The peasant of early modern France inhabited a world of step-mothers and orphans, of inexorable, unending toil, and of brutal emotions, both raw and repressed.The human condition has changed so much since then that we can hardly imagine the way it appeared to people whose lives really were nasty, brutish, and short. This is why we need to reread Mother Goose.
Robert DarntonI would not minimize the digital divide, which separates the computerized world from the rest, nor would I underestimate the importance of traditional books.
Robert DarntonMy work has taken me from historical research to involvement in electronic publishing ventures to the directorship of the Harvard University Libraries.
Robert DarntonThe fact that I spend a lot of time in the 18th century doesn't mean I'm not concerned with the 21st.
Robert Darnton