In Search of Lost Times; or, Whose History is it?

Restoration, Revolution, Reaction: Economics and Politics in Germany, 1815 - 1871 by Theodore S. Hamerow

The Hummingbird and the Hawk: Conquest and Sovereignty in the Valley of Mexico 1503-1541 by R. C. Padden

Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy  by John R. Hale

Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam by Pope Brock


These four examples of historical writing are worth comparing because they vary so widely in technique, methodology and intent.  Since I've read them all in the last six months, there is also a synchronicity factor at work - their differences show up in sharper relief because of it.  Lastly, it does no harm that they are all entertaining and worthwhile in their own way.

Even though I enjoyed Restoration, Revolution, Reaction, I can't pretend it will be to every one's liking.  Full of statistical data on the economic conditions of the German Confederation prior to the revolution of 1848, it seeks to illuminate the various factors that combined to initiate the uprising, and to show that the seeds of failure were rooted in those same factors.  Once the liberal parliamentarians lost control of the revolution, forces sympathetic to the German princes and nobility gained the support of various disenfranchised groups, and returned to a policy of enlightened despotism - at least until Industry and Progress forced them to adapt.  The ultimate conclusion is that since the German people never became accustomed to democratic culture, they were susceptible to an autocrat like Bismark and those who followed him in the 20th Century.  

Published in 1958, Restoration, Revolution, Reaction seems to me to exemplify the type of dense, scholarly work from the social sciences that was common at the time.  As a broad generalization, these volumes are not designed to reach out to the reader - they are asking the reader to extend himself toward the information they offer.  There is as much a mental challenge to gleaning the information as in following the author's conclusions.  So, if I'm already in tune with the subject, then there's a twofold pleasure in stumbling across these books.  (This one I picked up in a Goodwill store for 88 cents.)  Unfortunately, works from this time also tend to be Eurocentric, often seeking to explain the previous war, or lay the groundwork for post-war culture.  Literary critics such as Lionel Trilling in The Liberal Imagination, and cultural ones such as Jacques Barzun in The House of Intellect both fall into this category in a general way.

The Hummingbird and the Hawk (1967) marks a diversion from this mold.  Still highly scholarly, this history of the Aztecs and of Spanish conquest is a result of the slow realization that other periods and places besides Europe and antiquity deserved a closer look.  Prof. R. C. Padden's reevaluation of the chronological evidence available concerning the Aztec led him to draw some conclusions that he felt were significantly different than the popular narrative at that time, though his retelling of the events alone make the book well worthwhile. 

While a book like Restoration, Revolution, Reaction is likely safe from much revision, The Hummingbird and the Hawk, or so I imagine, is probably outdated by now due to the half century of study in this field.  But it does bridge a gap between the older style of staid historical universalism and the trends that would dominate the late 60's and 70's.  These trends, sparked, I believe, by the shift in cultural paradigms brought about by societal change from the mid-sixties onward, were an reflection of the larger attempt to break the choke hold that conventional and patriarchal obeisance had on many disciplines.  The Hummingbird and the Hawk doesn't quite leap that far, but it does preview glimpses of an historicity centered more toward the individual than toward large groups. 

And that, I think, is where we can begin to see how a book like Lords of the Sea, and to a lesser extent Charlatan, get the basis for their structure.  Make no mistake about it, the scholarly effort involved in Lords of the Sea had to be as great - perhaps greater - than either of the two previous books mentioned.  Yet there is a less significant feel to the book, as if it is somehow 'history lite'.  Initially, I was quite taken with it, and I can still appreciate its overall narrative, but after reading both of the other examples, I've begun to feel somewhat shortchanged.  Due to the extensive research - both physical and scholarly - that went into Mr. Hale's book, I can't point to his methodology or his intent as the problem.  That leaves me with style as the hurdle.   

Both Mr. Brock and Mr. Hale are capable storytellers, and they disassociate the story they intend to tell from the dusty convention of fact piled on sturdy fact until a solid structure is built.  I don't mean to imply that there accounts are not factual - what I mean is that they are doing their best not to let them impede the story they have to tell.  In Restoration, Revolution, Reaction, the fact, the statistic, the quantifiable, triumphantly trotted out, flexed its muscles, and like a member of a human pyramid, calmly took its spot while its fellows climbed up and into their spaces.  With Lords of the Sea, those facts are hidden away in the end notes and source lists.  While these new authors are relating a historical tale, the last thing they want anyone to think is that they are reading History.  They are offering entertainment instead.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!

A few last notes - look at the clauses that follow the main titles of these books, and I think you will see a trend.  The earlier books are no-nonsense statements of intent.  The latter two are like tag lines at the bottom of movie posters.  If you don't believe me, here are a few other examples, all from recent books in the history field:

Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City & Sparked the Tabloid Wars, and

Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul

Picking on these titles is unfair - I've not read any of them.  But there is a similarity to them that I find offputting.  They remind me of the superficial output of the History Channel, or A&E.  Well, that's judging a book by its cover for you.  

As always, these are opinions that are always open for discussion.