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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 “great
storyteller†(The New York Review of Books), explores here
the many ways in which history–its values and
dangers–affects 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 today’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 Germany’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 prey–as
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.
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