Thursday Notes

The Bodleian Library has published online high resolution images of a previously unknown Muslim cosmographical treatise, the Kitab Ghara'ib al-funun wa-mulah al-‘uyun, known as the Book of Curiosities of the Sciences, and Marvels for the Eyes. The manuscript is thought to be a 12th or 13th century Egyptian copy of an anonymous work compiled in Egypt in the first half of the 11th century. Its remarkable series of diagrams of the heavens and maps of the earth is important for the history of science, especially astronomy and cartography. Thanks to Intute for the tip.

Andrew Roberts,"Talleyrand: the old fraud," New Criterion, April, reviews John Murray Harris, Talleyrand: Betrayer and Saviour of France.

Lynn Duke,"Stepping Out of the Shadows," Washington Post, 5 April, features the adopted son of Alger Hiss, who was not allowed to testify at his father's trial for perjury and who will address a conference at NYU today.

Hugh Fitzgerald,"Bernard Lewis: All that glitters is not gold," New English Review, April. Lewis treated fairly roughly here. Hat tips.

Jennifer Howard,"Harvard Law Professor Works to Disrupt Tenure Bid of Longtime Nemesis at DePaul U.," CHE, 5 April, (subscriber only) confirms that Alan Dershowitz has tried to intercede in the decision about Norman Finkelstein's tenure at DePaul. Earlier this week, Dershowitz explicitly denied having any information about the case in an e-mail to Inside Higher Ed.

Finally, the Peabody Awards for 2006 were announced yesterday. Several winners are of historical interest, including NPR's StoryCorps Project, HBO's"Elizabeth I," and PBS's"Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film." The late Ed Bradley's story on"The Duke Rape Case" for CBS's"Sixty Minutes" won an award for its contemporary coverage. It wouldn't have been possible without the investigative journalism of KC Johnson and his collaborator, Stuart Taylor.