One of our most insightful historians explores the boundaries between past and present. From the homicide beat at the New York Times to Poland's Solidarity movement he shows the reader how new impulses enliven history. Photographs.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
When bishop Antoine Lamourette, a deputy in the French Revolution, proposed fraternal love as the key to uniting divided factions, his speech moved members of the legislative assembly to hugs and kisses. Taking this event as a starting point, Darnton ( The Great Cat Massacre ) ponders "what was so revolutionary" about the Revolution in an essay that serves as a welcome antidote to the current spate of revisionist histories of that upheaval. An uneven mix of popular and specialized academic writings, this collection is best displaying Darnton's willingness to delve beneath the surface of events. One piece shows how the power structure of the New York Times helps determine "all the news that's fit to print." Other articles explore the historical consciousness of Poland's Solidarity members, how the media interpret the past, crime and popular literature during the Enlightenment, a history of reading habits. There's also a tongue-in-cheek survival guide for unpublished authors. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This book should be essential reading for those who think that history must be either dull or irrelevant. The book's scope could hardly be wider. The "kiss of Lamourette" was a minor event in the French Revolution, and it forms the topic of the first chapter. Among other things, Darnton discusses his years as a newspaper reporter, gives hilarious advice to authors who wish to have their books accepted by university presses, demonstrates the vital importance of history to Polish people in the era of Solidarity, and skewers a historical TV docudrama. There are also thoughtful essays on the current state of historical research and on 18th-century France. All but one of the 15 chapters have appeared in print previously. Every chapter glows with wit, compassion, and erudition. A marvelous collection; for every library.
- Thomas J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Thomas J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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