Past imperfect : facts, fictions, and fraud--American history from Bancroft and Parkman to Ambrose, Bellesiles, Ellis, and Goodwin / Peter Charles Hoffer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hoffer, Peter Charles, 1944-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historiography--Social aspects--United States--History--20th century.

Historiography.

Historiography--Political aspects--United States--History--20th century.

Historians--United States--Biography.

Historians.

Professional ethics--United States--Case studies.

Professional ethics.

United States--Historiography.

United States.

United States--History--Philosophy.

Bellesiles, Michael A.

Goodwin, Doris Kearns.

Ambrose, Stephen E.

Ellis, Joseph J.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (337 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : PublicAffairs, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The past has never been more contentious, its interpreters never more publicly at war. Now a renowned historian provides an evocative examination of his profession, American style.

Contents:

contents; preface; acknowledgments; introduction Two-Faced History; part I Facts and Fictions; 1 The Rise of Consensus History; 2 Professions of History; 3 The New History and Its Promoters; 4 In the Eye of the Storm; part II Fraud; 5 Falsification: The Case of Michael Bellesiles; 6 Plagiarism: The Cases of Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin; 7 Fabrication: The Case of Joseph Ellis; 8 History as "Fair Game"; Conclusion: The Future of the Past; notes; index; about the author

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [263]-296) and index.

ISBN:

1-283-09539-4

9786613095398

1-58648-594-6

OCLC:

714569647