Alexandra Johnson

Alexandra Johnson traces the diary's quirky and compelling history through centuries of writing for and about one's self. Where the earliest of pilgrims and explorers kept journals of their findings, scientists including Darwin used them to develop their theories. --Book Jacket.

From Pepys to Blogs

A Brief History of Diaries

Jeremy Anderberg

I've long been an inconsistent journaler. I suppose it's the writer in me that feels a compulsion to put things down on paper. And as long as blogging has been around, I've been a part of it—from LiveJournal meanderings to my full-time job with Art of Manliness for the last 6+ years.

Turns out that keeping a journal (or diary—Johnson uses the terms interchangeably) is nearly as old as the practice of writing itself. In just over 100 pages, Johnson walks us through that history, highlighting famed diarists and their work, and more importantly, the various purposes those journals have served for both keeper and later readers.

I really enjoyed the organization of the book; Johnson divided it up into categories that are somewhat chronological (though not strictly so): travelers and explorers, writers and artists, war diaries, and finally bloggers and diaries of the social media variety. It was a fun way to explore journaling through the centuries.

There's Samuel Pepys—the diarist you've probably never heard of, but is famous for keeping an extensive daily account of 17th century London over the course of about a decade. His journal was one the first to be made widely available to readers, and his life was so interesting that there are now numerous books about Pepys and his times.

There are the transcendentalists of the 1800s, namely Emerson and Thoreau, whose journals led to some of America's most important works of literature, including, most famously, Walden—a work that I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't read yet.

There's Anne Frank, whose teenage diary during the Holocaust has become the most consumed work of the genre (even if it's required reading in many cases), opening the eyes of generations of young people to the realities and atrocities of Hitler.

Johnson also includes a wonderful reading list of the best and most influential published journals/diaries, from which I added a number of titles to my own TBR (To Be Read). I've not read many journals, but I'm now looking forward to reading more.

While certainly not everyone's cup of tea, if you're a journaler yourself or just enjoy the voyeurism of reading other people's, this is a great little book.

A Brief History of Diaries From Pepys to Blogs

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