I tracked down these three books, based on what you said before -- not that you'd recommended them but because I was intrigued -- so it will be interesting to see if I find them as unsatisfying as you have. Though they're quite low on my 'to read' pile at present!
Personally, I think -- and it's hard think of a way to express this -- that people adjust to their circumstances. You can't survive in a state of constant terror, so if the world's giving you Vikings, or high child mortality, or nuclear weapons, say, you cope (or not) because it's normal. But historians often imply that 'the past was different' = 'the past was unbearably worse', overlooking the fact that part of the difference is that people judged good and bad by different standards...
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-02-14 04:22 pm (UTC)Personally, I think -- and it's hard think of a way to express this -- that people adjust to their circumstances. You can't survive in a state of constant terror, so if the world's giving you Vikings, or high child mortality, or nuclear weapons, say, you cope (or not) because it's normal. But historians often imply that 'the past was different' = 'the past was unbearably worse', overlooking the fact that part of the difference is that people judged good and bad by different standards...