Robert Gibbs (1)

To say this text is dense is to disgrace the word "dense." Oh, man, is this a difficult book to read. I found myself skimming and scanning this second time through. I first read this in graduate school, and my experience then is typified by two related marginal notes. On page 81, I wrote, "I think I'm beginning to understand this!" Four pages later, I wrote, "I don't understand this!"

Gibbs quotes a myriad of authors through a Talmud-like device. He cites the authors (he calls them show more pre-texts) in a smaller font on the side, then adds his commentary in a larger font around this, putting direct citations of the former in the latter in an annoying ALL CAPS. Then sometimes he also includes footnotes which explain the explaining by going back to the pre-texts. At least I think that's what's happening. The author does explain his methodology and why this is important, but it still leads the reader through a lot (a lot) of heavy sledding. show less