Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory [Paperback]

Michael Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 1996

This is a book about why history matters. It shows how popularized historical images and narratives deeply influence Americans' understanding of their collective past. A leading public historian, Mike Wallace observes that we are a people who think of ourselves as having shed the past but also avid tourists who are on a 'heritage binge,' flocking by the thousands to Ellis Island, Colonial Williamsburg, or the Vietnam Memorial. Wallace probes into the trivialization of history that pervades American culture as well as the struggles over public memory that provoke stormy controversy. The recent imbroglio surrounding the National Air and Space Museum's proposed Enola Gay exhibit was reported as centering on why the U.S. government decided to use the A-Bomb against Japan. Wallace scrutinizes the actual plans for the exhibit and investigates the ways in which the controversy drew in historians, veterans, the media, and the general public. Whether his subject is multimillion dollar theme parks owned by powerful corporations, urban museums, or television docudramas, Mike Wallace shows how their depictions of history are shaped by assumptions about which pasts are worth saving, whose stories are worth telling, what gets left out, and who is authorized to make the decisions. Author note: Mike Wallace is Professor of History at John Jay College, City University of New York. He is the co-author, with Edwin G. Burrows, of "Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898", winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In essays that previously appeared in the Radical History Review, Wallace (history, CUNY) explores the purposes of museums, particularly as popular tourist attractions. He is concerned with what the people who started museums originally had in mind to attract poor people and immigrants, for example, in the large urban technology museums and the early, mostly rural reconstructions such as Colonial Williamsburg. In his later chapters, Wallace deals with recent controversies such as the Enola Gay exhibit and Disney's America. He writes from a radical viewpoint in proposing the necessity of bringing people of color into museums; this is usually worn lightly but can become didactic. His style is lively and his musings productive, but the book's ideological focus (and, for the cloth edition, bloated price) make it a purchase only for libraries collecting heavily in curatorship or local history.?Fritz Alan Buckallew, Univ. of Central Oklahoma Lib., Edmond
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Mickey Mouse History probes into the struggles over public memory and the trivialization of history that pervades American culture. The recent imbroglio surrounding the National Air and Space Museum's proposed Enola Gay exhibit was reported as centering on why the U. S. government decided to use the A-bomb against Japan. Mike Wallace scrutinizes the actual development of the exhibit and investigates the ways in which controversy drew in historians, veterans, the media and the general public. Whether his subject is multimillion-dollar theme parks owned by powerful corporations, urban museums, or television docudramas, Wallace shows how depictions of history are shaped by assumptions about which pasts are worth saving, whose stories are worth telling, what gets left, and who decides. Mickey Mouse History is emphatically recommended for anyone with an interest in how history gets written and transmitted to the general populace, the politics of history, and how contemporary events shape historical perceptions -- and how historical perceptions shaped contemporary events! -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (April 23, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566394457
• ISBN-13: 978-1566394451
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Americana

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An accessible and essential look at the fight over history, February 14, 2001

By 

Dave Thomer (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory (Paperback)

This is a very easy-to-read, jargon-free book about various ways in which the American past has been marketed to the American public. Wallace makes clear that the past should not be sanitized or exaggerated for any purpose, no matter how noble. And he makes clear how dangerous distortions of the past can be, particularly in chapters that discuss Ronald Reagan's or Newt Gingrich's . . . shall we say, passing acquaintance with history as it happened, as opposed to how they wish it had happened.

That last sentence makes pretty clear that Wallace has an ideology of his own. He interprets much of American history in terms of the conflict between classes. He does not insist that his interpretation is the only valid interpretation, but the force with which he makes some of his ideological points keeps me from giving this a five star review. That said -- everyone should read this book. It pokes away at some of the myths that keep us from doing what we can to make American society even better. Mickey Mouse History might make you uncomfortable -- but it's a discomfort that has plenty of rewards in understanding.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accessible and Thoughtful, March 1, 2001

By 

"disneychick" (Main Street, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory (Paperback)

Mike Wallace uses the kind of academic writing that all scholars should aspire to achieve--lively, free of jargon, and entertaining. His subject, as suggested by the book's title, is history and the debates that surround different depictions of history. Wallace observes, astutely, that the struggles over how to portray history reveals much about ourselves, our beliefs, and our agendas. Wallace points out that history is never neutral, a point that is well worth reinforcing.

My particular interest is Disney Studies, and Wallace has a section (actually two essays) devoted to Disney and it use of history. The first essay concentrates on Disney's use of history in its theme parks, particularly in places such as the Hall of Presidents and EPCOT. While Wallace does not shy from criticizing Disney's portrayal of history (in fact, one of Wallace's strengths is he does not shy from representing his own viewpoint clearly), he also does not simply dismiss the potential in integrating history, entertainment, and the kind of technological wizardy that Disney is known for. He makes a serious case for a reconsideration of Disney and its techniques, all without constantly hitting his reader over the head with things. In his second essay, Wallace concentrates on the failed Disney's America project, providing background information and a critique of Disney with a call to re-examine Disney's use of history as emblematic of other movements and struggles over American history. He also makes it clear that he believes simply dismissing Disney is not an effective strategy for considering how portrayals of history could engage the public. The strength here is that Wallace is not afraid to criticize both Disney and kneejerk criticisms of Disney, or to envision the melding of history and entertainment. Nor does he abandon the quest for critical presentations of history that open history to even further investigation. While this is no easy task, Wallace does succeed.

If there is one thing I would suggest, perhaps the element I feel is missing, is a better development of these strategies for the presentation of history that Wallace supports. Although that could indeed be a book in itself, it would have been nice to see more of Wallace dwell more on his own engagement with, even answers to, the questions he has raised in this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars highly entertaining look at history front of culture wars, June 1, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory (Paperback)

Mickey Mouse History is a highly entertaining book about a serious and sober subject: the uses and misuses of history in our own time. This book explains, better than any other, why history has been at the very heart of the culture wars in recent times. This is a superb, eminently readable book. It deserves a very wide audience