The past has never been more contentious, its interpreters never more publicly at war. Now a renowned historian provides an evocative examination of his profession, American-style. Woodrow Wilson, a practicing academic historian before he took to politics, defined the importance of history: "A nation which does not know what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today." He, like many men of his generation, wanted to impose a version of America's founding identity: it was a land of the free and a home of the brave. But ...
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The past has never been more contentious, its interpreters never more publicly at war. Now a renowned historian provides an evocative examination of his profession, American-style. Woodrow Wilson, a practicing academic historian before he took to politics, defined the importance of history: "A nation which does not know what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today." He, like many men of his generation, wanted to impose a version of America's founding identity: it was a land of the free and a home of the brave. But not the braves. Or the slaves. Or the disenfranchised women. So the history of Wilson's generation omitted a significant proportion of the population in favor of a perspective that was predominantly white, male and Protestant. That flaw would become a fissure and eventually a schism. A new history arose which, written in part by radicals and liberals, had little use for the noble and the heroic, and that rankled many who wanted a celebratory rather than a critical history. To this combustible mixture of elements was added the flame of public debate. History in the 1990s was a minefield of competing passions, political views, and prejudices. It was dangerous ground, and, at the end of the decade, four of the nation's most respected and popular historians were almost destroyed by it: Michael Bellesiles, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stephen Ambrose and Joseph Ellis. This is their story, set against the wider narrative of the writing of America's history. It may be, as Flaubert put it, that "Our ignorance of history makes us libel our own times." To which he could have added: falsify, plagiarize, and politicize, because that's the other story of America's history.
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Seller's Description:
Used Good in Good jacket. Dust Jacket has some edge and corner wear, some scuffing, but still intact. Front and back covers have wear to edges and corners. Spine intact, some wear. Binding is intact. Pages are generally clean with edge or corner wear. Firefly Bookstore sells items online and in our store front. We try to add images and descriptions when we can, but if you need additional information or photos of the books we list, please contact us.
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Fine Condition in Fine jacket. Dust Jacket is in fine condition without tears or chips or other damage. Quantity Available: 1. Category: Americana; ISBN: 1586482440. ISBN/EAN: 9781586482442. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 2826.
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Very Good Condition. No Jacket. The text appears clean, the cover has very minor wear with a Used stamp on the lower outer page edges. NO Dust Jacket. Quantity Available: 1. ISBN: 1586482440. ISBN/EAN: 9781586482442. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 1560794259.
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New. 1586482440. *** FREE UPGRADE to Courier/Priority Shipping Upon Request ***-*** IN STOCK AND IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT-FLAWLESS COPY, PRISTINE, NEVER OPENED--287 pages; clean and crisp, tight and bright pages, with no writing or markings to the text. --EXPOSES POPULAR PLAGIARISTS & FRAUDS--TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction: two-faced history * Ch. 1 The rise of consensus history * Ch. 2 Professions of history * Ch. 3 The new history and its promoters * Ch. 4 In the eye of the storm * Ch. 5 Falsification: the case of Michael Bellesiles * Ch. 6 Plagiarism: the cases of Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin * Ch. 7 Fabrication: the case of Joseph Ellis * Conclusion: the future of the past. --DESCRIPTION: Woodrow Wilson, a practicing academic historian before he took to politics, defined the importance of why: "A nation which does not know what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today." He, like many men of his generation, wanted to impose a version of America's founding identity: it was a land of the free and a home of the brave. But not the braves. Or the slaves. Or the disenfranchised women. So the history of Wilson's generation omitted a significant proportion of the population in favor of a perspective that was predominantly white, male and Protestant. That flaw would become a fissure and eventually a schism. A new history arose which, written in part by radicals and liberals, had little use for the noble and the heroic, and that rankled many who wanted a celebratory rather than a critical history. To this combustible mixture of elements was added the flame of public debate. History in the 1990s was a minefield of competing passions, political views, and prejudices. It was dangerous ground, and, at the end of the decade, four of the nation's most respected and popular historians were almost destroyed by it: Michael Bellesiles, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stephen Ambrose and Joseph Ellis. This is their story, set against the wider narrative of the writing of America's history. It may be, as Flaubert put it, that "Our ignorance of history makes us libel our own times." To which he could have added: falsify, plagiarize, and politicize, because that's the other story of America's history. --with a bonus offer--
