Margaret MacMillan’s Paris 1919 is a masterpiece of scholarship and storytelling. I haven’t managed to write any recent words of praise for her works since that first book, so here are a few pocket reviews & recommendations of MORE delicious reads from the master’s pen…
A lovely companion piece to Paris 1919. It covers more recent subject matter than WWI…yet it’s now far enough away that it seems surprisingly alien and fascinating, especially considering today’s more open-yet-convoluted relationship between China & the rest of the world. Was there ever a time when China seemed to be as mysterious, unknown & inscrutable as in those early 70s days…related so evocatively in this book?
It’s a smaller book than Paris 1919, yet it feels just as rich, primarily due to Ms. MacMillan’s razor sharp focus, and her jocular ability to distill events of unprecendented magnitude into simple, engaging stories. In this case, the subject matter helps enormously, as she paints a picture of new world imperisalism crashing into the remnants of ancient imperialism, trying to reassert itself. It also plays out as a grand tragedy, as the mad Communism of Mao and the bull-in-a-china-shop crooked politics of Richard Nixon are both destined to fall spectacluarly in the aftermath of their great diplomatic triumph. World-spanning ambitions, fading in the oily well of domestic strife.
A complete and utter triumph on every level, Nixon in China is history that demands to be devoured in one sitting.
THE USES AND ABUSES OF HISTORY
It’s less a self-contained book, and more a series of lectures transformed INTO a book…but it will make you think…and think hard.
Lessons about teaching history, the demands of niche studies vs. the broader canvas, the caution against bigoted agendas (be it ethnicity, language, or religion)…all in the span of a few chapters/lectures. Ms. MacMillan distills her views on history and its teaching with all the skill evident in her usual writing.
They read as lessons…but not dull, classroom lectures that will put you to sleep. These are straightforward thoughts that have Ms. MacMillian’s usual razor sharp focus, but tinged with wistfulness: part warning, part plea, part wishful thinking. You may agree with all her points, or you may disagree violently. Either way, you will not leave this book behind without your own definitive opinions on the subject of history being called into question…or thunderously validated. History is a visceral experience, and Margaret MacMillan wouldn’t have it any other way.
Frankly, The Uses and Abuses of History should be required reading for ALL history students. :D
