Reading Our History

In a few days, Utahans celebrate Pioneer Day. This is a time for all of us to look at our heritage—that of ourselves, our family, and our country. History is important. It tells us where we’ve come from, how we’ve grown, and gives us insight into where we are going.

Studying history is more than just memorization of facts. Although there are many interesting stories about men and women, battles, events and so forth, a knowledge of this information may not be of more help to anyone than making a game of Jeopardy! more fun or financially rewarding to a contestant.

Historians.org suggests we should study history because it helps us understand people and societies. In this ever changing world, one in which travel across national borders occurs more often than people used to travel across state lines, it is important that we understand different cultures. Although the United States has always been home to a bevy of immigrants, never before have they been so wide-spread in their settlement, no long staying in isolated communities such as history shows for areas of New York, Minnesota, Washington, or even the Icelanders who settled in Spanish Fork.

The same website also suggests history helps us understand change and how the society we live in came to be. “The past causes the present, and so the future.” Think about your own habits. Are there things you do simply because your parents did it? You may have heard the joke about the woman who always cut a large chunk off her holiday ham before baking it. When she was asked why, she replied, “That’s what my mother used to do.” Curious, she asked her mother why she did this and her mother’s reply was simple, “Because the full-shank of ham wouldn’t fit in my pan.” Knowing the history might have saved this woman the expense of buying a too large ham only to throw part of it away.

Don’t allow your history to be thrown away. Try keeping a journal or read the journals of your ancestors. Write a personal history. Read books about your city, culture, or country. Find out about other interesting people and nations. Use history to enrich your life. You’ll know more about the world as well as yourself.

(Article originally published 7/21/06)

Reading a Life

For some reason, we as a society are fascinated by the life of celebrity. Whether is be actor, musician, politician, business leader, or the person next door who gained fame for whatever they did, we love to read about their successes and failures.

It’s this fascination with celebrity that brings success to television shows like Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood, networks like E! Entertainment, magazines like People, Us, and The Star, and to full-length books of biography and autobiography. We just can’t seem to get enough.

As I wrote this column, three of the top five bestsellers at Amazon.com were biographical: “Night” by Elie Wiesel, “Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons” by Tim Russert, and “Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival” by Anderson Cooper. The New York Times list added “Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog” by John Grogan, “Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero” by David Maraniss, and “My Life in France” by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme in the top ten.

Books about our newest celebrities come out with lightning speed. The Blue Banner biography of American Idol Carrie Underwood was released a short five months after she won the competition. “Aruba : The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise” by Dave Holloway was released while the investigation of the girl’s disappearance is still under way. Some subjects of biographies never seem to die as proven by the success of “The Beatles: The Biography” by Bob Spitz released just over a year ago.

No matter what arena of life you find the most interesting, a biography, autobiography or memoir about a celebrated person makes for interesting reading.