Difference between revisions of "The Best Historians and Books According to James McPherson"
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===Best Books on the Civil War=== | ===Best Books on the Civil War=== | ||
− | + | [[File: Inhuman_Bondage.jpeg|thumbnail|275px|[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195339444/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195339444&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=065dffdb06bd5774d918d2a61f00cddd ''Inhuman Bondage'']]] | |
Allan Nevins, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VZZO3M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000VZZO3M&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6ef4167b8ee4cc21d3c75d2b33882c75 Eight Volume Set on the Civil War] | Allan Nevins, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VZZO3M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000VZZO3M&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6ef4167b8ee4cc21d3c75d2b33882c75 Eight Volume Set on the Civil War] | ||
===Best Historians Writing Today=== | ===Best Historians Writing Today=== | ||
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Bernard Bailyn, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674443020/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674443020&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=67f56d2729096f3e91b2e721446833e8 The Ideological Origins in the American Revolution] | Bernard Bailyn, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674443020/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674443020&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=67f56d2729096f3e91b2e721446833e8 The Ideological Origins in the American Revolution] | ||
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===Most Important Book for His Career=== | ===Most Important Book for His Career=== | ||
+ | [[File: Alexander_Hamilton.jpeg|thumbnail|200px|''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143034758/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143034758&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1966c356d5dc8895f516f9212fd47f9d Alexander Hamilton]'']] | ||
C. Vann Woodward, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807100390/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807100390&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6e17c1eb0e4acb6ce5c6567e02b26d1d Origins of the New South, 1877-1913] | C. Vann Woodward, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807100390/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807100390&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6e17c1eb0e4acb6ce5c6567e02b26d1d Origins of the New South, 1877-1913] | ||
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===Books on His Nightstand=== | ===Books on His Nightstand=== | ||
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Ron Chernow, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143119966/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143119966&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=af07747ddf58eba0c6507908db1ac37d Washington: A Life] | Ron Chernow, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143119966/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143119966&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=af07747ddf58eba0c6507908db1ac37d Washington: A Life] | ||
Revision as of 05:50, 2 July 2016
In 2014, the New York Times published a brief interview with noted Civil War historian James McPherson, The George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University. McPherson is considered to be the dean of Civil War historians. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning book Battle Cry of Freedom which is the best overview of the Civil War. In the interview, McPherson stated who he believes are America's top historians, the best book on the Civil War, military history, African American history, the book most responsible for shaping his career, and even the most overrated history book ever. It's a biggie.
All of the historians and books cited by McPherson are outstanding, but they are representative of his generation. Not surprisingly, this was pointed out by several younger scholars. Most of his preferences were predominantly from historians of either his generation of scholars. In many ways books are like music, people like the music of their formative years better than anything that came before it or after. His choices are certainly understandable, but open to debate.
In the interview, McPherson often referred to an author, but failed to specify which books he preferred. In a number of cases, we extrapolated some of the best books written by his favorite historians. There are certainly other books from these authors that are also outstanding.
Here were his answers:
Last Great Book He Read
James Oakes, Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865
Best Books on the Civil War
Allan Nevins, Eight Volume Set on the Civil War
Best Historians Writing Today
Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins in the American Revolution
David Brion Davis, Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World
Gordon Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution
Eric Foner, Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad
David McCullough, The Wright Brothers
David Hackett Fischer, Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)
Favorite Biography of Civil War figure
Jean Edward Smith, Grant
Best Military Histories
John Keegan, The First World War
Craig Symonds, Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History
Stephen W. Sears, Chancellorsville
Gordon C. Rhea, The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5--6, 1864
Gary W. Gallagher, The Confederate War
Joseph T. Glatthaar, Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers
Rick Atkinson, The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (The Liberation Trilogy)
Best African American History Books
John Hope Franklin, Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation
Ira Berlin, Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America
Most Important Book for His Career
C. Vann Woodward, Origins of the New South, 1877-1913
Book Every President Should Read
Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
Most Overrated History Book
Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)
Books on His Nightstand
Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life
Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
His Next Book
Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton