[MD] Review of 'The Truth About Art'.

[Ant McWatt]

DMB observed October 16th:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/books/the-truth-about-art-reclaiming-quality-by-patrick-doorly/2016268.article
 
The reviewer finds things to criticize and things to praise about Patrick Doorly's book. (Any press is good press?)
 
Arlo then commented October 17th:

"The book is printed on low-quality paper with dense text in double columns, which do not make for pleasant reading." Ouch. 

Dr McWatt (with a PhD from a Russell Group University) notes:

Well if Tracey 
of Oxford Polytechnic (the THES reviewer in question) thinks that 
Patrick Doorly actually wanted to print his "The Truth About Art"  book on low grade paper
 with black & white photographs then she would be sadly mistaken.  I
 did ask Patrick about these very issues last year and he pointed out to me that the publishing costs to 
produce this particular text in full colo(u)r & on high quality 
paper would have been horrendous (partly down to copyright issues!) and made his book out of reach (cost-wise) for the majority of the readership it was aimed at. 

It would have been better if Tracey's review addressed Patrick's arguments (which she didn't) and therefore (in my mind at least) makes her review completely unhelpful and irrelevant.  And there's no pseudo-scientific tables in Patrick's book either.  He's far "too real" to even consider being fake in this way.  The "tables" in "The Truth About Art" are there only to help the reader understand Patrick's narrative.


Dr McWatt's marks out of ten for Patrick's book: 9.5 out of 10. (Pass with distinction)

(See here for why this particular book achieved such a high grade: http://moq.robertpirsig.org/Doorly.html )


Dr McWatt's marks out of ten of Tracey's review: 2 out of 10.  (FAIL).  

But then again no real surprize with the THES (which I used to read nearly every week btw).  It's very much a journal supporting the UK education status quo and usually has more pseudo-intellectual bullshit in it than a fortune teller on Blackpool sea front.  I suppose that Tracey even mentioned Pirsig (though carefully note - still in a disparaging way) is at least of some credit.  Not much though...

Best wishes,

Ant


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