Product Description

John Vincent has often been accused of political incorrectness in his writings about history. In this controversial study of history, Professor Vincent goes to the very heart of the complex issues raised by the subject. In 1928 Bernard Shaw wrote his "Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism". Nearly 70 years later, in a simliarly poelmical tract, Vincent makes no such concessions to feminist sensibilities or to the politics of the left. The text provides a comprehensive examination of the philosophy and evolution of history. It explores notions of historical evidence, meaning, the concept of historical imagination, morality and history, causality and bias, and hindsight. This expanded paperback edition includes an account by the author of the critical reception that greeted the book's original publication, and the controversy that it generated.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1048871 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Review
"'a clever, wilful, self-consciously quirky little book' - Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph; 'The sheer effrontery of the tone gives the book a clear edge over much of the competition...' - Michael Bentley, TLS; 'A good book to give anyone thinking of reading history, or fed up with the way it is studied or written' - The Spectator"

About the Author
John Vincent has been Professor of History at the University of Bristol since 1970. Among his many influential publications are The Foundation of the Liberal Party (1966), Gladstone and Ireland (1979) and a masterly short biography of Disraeli (1990). He is also widely known as a journalist and controversialist.

Customer Reviews

'Packed with wild assertions'
... would be a better description. Apparently at the beginning of the last century (presumably the 19th as this was published in 1995) 'civilised men, in free elections, voted overwhelmingly to become slaves'. Amazing! Even more amazingly we are not told when or where this was - never mind exactly how 'free' the elections were. Oh, and Catholics [...] have a 'ghetto mentality'. They just do. No need for justification of the statement. Two stars because it's quite a good read and laugh. Rather like Vincent's favourite tabloid, 'The Sun', in fact.