Alan Jacobs, one of my favorite essayists and book writers, who creates with a staff of one — himself — marvels at insanely complex projects which succeed.
But my chief interests along these lines focus on two things: the manufacturing and logistical challenges that faced the Allies in the Second World War, especially leading up to the invasion of Normandy, and the studio system in the classic Hollywood era. It’s hard for me to imagine how D-Day did not end in utter catastrophe — I struggle to comprehend how it even got underway; and I still can’t quite believe that movies come together the way they do. Thus one of my favorite books about the Second World War is Paul Kennedy’s Engineers of Victory, and I am mesmerized by detailed accounts of the movie industry like Thomas Schatz’s The Genius of the System and David Thomson’s The Whole Equation.
Maybe my fascination has something to do with the fact that these large collaborative projects are so completely unlike what I do. I once said to a film director I know that I don’t see how movies ever get made, and he replied that in making a movie he has “so much help” from smart and skilled people — he doesn’t understand how I can just sit in a room and write books. But when I’m sitting in a room writing a book I am not accountable to or answerable to anyone else: I only have to manage Me.
This overlaps with my own wondering described in an earlier post, inspired by @joanwestenberg’s essay “The Coherence Premium”. I found Jacobs’s essay helpful, and immediately bought the three books he mentions above.
On a personal note: I am going to cut back my activity on this forum for now. There are a few things that could use my attention, but mostly I would like to re-open the psychic space I’ve been filling for the past month for others to use. I’ll continue to read, possibly reply (briefly) to things others write — though not often, probably not at all. I’ve demonstrated at tedious length the kinds of posts I think are possible and would welcome. I’ve exhibited what sort of participant I might be, would like to be. I’ve contributed some meta-talk about how we all might get along, the ones who want to play with me and the ones who don’t. But enough about me for now. I’ll likely return to contributing, but only if and when I sense it would help build this community.
Anyone who would like to engage me in the interim is welcome to DM me.