[Steppes] 19th century books

[Esther]

Talk to a very good research librarian, and look at publications in your field of study. Also, email professors and researchers in your area of studies, and ask them these questions. What do I disregard, what still has merit? Who are the publishers I should be aware of, and what are the periodicals I need to know?
   
  Also, go looking at www.oxbowbooks.com . It's David Brown books in the US, and they have stuff you won't find on Amazon.com, a LOT of it from University Presses, that have (usually) higher standards than the stuff you will find at Amazon or B & N, which are probably re-hashing that dated (and highly ethnocentric) Victorian stuff.
   
  That said, it is always useful to know the history of the field you are studying, who and what influenced the thinking and interpretation of its scholars, and why they did. If you can find a b ook called "Breaking the Maya Code" by Michael D. Coe, read it. It is a crackerjack read, and a fascinating look at the academic culture and the "fossils" of books you find in places like Dover.
   
  My two cents.
  
Emma

Quill <gray.quill at gmail.com> wrote:
  I've found myself turning a lot lately to books that were written and
published in the mid-late 1800's (for a variety of research purposes). I'm
wondering if this is really a good idea. The reason I like doing is partly
that for some things I simply can't find a good quantity of recent research
on some of my subjects. Also, I'm leery of modern books, mostly because just
about anyone can get published these days, and do so in a way which sounds
authoritative but is ultimately misleading. (Especially when it comes to
stuff like Celtic history, traditions and folklore. There's a lot of
enthusiasm for this stuff out there now, and that means there's money to be
made, which means unscrupulous people can and will put BS on the market
because they know it sounds good and people will buy it.) On the other hand,
material that's now over 100 years old is likely to be out of date, obsolete
in light of new findings and research methods.

So, any advice on how I can avoid screwing myself over?

-- 
In service to The Dream and Dreamers all,
Cuillioc /|\ "Quill"
Titled Bard of the Barony of Bonwicke

"It is said that the Devil never crossed the Tamar into Cornwall on account
of the well-known habit of Cornish women of putting everything into a pasty,
and that he was not sufficiently courageous to risk such a fate!"

-From the cookbook _Cornish Recipes Ancient and Modern_
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