Bhamwiki talk:Reading list

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Reading vs Reference

(Background): This discussion was prompted by the addition of "Building on a Vision" to the list. I wondered if its value wasn't already included with Tennant McWilliams' "New Lights in the City", and it opened a conversation comparing the two books, leaving open the question of what works best for this page.
  • How does the 1995 Building on a Vision compare to McWilliams' 2007 book with regard to "essential" information about UAB and its role in the region? Do they both belong in a highly-selective list dealing with the region as a whole? --Dystopos (talk) 11:22, 14 November 2016 (PST)
    • IMO the two books compliment each other. McWilliams' book is basically written in narrative style and Fisher's book is more like an encyclopedic reference. I was planning to create a wiki page for the book sometime later this week and include this text that describes the book (from the flyleaf). "Building on a Vision presents a chronological overview of the first 50 years of Medical Center development at UAB. Over 200 pages in length, the volume contains 352 photographs. A narrative at the beginning of each chapter provides a historical framework for placing the photographs in context. Excerpts from oral history interviews with individuals who made and lived Medical Center history animate the narrative. A chronology supplements the text and photographs and provides capsule information about developments and milestones. Two appendices, an index, and a bibliography, together with other elements, help make Building On A Vision an entertaining photographic history and a valuable reference tool." Much of the narrative portion of the text describes local and regional issues involved in the creation of the Medical Center. In my own research, I find it extremely useful as a reference guide. Robert Matthews (talk) 11:46, 14 November 2016 (PST)
      • Thanks for the perspective. I have both books. (Well, actually I loaned out the McWilliams and need to get it back...) and have made a little bit of use of the earlier one, but I wasn't sure how they really compared/complimented each other. Provisionally, I'd suggest that McWilliams' narrative history, which also brings some analysis to the question of the role of the institution in the region, is better for this list than the more documentary 1995 book. Let me know if you disagree. We'll certainly benefit from making reference to and having entries on both books across Bhamwiki. --Dystopos (talk) 12:55, 14 November 2016 (PST)
        • I own a copy of Fisher's book and, although I don't own a copy of McWilliams' book, I can get a copy anytime I need it from Lister Hill Library since I still maintain a secondary office there. I guess from the perspective of who did what, when, & why in how UAB was formed, McWilliams' book is probably the better of the two. But from a documentary (especially photographic) point of view, I think Fisher's book is better. Again, I think they compliment each other and both are very useful for research, depending on what types of questions someone is researching, who their intended audience is, and what time periods they're interested in. McWilliams' book is also a bit more up-to-date since it came out 12 years after Fisher's. Robert Matthews (talk) 17:42, 14 November 2016 (PST)
          • Where I'm headed with this is that I think the "Reading List" should be a fairly short list of sources that you could expect to lead to some broader understanding of the city/region rather than a longer list of detailed references full of facts on narrower subjects. Not necessarily making an argument here, but wondering if we're thinking of Bhamwiki:Reading list the same way. I'll go ahead and copy this conversation to Bhamwiki talk:Reading list. --Dystopos (talk) 08:59, 15 November 2016 (PST)