tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post6286392616880519156..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Michiko’s ChoiceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-17865385131550269732011-03-31T16:55:17.310-05:002011-03-31T16:55:17.310-05:00Ellis was detected to be embellishing his life sto...Ellis was detected to be embellishing his life story a few years back, claiming in talks and interviews to have been more involved in the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement than he really was. His employer, Mount Holyoke College, sanctioned him, and his reputation suffered. <br /><br />In <i>Past Imperfect</i>, Peter Charles Hoffer linked Ellis’s personal falsehoods with his historiographical method, both of which involve creating vivid scenes that resonate with their audiences based on limited evidence (or, in the case of the personal claims, none). <br /><br />Ellis hasn’t been found to have ever falsified U.S. history the same way as his own history, however. Historians disagree with his approach and emphases, and his topics have become less daring over the years, but he starts from solid evidence. <br /><br />Ellis has won some of the top awards in the profession, including the Pulitzer Prize. I particularly like his book <i>Passionate Sage</i>, about John Adams after his presidency. However, he wrote that one before he started reaching a mass audience.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-1453297786917087962011-03-31T10:14:58.629-05:002011-03-31T10:14:58.629-05:00A complicating factor is that many of these "...A complicating factor is that many of these "biographies" are actually about "image," especially in Washington's case -- "Inventing GW," "GW Man and Monument" etc. Or, as in the Chernow case, they play off the received image.Mr Punchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13516357354712554138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-39156407043385279192011-03-31T01:17:35.730-05:002011-03-31T01:17:35.730-05:00I seem to recall that Joseph Ellis got in some ext...I seem to recall that Joseph Ellis got in some extremely serious trouble for, shall we say, "exaggerating" the truth a few years back. Am I correct on that? Is that the same person? If so, then why is he considered an "academic historian of stature"? If what I recall is correct, he seems to have started with the "imagination" and the "conjuring" and let it run until the story he created was at variance with the truth. If that's the case, why should we trust anything he says?Charles Bahnenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-27728566342864077422011-03-30T22:07:58.956-05:002011-03-30T22:07:58.956-05:00Embellishing nonfiction in the name of entertainme...Embellishing nonfiction in the name of entertainment is called "lying." Surely, the documented and attributed facts, descriptions, and quotes are just as exciting as the weak adjectives that made me cringe in the otherwise exception Chernow book.<br /><br />JL Bell proves the point every day with his superb writing.<br /><br />Let's stick to facts, guys, or stop calling yourselves historians.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06577843003037198943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-51374698511094858112011-03-30T22:04:25.605-05:002011-03-30T22:04:25.605-05:00Inventing stuff and passing it off as nonfiction i...Inventing stuff and passing it off as nonfiction is called "lying." <br /><br />Surely the facts we know, the anecdotes that have been documented, the very words of people are enough for a good writer to work with. Having just read the Chernow, I can tell you that it wouldn't have lost anything if Chernow had just ditched the unattributed adjectives. <br /><br />As a journalist, I can attest that the facts written well are just as exciting as editorializing.<br /><br />Shame on all the so-called "academic historians" who make stuff up. I get enough of fabrications from Fox so-called "News."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06577843003037198943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-47060014106430694302011-03-30T20:48:16.412-05:002011-03-30T20:48:16.412-05:00I think both approaches have strengths and value, ...I think both approaches have strengths and value, but we readers have to be aware (or beware) of the limits or pitfalls of whatever approach an author chooses.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-74588895090388586102011-03-30T11:10:42.758-05:002011-03-30T11:10:42.758-05:00Both historians and historical authors such as McC...Both historians and historical authors such as McCullough, Ellis and Doris Kearns Goodwin mention that to add some human interest to a particular chapter or story, they take some aspect of an episode (such as the recorded weather on that particular day) and they create a scenario and dialog by the participants to accompany the story, implying that the situation took place as written. I think any reader, if truely interested in historical accuracy, must be able to identify or even forgive the authors for doing so. But always - let the reader beware!John L. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14827783825431694038noreply@blogger.com