The Clown Expert

n search of a good read last night, I picked up John Julius Norwich's A History of Venice (1981). Before reading the introduction's first paragraph where Norwich takes us back to his inaugural visit to Venice in 1946, I read Norwich's bio.

As the author of a 638 page tome on the history of Venice (through 1797), I figured he had a doctorate in history from a British university. On the contrary, he had only an undergraduate degree in French and Russian before joining the British Foreign Service. Well, then, I assumed, he must have been posted in Venice. Actually, he served in Yugoslavia, Lebanon, and Geneva.

This made me wonder: So what makes this clown an expert qualified to write about Venetian history?

Having read the tome before and discussed it with another historian who noted Norwich's lack of primary language sources, it is still evident through his writing and his bibliography that Lord Norwich did not just jot down his memories and feelings. Is it the definitive history of Venice? Probably not. Is it a good primer? I believe so. Does he know more than I do about the subject? Yes he does.

And this is something I enjoy about writing: The prep work necessary to write about subjects one may not be an expert in at the beginning. This is particularly true of my current project - the Hooey Savvy kids book on financial education. I have no formal training in economics, but in learning about it I also learn how to understand it and how to teach others about it in simple terms. If I had degrees in economics I might have a hard time simplifying what I've been studying and thinking about for the past decade for an audience of kids because I will have become fluent in the language. As someone new to the subject and particularly the language, I have to simplify it, to translate it for myself first before I can even speak it with anyone else.

Do I believe that what I've written is expert? Not presently. And that's why I'm reaching out to economists, among others, to proofread the work to make sure it is accurate and evenhanded. I believe that it is possible to get the economics right without having to sacrifice the kid parts of the book as so many others have.

In other news, it's the first day of Spring Training!

Progress Update: Finished writing lyrics to the 80 or so songs needed for the book. Have moved on to the third draft which I will finish in the next ten days.