Historians in the News

Niall Ferguson's biography of Kissinger to be released in September

The publisher says: "The definitive biography of Henry Kissinger, based on unprecedented access to his private papers, by an acclaimed historian at the height of his powers."

A Google for oral history recordings

It sounds like something you might find on the Starship Enterprise but the oral history metadata synchroniser (OHMS), the brainchild of Doug Boy, could transform the way oral history collections are accessed worldwide.

Historian Joanne Bailey discovers she has to revise her views on men who abandoned their families

Challenging your own assumptions, she says, isn’t easy.

New generation of historians presenting a better view of Mormonism to the world, speaker says

The comments were made by J.B. Hates at the 50th anniversary of the Mormon History Association Conference.

Mark Zuckerberg’s next big read is this Islamic history book

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has committed to reading an important book every two weeks as part of his 2015 New Year’s resolutions, and up next is “The Muqaddimah,” a 14th century tome written by Islamic historian Ibn Khaldun.

David Barton’s Unreal Appearance on Family Research Council’s Washington Watch

The discredited writer is still being taken seriously on Christian media.

Financial Times corrects two errors made by Niall Ferguson in a single article

He got poll numbers wrong and claimed that wages had gone up during the Great Recession, when they real wages actually went down.

Historian Peter Kuznick highlights the mythology of Hiroshima

Challenging American “exceptionalism,” the professor and filmmaker Oliver Stone co-authored a book and a 10-part Showtime documentary series, both titled “The Untold History of the United States (2012-2013).”

Conservative scholarly group denounces new AP history framework

55 scholars have signed the open letter to the College Board protesting the new standards. 

Daniel Pipes says he’s give up using the word “terrorist"

by Daniel Pipes

Using it is, he says, more trouble than it’s worth.

Mark Stoll says historians have overlooked the important religious roots of the environmental movement (interview)

He makes the claims in his new book, Inherit the Holy Mountain: Religion and the Rise of American Environmentalism.

NYT History Book Reviews: Who Got Noticed this Week?

by Erik Moshe

This week's books cover a lot of ground, from samurai daughters to Ronald Reagan — and one book that’s out of this world. 

Egyptian Historian: Drop the Palestinians, Normalize With Israel

Palestinians 'don't want to solve their own problem' says prominent historian - and Egypt should focus more on its interests, not hatred.

Historian Says the World Needs a New Origins Story Based on Science

British historian David Christian says we need to come up with a new origin story that can serve the global community.

Robert S. Wistrich, Scholar of Anti-Semitism, Dies at 70

Robert S. Wistrich, who devoted his four-decade scholarly career to dissecting anti-Semitism, died in Rome.

NYT hosts debate including Eric Foner: How Americans should remember Reconstruction

"Reconstruction poses a challenge to Americans’ historical understanding because we prefer stories with happy endings." -- Eric Foner

William Leuchtenburg says historians and the media have been too hard on Obama

“The criticism I am hearing is much too harsh. Particularly, I think in the editorial pages of The Washington Post that much of the criticism has been extraordinarily severe and unjustified.”

Hugh Ambrose, historian who helped develop WWII Museum, dead at 48

Ambrose served as a consultant for the 10-part World War II HBO production “The Pacific” and wrote The New York Times best-selling companion book to the miniseries.

Historian discounts claim that Churchill and other British PM's were gay

by Dominick Sandbrook

Dominick Sandbrook says a biographer's claims are specious.

Nick Bunker Wins $50,000 2015 George Washington Book Prize

The prize for the best writing on early American history is for Bunker’s "An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America" (Knopf).