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parsed(2009-03-17) - pubdate: 03/09
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pub date: 1237266000
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The Uses and Abuses of History

March 17, 2009 | Trade paperback
ISBN: 9780143054788
Reader Reward Price: $14.40 info
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Description

History can be a very useful tool in understanding why we and those we must deal with think and react in certain ways. But in the wrong hands it can be dangerous and used to foster a sense of grievance or a desire for revenge. Eminent historian Margaret MacMillan is fascinated by the power of history in our thinking. In The Uses and Abuses of History, she points out some of the traps that we can fall into when assessing the present in light of the past.

About this Author

MARGARET MACMILLAN received her PhD from Oxford University and was a professor of international history at Oxford, where she was also the warden of St. Antony's College. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature; a senior fellow of Massey College, University of Toronto; and an honorary fellow of Trinity College, University of Toronto, and of St Hilda's College, Oxford University. She sits on the boards of the Mosaic Institute and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and on the editorial boards of The International History Review and First World War Studies. She also sits on the advisory board of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation and is a Trustee of the Rhodes Trust. Her previous books include Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History, Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World, Women of the Raj: The Mothers, Wives, and Daughters of the British Empire in IndiaParis 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize, and the Duff Cooper Prize and was a New York Times Editors' Choice, and The War That Ended Peace.

ISBN: 9780143054788
Format: Trade paperback
Series: Joanne Goodman Lecture
Pages: 208
Publisher: Penguin Canada
Published: 2009-03-17

Reviews

"This is an eminently sensible and humane book, lucidly and enjoyably written and argued. It is addressed to the general reader, and anyone interested in history should find it an engaging, quick read." --The Globe and Mail
 
"A brief but invigoratingly panoramic survey. . . both timely and justified in its scorn for the many ways in which the past is currently being distorted." --The Guardian
 
"In this highly readable and polished book, readers learn of the dangers of not properly tending to the past, of distorting it and ignoring inconvenient facts. This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the importance of correctly understanding the past." --Publishers Weekly
 
"MacMillan lays about with rhetorical broadsword and with fearless abandon. . . Succinct yet substantial." --The New York Times

"MacMillan is exceptionally cogent on the subject of history and national identity. . . No history lover should fail to digest the lessons of this short but brilliant book." --The Telegraph
 
"The author maintains a tone of measured, reasoned and scholarly approachability . . . This is history used as its own best argument." --The Toronto Sun
 
"A swift and bracing study of the politics of memory that has no choice but to focus on the misuse of the past." --The Independent
 
"An informed and well-written account of the place of the past in present politics. . . A thoughtful and accessible study." --History Extra

"A good quick read . . . a timely read." --Guelph Mercury

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