Good things in small packages

A number of good things come out of Seattle: Hendrix, the Bainbridge Ferry, the B-17 bomber, I-5 south to Portland ... and a decent toilet on most streets in the world simply found by looking for the Starbucks logo (pass up the coffee, though — vide infra). The one that has most changed life for the better is www.amazon.com.

On Sunday evening, Malcolm was wrestling to find a conclusion to a rambling meditation. He was seeking to define the Ulster-Prod mindset, how it adopted "Britishness" and why its descendants around the world seem to have lost contact with the Province. The more he blogged, the less happy he was with the lack of firm conclusions. He realised that he was prejudging the issues, largely because of poor research and reading. His mind went to two books he felt he needed:
The Scotch-Irish: A Social History by James Graham Leyburn;
The People with No Name: Ireland's Ulster Scots, America's Scots Irish, and the Creation of a British Atlantic World, 1689-1764 by Patrick Griffin.

The former appeared back in the earliest '60s, when Malcolm was still a pallid TCD student. The latter is more recent.

Within minutes both had been located on amazon.co.uk, the order registered and acknowledged.

Now comes the magic, the wonder of modern capitalism.

At 7.28 a.m. this fine May Day, just thirty-six hours later, the door-buzzer announced the arrival of the package, and the books were sharing the breakfast table with the marmalade and proper-coffee spills. Now that is service. Some academic libraries in Malcolm's recollection would struggle to match that.

Expect further drivelling from Malcolm on this topic in due course. Sphere: Related Content