The Uses and Abuses of History
This oldie but goodie is my review of The Uses and Abuses of History, b y Margaret (MacMillan Viking, 2008), which appeared in Briarpatch in 2009. I thought about it recently while researching the historical background for my new novel-to-be, Forty Mermaids , and thought I would share the review with you. The Uses and Abuses of History,b y Margaret (MacMillan Viking, 2008), in Briarpatch, May June 2009, reviewed by Ruth Latta What does “history” mean to you? A list of names and dates? Great deeds of long ago? “History,” says historian Margaret MacMillan, is something we all do.” Formerly at the University of Toronto, now at Oxford, Professor MacMillan is well-known for her Governor General’s Award-winning book, Paris 1919 , and, more recently, for Nixon in China . These thoroughly researched, academically respected books are entertaining reads. Similarly reader-friendly is her latest book, The Uses and Abuses of History. MacMillan finds it natural that we...