Who's Bigger?: Where Historical Figures Really Rank
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 10/14/2013
EAN 9781107041370, ISBN10: 1107041376
Hardcover, 391 pages, 23.6 x 16 x 2.8 cm
Language: English
Is Hitler bigger than Napoleon? Washington bigger than Lincoln? Picasso bigger than Einstein? Quantitative analysts are rapidly finding homes in social and cultural domains, from finance to politics. What about history? In this fascinating book, Steve Skiena and Charles Ward bring quantitative analysis to bear on ranking and comparing historical reputations. They evaluate each person by aggregating the traces of millions of opinions, just as Google ranks webpages. The book includes a technical discussion for readers interested in the details of the methods, but no mathematical or computational background is necessary to understand the rankings or conclusions. Along the way, the authors present the rankings of more than one thousand of history's most significant people in science, politics, entertainment, and all areas of human endeavor. Anyone interested in history or biography can see where their favorite figures place in the grand scheme of things.
Part I. Quantitative History
1. History's most significant people
2. Ranking historical figures
3. Who belongs in Bonnie's textbook?
4. Reading through the past
5. Great Americans and the process of canonization
6. The baseball hall of fame
7. Historical time scales
Part II. Historical Rankings
8. American political figures
9. Modern world leaders
10. Science and technology
11. Religion and philosophy
12. Sports
13. The arts
14. The performing arts
15. Devils and angels
Part III. Appendices
A. Ranking methodology
B. Resources
C. Biographical dictionary.