THE 100: A Ranking of the Most...

THE 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History by Michael H. Hart (Citadel Press: $18.95; 556 pp., illustrated). Lists of the most, best, etc. generally tell the reader more about the author’s tastes than about the ostensible subject, and “100” suggests that Hart has an oddly limited view of history. It may not be surprising that an astronomer would include more scientist/inventors and political/military leaders than artistic/literary figures (67 to 5, with Picasso, Mozart, Stravinsky, Dante and Leonardo ranking among the notable omissions). But this jejune volume stands out as a textbook example of cultural parochialism: Hart’s list includes three Africans, two women and one South American. His mini-biographies of his choices feature such arbitrary, unsubstantiated pronouncements as “Although Johann Sebastian Bach is almost equally prestigious, Beethoven’s works have been more widely and more frequently listened to than Bach’s.”