It's a credit to your skills that you can see the weaknesses so early in the writing process. Congratulations on making it through the first draft of the second chapter.

Will you be showing any of it here?

Having never corresponded on a blog before, I'm curious, actually, to know whether having one *as you write a book* is making it easier/harder; and/or more/less interesting, let alone more (i assume a goal) erudite? I assume it's just a helluva lot more grief and work that you'd be better off w/out, despite how engaging it may be for the rest of us ?

important question, in that this is an experiment, originated by Institute for the Future of the Book.
here is a very quick response:
think it is good in that I get valuable ideas and feedback, in that it forces me to keep vaguely current with ideas in the field. almost as if I had a gang of like-minded folk with whom to hang out most evenings. bad in so far as it takes time, distracts. think I've gotten better at limiting that time. hope it doesn't show.
is fun. though when you are polishing sentences and worrying about citations much of the day and night, even taking out the garbage seems fun.

I thought citations were blasé in journalism nowadays. Speaking of Ann Coulter, hasn't she done more for the anti-religion forces than any current pop-icon? Pushing a hyperbolic hate filled version of politics/religion only resonates with the already dead, at the same time awakening the sleeping uninvolved. I think she should get the Atheist of The Year award.

Who do you and your publisher see as buyers? The wider the audience, the less of a textbook it must be. Shooting in the dark and not having read anything I think your aim of making it more stories of individuals is spot on (been watching Wimbledon). Readers love conflict so the stories of the pain and suffering these isolated thinkers endured appeals to our natural blood lust. Probably the best book of history told through stories is, yikes, the Bible. If you take out all of the killing and betrayal all you have is begats.

You can right the wrongs of centuries of bottled up rationality by telling the stories of a few of the most courageous free thinkers. Less is more.

Too much stock-putting in narrative going on for my taste... realize I'm in the minority. Your approach should guarantee you some time on C-Span and NPR book-shows; but if you're lucky, some offbeat director (Lars von Trier, let's say) will decide it's a worthy target of cinematic deconstruction and turn it into a movie starring Johnny Depp ?

as Charles Bradlaugh I see Tim Robbins!

no, no extended movie-like narrative (though someone should look at the Bradlaugh story or that of Ernestine Rose). But, yes, Bible-like little tales. Not textbooky. Wants to be smart and fun to read. Best example on this blog, this little anecdote 'bout Shelley, which will likely end up in the prologue:
http://www.futureofthebook.org/mitchellstephens/archives/2005/12/shelley_an_opinion_so_diabolic.html

And, Ben, been reluctant to show much of the book here, as you know. Fear of giving away what later I will want to sell, of course. Maybe misplaced. Don't know. Could put up a page that I believe to be too dull as an example -- but that would make for a dull blog. Shouldn't I worry about giving away too much of my good stuff?

C_Span and NPR??? NO NO!! The Colbert Report!

Of course, you're right, JayS: much rather see Mitch being interviewed by Jon Stewart. That would be something worthwhile. He could deconstruct the narratives pretty well, I'm sure ;) ... but Mitch, try to let go of that capitalistic urge. You don't want to be on the same side as John Updike in that really pitiful lament a couple weeks ago about the end of the author, do you ? (as if Barthes and Foucault hadn't already done that work)

Mitch,

There's actually substantial evidence to suggest that giving away some or all of a book online increases print sales. Cory Doctorow, Yochai Benkler and Eric Von Hippel are some well-known examples of this. Moreover, if you share your book, it will become more findable on the info-glutted web. Amazon lets you browse books online, as does Google now. Even the New York Times is publishing first chapters on its website (see here and then scroll down).

On the GAM3R 7H30RY site (the Institute's other networked book project), this is one of the FAQs:

Why give the book away free if you want to sell it later?

The answer?

It's an experiment to test the theory that if you make a gift out of something people feel better disposed towards it.