Engagement with the Past: The Lives and Works of the World War II Generation of Historians - Hardcover

Palmer, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813122066 ISBN 13: 9780813122069

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky, 2001

Synopsis

This group biography investigates the personal and professional histories of what is often referred to as the World War II Generation of Historians, a group that includes Daniel Boorstin, Hugh Trevor Roper and Barbara Tuckman. It is based on personal interviews and readings of their work.

About this title

Review:

"A most engaging book about the generation of British and American historians who challenged the orthodoxies sustaining some of the most cherished national myths." -- Wilson Quarterly

"Palmer has written a perceptive book, which simultaneously explains much about the nature of history as intellectual discourse in the mid-twentieth century and the forces, inside and outside the academy, which converged to shape its development." -- Albion

"For historians this book is a must, not because they have to read it, but because they will love it! It is also something general readers of history will grab for: personal sides of historians readers are not likely to know about. The book also places historical works into fresh and often revealing patterns. No other book lets a reader so openly into the workings of university departments or shows the closeness between good teaching and good book writing. Big as this book is, it is still a page turner." -- Carl N. Degler

"A brilliantly conceived study of an important generation of historians.... A welcome addition to a frequently overlooked part of the badly neglected historiographical studies." -- Choice

"Bill Palmer's fascinating study reconstructs the experiences and intellectual world of a seminal generation of historians on both sides of the Atlantic. Based on a wide range of sources, including personal interviews with many of those discussed, his argument is persuasive and thought-provoking. The book greatly enhances our understanding of the development of the modern historical profession and deserves to have a very wide readership." -- David L. Smith

"A fascinating, seminal study on a generation of historians whose impact on world culture we are just beginning to fully appreciate. This is intellectual history at its absolute finest. A landmark book brimming with analytical savvy, narrative flare, and sound judgment." -- Douglas Brinkley

"A unique group biography of this unusually talented class of history-makers." -- Giustificativo

"Addresses an important subject with wit and good writing and provides a collection of memorable bon mots from a group of notable historians." -- Journal of American History

"This work is extraordinarily informative, rationally organized, and written with clarity and grace." -- William B. Gatewood

About the Author:

William Palmer, professor of History at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, is the author of numerous scholarly articles in a variety of disciplines and two books.

About this edition

• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0813122066
• ISBN 13: 9780813122069
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 392