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Outside Lies Magic |
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 Outside Lies Magic:Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places by John R. Stilgoe Walker and Company 208 pages, 1999 ISBN 0802775632 Reviewed by Madeline Mora-Summonte "Get out now ... Do not jog. Do not run. Forget about blood pressure and arthritis, cardiovascular rejuvenation and weight reduction. Instead pay attention to everything that abuts the rural road, the city street, the suburban boulevard. Walk. Stroll. Saunter. Ride a bike, and coast along a lot. Explore." With that opening paragraph, author Stilgoe releases us into the world – the same world we've always lived in but perhaps have never actually seen. Stilgoe urges us to "Enjoy the best kept secret around - the ordinary, everyday landscape." Not only are we to see, to notice, but we are also to make connections. History speaks to us not only from textbooks, but also from the oddest places - from the apple green color of early American kitchens, from power lines and rural mailboxes, from abandoned railroad tracks. History speaks to us but it is up to the explorer to listen. Landscape historian Stilgoe, who has taught the art of exploration at Harvard University for over twenty years, calls Ouside Lies Magic, "... a straightforward guidebook to exploring but not a comprehensive study of any of the things mentioned in it." This might account for the jumpy, choppy nature of the writing. While there are some wonderful lines and intriguing paragraphs, the lack of obvious flow and occasional highbrow vocabulary makes many of the topics seem dry. Some sections of the book are interesting, such as the discussion about the development of strip malls and shopping plazas, and the differences between rural and urban mail service. Stilgoe urges us to open our eyes to the unusual history around us, just waiting to be discovered. His book might be just the push we need to become the explorers we ought to be. |
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