The Uses and Abuses of History Paperback – April 1, 2010

Ideas not to be forgotten.A few years old but still to be studied,, conclusions still valid (look at Russia and Ukrajina).

I read three books by Margret Macmillan, this was the fourth and by far the least interesting one of them, she keeps repeating herself all over the book.

Good read not to technical.

Margaret's book about uses & abuses of history is in a way short but quite interesting.She manages to cover a wide spectrum of examples from all over the world where history can be comforting for some & painful for others & how humans try to use history & distort it, sometimes cleverly & sometimes drastically.I do not agree with the previous review which is rather harsh & somewhat unfair with its unconvincing points, but nonetheless, history is abused by many, politicians & leaders, who want to bend it for their advantage resulting in fabricated historical accounts which causes further strive & suffering. While history can be & should be used to learn lessons from it that can widen our perspective if analysed objectively.I have seen examples of what the writer warns of in the begining about casual historians & the need for professional historians to fill the gap thats being exploited by others.I recommend this book to anyone who's interested in world history & they can find something in it that relates to them or a topic that interested them.

This is a slick and superficial little book that purports to inform the reader on the uses and abuses of history. But the problem is that MacMillan, despite being a history professor and warden of St, Anthonyfs college, Oxford University, often does not seem to know the difference between 'use' and 'abuse' herself.Early on in the book, she declares: 'bad history makes sweeping generalizations'. But then, nine pages later, she states baldly, without support or documentation: '[Fidel] Castro was prepared to see his country destroyed if it brought Soviet victory in the Cold War closer.' If this is not sweeping, if it is not a generalization, it is nothing.In a epopularf book without references or attempt at authentication, MacMillan goes on to do more of the same: ae She accuses esomef blacks of 'unseemly competition for victimhood' with Jews. ae She criticizes 'modern nationalist movements' for claiming the right to 'rule themselves on a specific piece of territory.'ae She defends harsh military discipline, asserting, without evidence, that 'threat of execution may help to keep armies from disintegrating...'ae Despite these not-so-glittering generalities, MacMillan claims to espouse the 'what really happened' school of history.In short, while MacMillanfs book is superficially entertaining and will not tax the non-historian, its content very often belies its title.Charles Alverson

Brilliant exposition of the abuse of history by mainly modern totalitarian societies.However,it was also a verydepressing read,but that reflects my psychological mood as I read, Short and easy to read,highly recommended to all readers of modern history

I read and greatly admired Margaret MacMillan's "The War that Ended Peace", one of the best studies I know of the build-up that lead to the First World War. Here again she presents in a reasoned and informed way why history is so important to understanding the world as it is and how it might develop in the future. It should be compulsory reading for all history students and especially politicians.

An extremely useful insight into how history is - and has been - shaped to suit the needs of leaders today.

This is a brilliant book. An absolute must read by anyone interested in history. I was sorry when I got to the end, I'd have liked to have read more.

Interesting book. A few references a bit dated but still applicable, unfortunately!