Historians in the News

This page features brief excerpts of stories published by the mainstream media and, less frequently, blogs, alternative media, and even obviously biased sources. The excerpts are taken directly from the websites cited in each source note. Quotation marks are not used.

Source: NYT
May 2, 2012

Bill Clinton reviews Robert Caro’s new LBJ book for the NYT

“The Passage of Power,” the fourth installment of Robert Caro’s brilliant series on Lyndon Johnson, spans roughly five years, beginning shortly before the 1960 presidential contest, including the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis and other seminal events of the Kennedy years, and ending a few months after the awful afternoon in Dallas that elevated L.B.J. to the presidency.Among the most interesting and important episodes Caro chronicles are those involving the new president’s ability to maneuver bills out of legislative committees and onto the floor of the House and Senate for a vote. One of those bills would later become the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Source: Daily Progress
May 1, 2012

'History Guys' going to weekly radio syndication

“BackStory with the American History Guys,” a public radio program produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, will be syndicated on a weekly basis starting May 11. The program, which first aired as a monthly spot in 2008, has been picked up by stations in 39 states.At one point or another the program has aired on every public radio outlet in Virginia, Executive Producer Andrew Wyndham said.The show is hosted by “18th Century Guy” Peter Onuf, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation professor of history at UVa; “19th Century Guy” Ed Ayers, current president of the University of Richmond, former dean of the UVa College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; and “20th Century Guy” Brian Balogh, Hugh P. Kelly professor of history at UVa and director of the Fellowship Program at UVa’s Miller Center of Public Affairs....

Source: NYT
May 1, 2012

Benzion Netanyahu, Hawkish Scholar, Dies at 102

Benzion Netanyahu, a scholar of Judaic history who lobbied in the United States for the creation of the Jewish state, wrote a revisionist account of the Spanish Inquisition and became a behind-the-scenes adviser to his son Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, died on Monday at his home in Jerusalem. He was 102.The prime minister’s office announced the death.The elder Mr. Netanyahu’s views were relentlessly hawkish. He argued that Jews inevitably faced discrimination that was racial, not religious, and that compromising with Arabs was futile.

Source: NYT
May 1, 2012

Academia Occupied by Occupy

If surveys of Occupy Wall Street supporters conducted last fall still hold true, the crowds of protesters expected to turn out Tuesday for May Day events across the country will most likely skew male, young, white, college educated, underpaid, and thoroughly disgusted with the American political system.But the crowds may also be notably heavy on another demographic cohort: notebook-wielding social scientists hoping to get a more precise understanding of the nebulously organized individuals marching under the banner “We are the 99 percent.”...“This thing just erupted so quickly,” said Alex S. Vitale, a sociologist at Brooklyn College who studies the policing of demonstrations. “It’s almost overwhelming to deal with all the information that’s out there.”

Source: Gene B. Preuss on H-Net
May 1, 2012

For 20th anniversary, H-Net unveiling H-Net 2.0

Gene B. Preuss is the president of H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences and an associate professor of history at the University of Houston.

Source: Lee White for the National Coalition for History
Apr 30, 2012

OAH Report Issued on State of History Within the National Park Service

The National Park Service (NPS) has “imperiled” its own work in history with insufficient support to its history workforce, isolation of this workforce from the rest of the agency, underfunding, “narrow and static conceptions of history’s scope,” and “timid interpretation,” according to a report undertaken at the invitation of the National Park Service and published by the Organization of American Historians. The report urged the NPS, among other things, to “recommit to history.”This article, written by Allen Mikaelian, appears here courtesy of AHA Perspectives.Written by four historians—Anne Mitchell Whisnant, Marla R. Miller, Gary B. Nash, and David Thelen—Imperiled Promise: The State of History in the National Park Service, which is based on a study started in 2008, also reports finding about 150 “effective, inspiring models” of how history is being done well in the National Park Service, and offers 14 case studies of “lamps lighting the path ahead.” The authors of the study gathered information from NPS employees conducting historical work, retired NPS employees at all levels, and professional historians outside the NPS who became stakeholders by virtue of their contributions to NPS programs and sites.

Source: Lee White for the National Coalition for History
Apr 30, 2012

AHA Executive Director Grossman Testifies on FY ’13 NEH Budget

American Historical Association Executive Director James Grossman recently testified before the House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Speaking on behalf of the AHA and the National Humanities Alliance, Grossman urged the subcommittee to provide no less than $154.3 million to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for fiscal year 2013. This represents a small increase over the 2012 appropriation, and was the same amount requested by the Obama administration.Grossman told the subcommittee that the current level of support going to NEH was “akin to plowing under our seed corn,” as young scholars find themselves unable to complete the research that goes into the books that launch academic careers. This has wide implications, Grossman argued. Without an understanding of our own heritage, those of other nations, and of foreign languages, he stated, “We can neither formulate informed foreign policy or even military strategy, nor compete in a global marketplace.”

