歷史類的書評(píng)，特別是對(duì)于非本國(guó)歷史的書評(píng)，很難同當(dāng)下讀者建立聯(lián)系。
今天讀到David Perell對(duì)杜蘭特夫婦所著的《歷史的教訓(xùn)》（The Lessons of History?）的簡(jiǎn)評(píng)，聯(lián)想到歷史類書評(píng)同讀者的距離感問題。受文章啟發(fā)，發(fā)現(xiàn)有以下四種方式可以嘗試。
1. 將歷史和當(dāng)下的差異放到一起進(jìn)行描述，強(qiáng)化反差。
“The study of history can be arduous. The social media feeds we inhabit, such as Facebook and Twitter have a recency bias. Most of what we consume is less than 24 hours old."
"研究歷史很艱苦。臉書和推特等社交媒體所投喂給我們的食物，有著當(dāng)下的偏見。我們消費(fèi)的絕大部分東西的年齡還不到24小時(shí)。"
“It focuses on timeless truths, not today's trends – the antithesis of social media. The book highlights the lessons of history, not the events that define it.”
“它專注于非時(shí)間性的真理，而非當(dāng)今的潮流——社交媒體的反面。本書強(qiáng)調(diào)歷史的教訓(xùn)，而非定義歷史的事件?！?/p>
2. 在對(duì)某一問題的歷史性討論之后，將其置于當(dāng)下場(chǎng)景進(jìn)行反思。
比如在介紹完原書作者對(duì)于平等的看法之后，在當(dāng)下的背景中繼續(xù)對(duì)此追問。
“Today, we debate how to cope with said inequality.Should we strive for equality of opportunity? Equality of outcome? Should we allow for wealth creation at the expense of equality? ”
“如今，我們討論如何對(duì)付所謂的‘不平等’。我們應(yīng)當(dāng)爭(zhēng)取機(jī)會(huì)平等？結(jié)果平等？我們應(yīng)當(dāng)允許以平等為代價(jià)創(chuàng)造財(cái)富嗎？”
3. 假設(shè)作者面對(duì)當(dāng)下情景，推測(cè)ta的可能回應(yīng)
“What would Will and Ariel Durant say about modern society?
They’d say that we need diverse perspectives from both liberals (defined as open to new ideas, not Democrats) and conservatives (defined as holding traditional values, not Republicans).”
“威爾·杜蘭特和阿里埃爾·杜蘭特對(duì)于現(xiàn)代社會(huì)會(huì)說什么呢？
他們會(huì)說我們需要從自由派（因其對(duì)新觀點(diǎn)開放，而非因其是民主黨被定義的）和保守派（因其持有傳統(tǒng)的價(jià)值，而非因其是共和黨被定義的）雙方的多樣的視角?！?/p>
4. 加入個(gè)人經(jīng)驗(yàn)
在介紹完原書中關(guān)于財(cái)富集中和分配不均的文字之后，作者加入自己的親身經(jīng)歷。
“I’ve discovered that America is a great place to be wealthy, but a terrible place to be poor. In New York, where I live, I once watched a celebrity step out of a stretch limousine, who consciously diverted a homeless man begging for a quarter, hoping to escape the frigid winter streets.?”
“我發(fā)現(xiàn)美國(guó)對(duì)于富裕是極好的地方，但對(duì)于貧窮就很糟糕。在我居住的紐約，又一次我看到從加長(zhǎng)轎車?yán)镒叱鰜淼囊晃幻耍幸庾R(shí)地繞開討錢的、設(shè)法逃離冬天寒冷的街道的流浪漢。”
自己的見聞也可以所謂反例來豐富評(píng)論內(nèi)容。
“Relative to New York, Australia is more communal. Education is free and homelessness is not as common. Australian cities also have higher wages; in Melbourne, I met a barista who makes $33/hour. The New Yorkers I know live to work, but the Australians I met work to live.”
“相對(duì)于紐約，澳大利亞更加公共化。教育免費(fèi)，流浪者并不常見。澳大利亞公民也有較高的薪水。在墨爾本，我遇到一個(gè)時(shí)薪33美元的咖啡師。我認(rèn)識(shí)的紐約人是為了工作而生活，而我遇到的澳大利亞人是為了生活而工作?！?/p>
#書評(píng) #歷史的教訓(xùn) #杜蘭特
??? 原文題目：The Lessons of History Book Review
??? 作者：David Perell
【10/100】2020年12月10日
