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Practicing History: Selected Essays

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"Practicing History", by Barbara W. Tuchman, sub-titled "Selected Essays". Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1981.

This book is a collection of essays written by the noted Historian, Barbara W. Tuchman (e.g. "The Guns of August"), over the course of her long career. In my humble opinion, for the novice historian, the most interesting essays are, "The Historian as Artist" (pages 45-50), "The Historian's Opportunity", (pages 51-64). In these two essays, Ms. Tuchman challenges the budding historian to not only collect facts, dates and events, but rather to write History so the end product is as engaging as modern novel, BUT, based upon excellent scholarship. Ms. Tuchman is a proponent of "narrative" History, where the facts "...require arrangement, composition planning just like a painting - Rembrandt's 'Night Watch`" (page 49). These two essays would enhance any course in Historiography.

Some of her remaining essays are a bit dated, but provide keen insight into the times, as in Tuchman's "Japan: A Clinical Note", (pages 93-97). Her essays on Israel tend to be a bit chauvinistic, in the sense that the author's objectivity slips and she can find very little wrong with the budding Jewish state in what was once Palestine. The essay, "Perdicaris Alive or Rasuli Dead" (pages 104-117), is very entertaining, particularly if you are interested in New York's Teddy Roosevelt. All in all, the first section of this book, (called "The Craft"), includes essays that should be required reading for a student beginning graduate work in History.

These essays allow the reader to enjoy Barbara Tuchman's incisive historical analysis and sharp wit in small doses. Most of the essays were written in the 1950s or 1960s or even earlier, but they are still fresh and pointed. Reading Tuchman is like listening to your favorite history professor. She'll tell a dramatic story and finish up with some wry observations that will keep you thinking long after.

Although a collection of essays the coherence of her work is commendable.No one can read history in the same light after reading her book.Ms.Tuchman is truly a master who weaves a web around her readers. The canvas of her book is stupendous and her grasp is awesome covering ancient Greece to modern times. Truly remarkable. (Naushad Shafkat)

This should be compulsory reading for everybody in positions of power and influence. The essays may have passed into history, but their verities remain. The anguish caused by political and commercial stupidity and its by-product of war would be lessened if power brokers learnt from history. War is folly, as this great historian wrote many years ago. Will people ever learn? I cannot use the word 'humanity' when I think of what we do to others.

I love the feeling that I'm picking the brain of BWT. Her methods of writing and observations are worthwhile for a lifetime. The humility the author has toward fact gathering benefits all her readers. This collection is first a delight to any fan of the woman herself, and second a tool for learning about good history writing. A bonus third point is for history novices like me- a crash course on several topics of interest. A "crash course" from Barbara Tuchman is possibly an experience of the most concise, informative and comprehensive summary on a subject you'll find.

Somewhat dated, perhaps. But, Mrs. Tuchman's insights in "Practicing History" are timeless in key points on the myth of objectivity and keeping the historical context of events in view. In our day, history seems dependent on the historian's political slant with few exceptions and Mrs. Tuchman speaks to that trend years before it became so obvious. Her words also speak to the growth of the post-world war one cynicism that seems as prevalent (perhaps more so) a century later. So-called "professionals" of all fields are sometimes easily offended or threatened by what Mrs. Tuchman calls "independent" communicators in their field. Attempting to dismiss or marginalize the independent/amateur is not a response to the issues they raise. Only an independent could have written this book and challenged the "professional" establishment. And few independents have the credentials to do so as Mrs. Tuchman has.

This book is ideal for communicators in the field of history and historical fiction. Whether one agrees with her or not, dismissing Mrs. Tuchman is no option for the serious historian - professional or independent.

This book has provided me with a template for my own historical research. Tuchman is a brilliant writer and she conveys her own trial and error (and, by her account, mostly error) experiences succinctly and humbly. I feel empowered to try my hand at writing and researching in the historical field. Read this book then get ALL her other books and see how she practices what she preaches!

By now most of these essays are beginning to show their age...I agree with the other reviewer here that her style is quaint. I was most impressed with her ruminations on the craft of creative writing itself, and how that can come into conflict w/ the practice of history, and I enjoyed her reflections on doing historical research and also her considerations on academic vs. non-academic historians, and the importance of readability and narrative vs. cramming loads of facts into one's writing w/o a unifying narrative; British scholar A.L. Rowse makes a similar point (and praises Tuchman) in his _Historians I have known_. After having read Ron David's _The Arabs & Israel_ and a number of works by Noam Chomsky (themselves both American Jewish writers) critiquing modern Israel, I really cannot take Tuchman's triumphmentalist zeal vis a vis Israel seriously; I found myself talking back to the audiobook repeatedly "but Barbara, what about...?" , etc. Tuchman is a mainstream American liberal, and I am Left of the mainstream. I have yet to read Tuchman's seminal work _The Guns of August_, and I am eager to read _The Proud Tower_ also, about the last years of the 19th century before the Great War. You could do worse than Barbara Tuchman, but she is something of an anachronism by now and you can certainly do much better, too. (Howard Zinn comes readily to mind)