SFBC and the same old, same old that MHS offered back in the 80s when CDs first came out.

It is the Barnes and Noble syndrome. A very close friend of DW and I owned a local bookstore here. Going to C’s bookstore was an adventure and an exercise in will power for me. C knew my tastes and he never failed to recommend to me great books on all of my varied interests. (I mean, really, how many of you are interested in Civil War Mobile, Alabama?)

He couldn’t compete with B&N when B&N opened here and so had to close. And look at the history books that B&N chooses to highlight.

 

[rhiamom]

I guess I spent too much time with the Jesuits at University. I like to read those books attacking Catholicism and Christianity. Like the Jesuits, I don’t believe because of the evidence in favor of belief, but in spite of the lack of evidence. Belief is a choice, freely made, in faith.

But about the book clubs, yeah, I’m with you. I quit the SFBC when half the monthly catalog was vampire fantasy. Actual SF was getting hard to find. Finding good Catholic books can be hard. You have to know your authors.

I recently bought a Kindle ebook reader from Amazon, and have been quite pleased with the selection of books available. Most of the Scott Hahn books are available in a Kindle version, for about half the cost of a hardback. There are other places online you can get books for free. I got the Imitation of Christ, the Practice of the Presence of God, Augustine’s Confessions, and books by Sts. Therese and Teresa.