On the Shoulders of Giants: A Shandean PostScript

The subtitle is the key: this is very shandean. If you enjoyed Tristram Shandy, you'll probably enjoy OTSOG too. Merton tirelessly (but not tiresomely) tracks down the origin of a famous aphorism through the labyrinthine ways of countless erudite digressions. If you have the kind of crooked mind that appreciates this kind of thing, you'll find the book entertaining as well as instructive. If you gave up on Tristram Shandy after the first few pages, thinking "What th' ?!" OTSOG is almost certainly not for you. It's rather like cilantro, which people either love or hate.

'On the Shoulders of Giants' (which shall hereafter be referred to as OTSOG) is the quintessential study of the nature of academicism. It is thinly disguised as a dissertation into the origin (and originality) of Newton's famous aphorism 'If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.' However, once the reader finds himself confronted by what might or might not be an attack on Richard Burton (the one that wrote 'The Anatomy of Melancholy'), suspicions grow, and in short order one begins to understand that a leg or two is being pulled. Of course, it does not end there. Displaying the kind of dazzling scholarship that most academics can only aspire to, Merton zigzags across the intellectual horizon on a quest for the lighter side of truth. In doing so, he exposes many of the pretensions of scholarly work, plagiarism and specious logic. Leaving no stone unturned, we are as likely to find ourselves in pursuit of Tristram Shandy as we are to be wandering through the transept of Chartres Cathedral. All in a mad search to uncover who really used OTSOG first.It needs to be said that Merton is, on his own, an extremely respected sociologist, one who often has used the scientific and academic world as the focus of his remarkable eye. OTSOG sets out to make points by mimicking its subjects rather than lecturing about them. Whimsical and witty, it still touches on serious issues while exposing a great deal of fascinating minutia. Certainly it is a one of a kind work that enjoys a large cult following among those who are reluctant to take themselves seriously. Look out for Umberto Eco's foreword and Merton's riposte-face as well.

Every scholar should this wonderful, joyous book

with Sterne. He comes off third best. First, of course, is the master himself. Second, comes Umberto Eco for his witty, catholic and erudite Forward. Nonetheless, Merton treads where no others have dared in his re-creation of the "Shandean" style. For this, alone, he deserves credit (and reading.) Because Merton chose real characters it was inevitable he failed to reach the pinnacle achieved in Sterne's fictional master-creation: Uncle Toby--one of the great characters in all literature. Do read Merton, and Tristram Shandy.