For the past couple of years I’ve felt the urge to write a non-fiction book. Take a subject and research it, master it, and explain it in an enjoyable and interesting way to the masses. Now, I’m not an expert in anything really, more of a “jack of all trades,” which is okay for a writer, I suppose. But the lure of knowing every single thing there is to know about a single subject is very, very powerful to me.
Obviously I couldn’t do this unless this was all that I did. So last night I did a little thought-experiment. Assume I had a fixed income of, oh, I don’t know, how ’bout half-a-million a year? That would allow me to quit my job, allow my wife to quit hers and take care of the children, and give me the freedom to explore such odd projects.
If that was the case, what would I write a nonfiction book about, just to prove I could master a subject?
I came up with over a dozen ideas. Some have been nagging at me for a while, some just kinda popped into my head while I was brainstorming. None are calculated to sell a gajillion copies or be on the top ten NY Times bestseller lists. Quite simply, it would be a labor of love.
What would I write about?
In no particular order, here’s what I came up with:
* Cold fusion
* Faster-than-light travel
* Superconductivity
* Cryogenics
That covers the physics interests I’ve had for a while. Now, what about philosophy?
* In-depth biographical and literary sketch of a pre-Socratic philosopher
* Take what’s sensible in all the philosophy I’ve read, synthesize it, and “move it up a couple of dimensions.” What this means exactly, I’m not quite sure.
I’ve always loved music. I’ve always thought the lives of most composers to be extremely fascinating. Two in particular I would study:
* A biography of Antonin Dvorak
* A biography of Jean Sibelius
Religion? That’s simple.
* The biography of a Saint. Who? Well, I’ve a special fondness for a couple: Ignatius of Loyola, Francis de Sales, Aquinas. Maybe more, but that’s who come to the forefront of my mind when I wrote this down last night.
Health?
* Nutrition and natural healing. A subject I’m currently exploring, with seesawing efforts and results.
Quirkiness and weirdity? Covered.
* UFOs in the USA 1897-present. “America’s Mythology.” Done well in a book by Curtis Peebles, but I feel I could add my own quirky weirdness to it and make it strangely readable, a mix of truth, fiction, and everything in between.
And this last topic really, really appeals to me. Take a single event in history, and master it. Know everything there is to know about it. Inside and out. Micro and macro. Be an authority. What events am I talking about? How about –
* The JFK assassination. (Probably an unlikely selection as there is, as of 2004, over 430 books written on the subject.)
* The atomic bomb. Mixed feelings, here.
* The moon landing. Strong feelings, not mixed at all.
Lots of stuff there to think about. If I could only find an extra 30 minutes a day … for a year or so … who knows?
Obviously I couldn’t do this unless this was all that I did. So last night I did a little thought-experiment. Assume I had a fixed income of, oh, I don’t know, how ’bout half-a-million a year? That would allow me to quit my job, allow my wife to quit hers and take care of the children, and give me the freedom to explore such odd projects.
If that was the case, what would I write a nonfiction book about, just to prove I could master a subject?
I came up with over a dozen ideas. Some have been nagging at me for a while, some just kinda popped into my head while I was brainstorming. None are calculated to sell a gajillion copies or be on the top ten NY Times bestseller lists. Quite simply, it would be a labor of love.
What would I write about?
In no particular order, here’s what I came up with:
* Cold fusion
* Faster-than-light travel
* Superconductivity
* Cryogenics
That covers the physics interests I’ve had for a while. Now, what about philosophy?
* In-depth biographical and literary sketch of a pre-Socratic philosopher
* Take what’s sensible in all the philosophy I’ve read, synthesize it, and “move it up a couple of dimensions.” What this means exactly, I’m not quite sure.
I’ve always loved music. I’ve always thought the lives of most composers to be extremely fascinating. Two in particular I would study:
* A biography of Antonin Dvorak
* A biography of Jean Sibelius
Religion? That’s simple.
* The biography of a Saint. Who? Well, I’ve a special fondness for a couple: Ignatius of Loyola, Francis de Sales, Aquinas. Maybe more, but that’s who come to the forefront of my mind when I wrote this down last night.
Health?
* Nutrition and natural healing. A subject I’m currently exploring, with seesawing efforts and results.
Quirkiness and weirdity? Covered.
* UFOs in the USA 1897-present. “America’s Mythology.” Done well in a book by Curtis Peebles, but I feel I could add my own quirky weirdness to it and make it strangely readable, a mix of truth, fiction, and everything in between.
And this last topic really, really appeals to me. Take a single event in history, and master it. Know everything there is to know about it. Inside and out. Micro and macro. Be an authority. What events am I talking about? How about –
* The JFK assassination. (Probably an unlikely selection as there is, as of 2004, over 430 books written on the subject.)
* The atomic bomb. Mixed feelings, here.
* The moon landing. Strong feelings, not mixed at all.
Lots of stuff there to think about. If I could only find an extra 30 minutes a day … for a year or so … who knows?
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