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An older gentleman at my library book group taught me to scan the copyright page first
About 3 years ago at the downtown branch, I was in a heated debate about whether a historical novel was actually accurate. This retired history professor, must have been in his late 70s, just tapped the book on the table. He said 'check the copyright date and the author's note first, you'll save yourself a lot of arguing.' I had never thought about it before. Now I always flip to those pages during the first meeting when we pick a book. It tells you right away if the author is shooting for truth or just storytelling. Saved me from recommending some poorly researched picks to our group. Has anyone else tried using publication dates or author notes to steer a debate?
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robert_hayes2d ago
The 2003 historical novel about the American Revolution I picked up last month had a 2005 copyright date but the author's note mentioned he relied almost entirely on one modern historian's controversial take. That alone shut down the whole debate about whether the book was accurate or not - it was clearly slanted from page one. I started doing what that professor told you and its been a game changer for our mystery book club too. Checking the copyright date on a thriller from 1998 versus one from 2023 tells you right away what kind of research and technology the author had available. The author notes on the JonBenet Ramsey case books we read were especially telling, one guy admitted he never even talked to any of the key witnesses.
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carr.brian2d ago
Yeah that author note thing is a dead giveaway. I read a Civil War book last year where the guy flat out said he ignored whole archives because they didn't fit his angle, and @robert_hayes is right, after that you can't unsee the slant.
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