Fully agree; one of the most engaging and captivating history books for me was Barbara Tuchman's "The Guns of August," about the first month of World War I. Tuchman says, in the book's preface, that not a single thing she mentions is a fabrication—if she says, "the weather was gloomy that day," she has meteorological reports to back up her assertion. That's a welcome perspective; history can be an entertaining narrative full of depth and detail, without having to be the product of the historian's imagination.
Academics like to make things complex, because the answer to complex things is usually academics.
If they made them too simple, it would feel like maybe they are not necessary and there's actually no gatekeepers to all this knowledge. All you need is a desire to learn -- and it helps to have a good guide, but most academics aren't even that.
Fully agree; one of the most engaging and captivating history books for me was Barbara Tuchman's "The Guns of August," about the first month of World War I. Tuchman says, in the book's preface, that not a single thing she mentions is a fabrication—if she says, "the weather was gloomy that day," she has meteorological reports to back up her assertion. That's a welcome perspective; history can be an entertaining narrative full of depth and detail, without having to be the product of the historian's imagination.
This resonated a lot with me and got me thinking: "What use is history if we don’t remember it, if it doesn’t inflame the spirit as well as the mind?"
Well done, Ed. Love this piece and testing the false narratives we have from school-aged memories. Can't wait to learn more from your next one!
Academics like to make things complex, because the answer to complex things is usually academics.
If they made them too simple, it would feel like maybe they are not necessary and there's actually no gatekeepers to all this knowledge. All you need is a desire to learn -- and it helps to have a good guide, but most academics aren't even that.
Maybe I'm just cynical! haha
Teaching Caribbean piracy. What a day job!
Gorgeous article! 🍊
I'm a Portraitist, so I adore narrative, and so love your argument for narrative history.🙏