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The Purpose of the Past : Reflections on the Uses of History
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The Purpose of the Past : Reflections on the Uses of History Paperback - 2009

by Wood, Gordon S

  • Used

Wood examines how the historian's craft has changed radically over the past 40 years. This work offers insight into what great historians do, how they can stumble, and what strains of thought have dominated the marketplace of ideas in historical scholarship.

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Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Used - Good
NZ$11.94
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Details

  • Title The Purpose of the Past : Reflections on the Uses of History
  • Author Wood, Gordon S
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Condition Used - Good
  • Pages 336
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Publishing Group
  • Date 2009-02-01
  • Features Index, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • Bookseller's Inventory # 5201242-6
  • ISBN 9780143115045 / 0143115049
  • Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 in (21.34 x 13.97 x 2.03 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Dewey Decimal Code 907.2

Summary

An erudite scholar and an elegant writer, Gordon S. Wood has won both numerous awards and a broad readership since the 1969 publication of his widely acclaimed The Creation of the American Republic. With The Purpose of the Past, Wood has essentially created a history of American history, assessing the current state of history vis-à-vis the work of some of its most important scholars-doling out praise and scorn with equal measure. In this wise, passionate defense of history's ongoing necessity, Wood argues that we cannot make intelligent decisions about the future without understanding our past. Wood offers a master's insight into what history-at its best-can be and reflects on its evolving and essential role in our culture.

Categories

Media reviews

"Essential reading for anyone who cares about history."
-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

"Illuminating . . . [Wood's] pitch-perfect erudition is legendary."
-Douglas Brinkley, Los Angeles Times

Citations

  • New York Times Book Review, 04/05/2009, Page 20

About the author

Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University. His 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787, received the Bancroft and John H. Dunning prizes and was nominated for the National Book Award. Wood's 1992 book, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Emerson Prize. His 2009 book, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815, won the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize. In 2011, Wood was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Obama. He contributes regularly to the New Republic and the New York Review of Books.

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