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The Uses and Abuses of History
Modern Library
July 2009
On Sale: July 7, 2009
208 pages
ISBN: 0679643583
EAN: 9780679643586
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
Margaret MacMillan, an acclaimed historian and Γ’β¬Εgreat storytellerΓ’β¬Β (The New York Review of Books), explores here the many ways in which historyΓ’β¬βits values and dangersΓ’β¬βaffects us all, including how it is used and abused. The New York Times bestselling author of Paris 1919 and Nixon and Mao reveals how a deeper engagement with history in our private lives and, more important, in the sphere of public debate can guide us to a richer, more enlightened existence, as individuals and nations. Alive with incident and figures both great and infamous, including Robespierre, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Mao Zedong, Karl Marx, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and George W. Bush, Dangerous Games explores why it is important to treat history with care. History is used to justify religious movements and political campaigns alike. The manipulation of history is increasingly pervasive in todayΓ’β¬β’s world. Dictators may suppress history because it undermines their ideas, agendas, or claims to absolute authority. Nationalists may tell false, one-sided, or misleading stories about the past. Political leaders might mobilize their people by telling lies. Adolf Hitler, for instance, blamed the Jews for GermanyΓ’β¬β’s humiliation at Versailles and its defeat in World War I. It is imperative that we have an understanding of the past and avoid the all-too-common traps in thinking to which many fall preyΓ’β¬βas MacMillan skillfully illuminates. This brilliantly reasoned work will compel us to examine history anew, including our own understanding of it, and our own closely held beliefs.
 Media BuzzDiane Rehm Show - NPR - July 28, 2009
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