Source: NYT
Apr 29, 2012

This Revolution Was British, Fired by Libidos

Faramerz Dabhoiwala has endured some awkward moments since his new book, “The Origins of Sex,” an ambitious history of sexuality in 18th-century Britain, was published to rave reviews in that country in January.One woman approached him after a lecture to ask gravely his opinion about the future of the female orgasm. A reporter from The Times of London emerged from an interview in his rooms at Exeter College, Oxford, where he is the senior fellow in modern history, to pronounce him “the younger, cuter Simon Schama.” And then there was the mini-scandal that ensued after he recited a salty 18th-century verse on a late-night BBC radio program.But on a stroll through the Museum of Sex during a recent visit to New York, Mr. Dabhoiwala, 42, seemed at ease among the vintage vibrators and up-to-the-minute fetish images, if a bit wary of being photographed anywhere near them....

Source: Chronicle of Higher Ed
Apr 29, 2012

Social Networks for Academics Proliferate, Despite Some Doubts

As a medieval historian with some decidedly old-school habits, Guy Geltner wanted to expand his online presence, but he shuddered at the thought of "friending" or "Tweeting" to get other scholars' attention.Then a colleague introduced him to Academia.edu, one of a growing number of networking sites designed specifically for scholars."Friends told me that it's basically Facebook for nerds, which I'm very happy with," says Mr. Geltner, a professor of medieval history at the University of Amsterdam.The profile he set up includes far more information than his university's Web page could accommodate, including links to research papers, books, blogs, and forthcoming talks. It lets people know what he's working on and helps him connect with others in his field. "I like the fact that I can read someone's paper without having to be their friend or follower," he says....Zotero offers similar technical tools for researchers in other disciplines, including many in the humanities. The free system helps researchers collect, organize, share, and cite research sources.It hosts group discussions, but social networking isn't a major focus of the site.

Source: MICHIKO KAKUTANI in the NYT
Apr 29, 2012

NYT: Caro learns to write with nuance

... At the heart of “The Passage of Power,” the latest installment of Robert A. Caro’s magisterial biography of Johnson, is the story of how he was catapulted to the White House in the wake of Kennedy’s assassination, how he steadied and reassured a shell-shocked nation, and how he used his potent political skills and the momentum generated by Kennedy’s death to push through Congress his predecessor’s stalled tax-cut bill and civil rights legislation and to lay the groundwork for his own revolutionary “war on poverty.”

Source: Steve Kraske in the Kansas City Star
Apr 27, 2012

Caro's new book gets rave review

Maybe I’m showing my age. Maybe I’m showing the effects of too many years covering politicians.But these days, I’m deep into the fourth volume of an ongoing series of books on the 36th president, a man who died back in 1973.The really scary thing: I’m relishing every minute of it.Robert Caro’s new book on LBJ — “The Passage of Power” — shares a trait with the first three. It is simply a stunning achievement. Enduringly fascinating, probing and popping with surprising insights, the book is a breeze of a read.That Caro is a dogged reporter helps. So does his ability to spin a magnificent tale.And he’s got a whale of a character to chronicle. As he does in the first three books, LBJ comes off as brilliant and petty, shortsighted and farsighted, a scoundrel and a saint....

Source: Chicago Tribune
Apr 26, 2012

Historians up in arms about Chicago LGBT archive's future

The trouble began when a "For Rent" sign appeared in the window of an aging storefront in Edgewater....

Source: Green Bay Press Gazette
Apr 26, 2012

Stephen Ambrose's son, Hugh, continues legacy

MADISON, Wis. (WTW) — Partly out of habit, and perhaps subconsciously to prove his mettle, Hugh Ambrose grabbed hold of the manuscript that arrived in the mail from his father, whipped out his marker and began to employ it liberally throughout, as if he were still a teacher's assistant challenging the assertions of one of his undergraduate charges.It wasn't until after he mailed back the rough draft of what was to become "Undaunted Courage," the 1996 book regarded as the definitive modern retelling of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, that it struck the youngest of noted historian Stephen Ambrose's five children that he may have short-circuited their nascent working relationship.That reaction, in Hugh's words: "Oh my God, what did I just do?"Those fears were for naught. If anything, Hugh's boldness convinced his father that the kid may actually be of some help as his career focus turned from academia to producing a series of best-selling nonfiction titles....

