May 04 2010
The health benefits of booze, cigarettes, and women
The London Times (Hat tip to Ralph Luker at Cliopatria) has a charming profile of Norman Stone, who is the author of what is still more-or-less the only book out there on World War I on the Eastern Front (Peter Gatrell has a good intro to the social and economic side of the war, but doesn’t talk much about operations).
Stone (no relation) has clearly missed the memo–or perhaps used it to roll cigarettes–on what modern academics are not supposed to do or say. Health benefits of booze and tobacco? Check. Chasing undergraduates? Check. Vocal fan of Thatcher and Reagan? Check. Global-warming skeptic? Check. National and ethnic stereotypes by the dozen? Check.
Stone has a new memoir coming out. Sounds like it should be quite a bit less excruciating than your average academic autobiography.