Product Description

The past is capricious enough to support every stance – no matter how questionable. In 2002, the Bush administration decided that dealing with Saddam Hussein was like appeasing Hitler or Mussolini, and promptly invaded Iraq. Were they wrong to look to history for guidance? No; their mistake was to exaggerate one of its lessons while suppressing others of equal importance. History is often hijacked through suppression, manipulation, and, sometimes, even outright deception. MacMillan’s book is packed full of examples of the abuses of history. In response, she urges us to treat the past with care and respect.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #137934 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
`short but brilliant book' - ***** review in Daily Telegraph --Daily Telegraph

Review
`A magnificent book, wise and timely' - Tribune

From the Back Cover
Winner of the Samuel Johnson prize for Peacemakers History is useful when it is used properly, to understand why we think and react in certain ways. But it is also susceptible to manipulation and distortion. Nationalists tell false or one-sided stories about the past, whilst dictators suppress history because it undermines their claims to omniscience and authority. Political leaders mobilise their publics by telling lies: Hitler lied about Germany's defeat in the First World War and about the role of the Jews. Taking lessons from the past can also be problematic - there are too many lessons, enough to suit every need. Margaret MacMillan is concerned that the history profession appears to be turning inwards, retreating from the big issues at a time when it is urgently needed to increase our understanding of the past. The Uses and Abuses of History is a powerful and vital argument for the importance of history and historians. 'MacMillan is a worldly historian with a supreme gift for seeing the big picture ... and telling the best story.' Globe and Mail

Customer Reviews

Fascinating
A book which, as the title suggests, looks at the way history is used and abused by those with their own agendas.

I am starting a Welsh history course in October and this has been a particularly useful pre-course reader. In one of its topics,it deals with the way nations "invent" their history.
In relation to Wales this was a particularly relevant topic; much of Welsh cultural identity is based on the ancient Bardic traditions but the real bardic traditions were lost. This book discusses the way that these traditions were reinvented in the 19th Century when the modern Eisteddfod was developed.So,in fact, what seems to be a very ancient tradition is, in fact, not much older than most modern football clubs.

There were many other examples like this of history`s use and abuse and it was a fascinating and illuminating read.

It is probably not for the academic reader with a deep knowledge of the subject, but for someone like me, about to embark on study, it was a useful and accessible introduction to the subject and it has encouraged me to develop a more thoughtful and questioning approach to history.

Short but sweet
My biggest issue with this book is I am not sure who it was written for. If you are new to reading history books then this is not the place to start, however if you spend a lot of time reading non-fiction (like myself) then there are no great revelations to be found here.

The book is well written and the appeal to professional historians to re-engage with the general populous is heartfelt and a point I agree with. However there isn't a lot of meat to chew on. It would have been nicer to have gone into greater depth on many of the point raised, for example the impact of the Church using Latin as its international language for over a millennium has led to a Western bias of all things Roman Empire seen as great and everyone else is a barbarian. Being a little more modern, how totalitarian states not only manipulate history but how the also subdue dissenting voices and how far they have gone from the established facts.

So what is here is great as an overview of the potential corruption of the past, but it is a light and ultimately unsatisfactory read.

Excellent and thought-provoking read
This a shortish book that brushes over a large subject and leaves a lot of questions hanging...in a positive way.

In the space of 170 pages, Margaret MacMillan writes about how history has been abused over the years and what we think we know about the past has often been corrupted by unscrupulous people, usually for political reasons.

She doesn't tell anyone what to think, but lets you decide for yourself how much of what you know about the past you want to believe.

There is a chapter on History and Nationalism as well as the wars that have been fought in Academia over which view of history is correct.

It's an easy read in terms of language, but will leave you questioning everything about what you have been taught. No bad thing in my view.