Source: Sidney Hillman Foundation
Apr 26, 2012

Sol Stetin Awar for Labor History goes to Nelson Lichtenstein

NEW YORK - The 2012 Sol Stetin Award for Labor History will go to historian Nelson Lichtenstein, who will receive the award at the annual 2012 Hillman Prizes ceremony on May 1 at The TimesCenter. Lichtenstein will receive the Stetin Award at the ceremony and reception to honor this year’s Hillman Prize winners for excellence in journalism in service of the common good. The Stetin Award is given each year to scholars whose work has helped shape our understanding of working people and the labor movement. Previous Stetin awards have gone to David Montgomery, David Brody, Dorothy Sue Cobble and others. About Nelson Lichtenstein:   

Source: Ron Radosh at PJ Media
Apr 25, 2012

Is Alice Kessler-Harris soft on Lillian Hellman's communism? Ron Radosh thinks so

Ronald Radosh is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at The Hudson Institute, and a  Prof. Emeritus of History at the City University of New York, Queensborough Community College.If you want to know what is wrong with academia, look no further than a long article that appears in The Chronicle Review, the weekly magazine of the academy’s major publication, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Keep in mind that most professors subscribe to it, as do the presidents and deans of every institution of higher learning.The article in question is written by the outgoing President of the Organization of American Historians, Prof. Alice Kessler-Harris of Columbia University, who is author of a new biography of playwright Lillian Hellman, titled A Difficult Woman. Using her forthcoming book as the excuse to get some free publicity for her thesis, Kessler-Harris has written a piece titled “Lillian Hellman’s Convictions” for the review. (Unfortunately, they have chosen to put her article under a firewall, and to read it, you will have to either purchase it or wait for them to eventually post it.)...

Source: Canberra Times (UK)
Apr 25, 2012

Defence of AIF from 'lazy bludgers and thieves' claim

Historian Graham Wilson, whose new book has sparked a trans-Tasman row, says Australia's World War I army included its share of bad characters, as did every force, including New Zealand's.However, the fighting record of the Australian Imperial Force was so well established there had never been a need to embellish that story, he said.The Canberra author's comments were prompted by a New Zealand journalist, Jock Anderson, who labelled the Australian soldiers as ''lazy bludgers and thieves''.Defence Minister Stephen Smith dismissed Mr Anderson's comments with ''the disrespect they deserved''....

Source: Wales Online (UK)
Apr 25, 2012

UK Chancellor of Exchequer out of options, historian says

THE Chancellor is like Mr Micawber, hoping that ‘something will come up’ to boost his fortunes, a leading economic historian said last night.Speaking ahead of delivering the annual Julian Hodge Institute for Macroeconomics lecture Professor Nicholas Crafts warned that the George Osborne lacked many of the levers available to his predecessors in previous downturns.The Warwick University academic said that history had shown that where you were cutting government expenditure, as the Chancellor is currently doing, you need to have a parallel policy that will stimulate growth."The message from previous recessions is that you do need policy to help you recover," he said....

Source: Ustream.tv
Apr 25, 2012

Edwin Black "War Against The Weak": Live stream on April 25, Noon ET

Edwin Black unveils the latest research about eugenics in the Expanded Edition of his best-selling book, award-winning book "War Against the Weak" in a live event at North Carolina General Assembly's Legislative Auditorium April 25 at Noon ET. The event is sponsored by the Campbell University Law School in Raleigh, North Carolina, in partnership with the Urban League of Winston-Salem, the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, North Carolina Holocaust Council, Jewish Life at Duke, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, the State of California Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights and Tolerance, The Auto Channel, History Network News, The Cutting Edge News, Spero Forum, and the Jewish Virtual Library. Broadcast takes place on in Raleigh NC at Noon ET, April 25, 2012.

Source: AP
Apr 24, 2012

Walter Lord back on top of NYT bestseller list 50 years later

 The 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking has returned a classic account of the tragedy to the best-seller lists.Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember," first published in 1955, will be No. 1 this Sunday on The New York Times' chart of combined print and e-book nonfiction sales. The paperback was published by Henry Holt and Company. The e-book was released last month by Open Road Integrated Media, a digital publisher that says the e-edition has been downloaded around 30,000 times."I couldn't be happier for Walter that 'A Night to Remember' has at last emerged again for the beginning of a whole new publishing life with Open Road," literary agent Sterling Lord (no relation to Walter Lord), who represents the author's estate, said in a statement Tuesday.

Source: Southern California Public Radio
Apr 24, 2012

Historian Joe Domanick: The LAPD's culpability in the LA Riots

Journalist and historian Joe Domanick takes Off-Ramp listeners to Parker Center, the L.A. Times building, and the new LAPD Headquarters building – three places he sees as crucial to understanding why the 1992 L.A. Riots happened.According to Domanick, author of "To Protect and To Serve," a narrative history of the LAPD and the forthcoming "Road to Reckoning: the Collapse and Reformation of the LAPD," says Parker Center embodied the glory years for the force, which Chief Darrell Gates viewed as America's police force. But it was through the back door of Parker Center that Gates slipped out on the night the riots started. Astoundingly, so he could attend a Brentwood fundraiser aimed at fighting an initiative to limit the chief's power. But, Domanick says, Gates had no plan to implement that day; he didn't seem to think the people would rise up against him....