At http://judithcurry.com/2011/12/01/the-long-slow-thaw/ is a guest post by Tony Brown which compares Mann's version of the Little Ice Age with that of Hubert Lamb, and makes use of various scribbles by Brian Fagan in the process. Warning – it is a very long read. However, it is also worth downloading to keep as it is so comprehensive – some 20 + pages of text. In his conclusion he notes Lamb used a variety of sources for his temperature analysis of the past 1000 years whereas Mann used proxies that were limited in comparison. The sharp uptick in temperature from the start of the 20th century is, he says, likely to be an artifact of computer modelling fhrough over complex statistical interpretation of inadequate proxies. Modern warming requires being put into its historical context – not looked at in isolation from history. The Met Office blurb that would have us believe climate has been stable and virtually unchaning until the 20th century is not supported by a wealth of information – large amounts of which is available in its basement archive. Nobody in modern science is into to reading old books and documents it seems, not unless they have been uploaded on to the Net. If they abandoned their super computer for a few days they might find it fun to delve into accounts from trawler skippers and Royal Navy officers and the like that is available in the same building – or one of their buildings.
Some more investigative 'blogging' on Climategate 2 can be found at http://noconsensus.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/456-5/