Q&A

Gordon Wood

Historian Gordon Wood talked about his book The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History, published by Penguin Press. This bo… read more

Historian Gordon Wood talked about his book The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History, published by Penguin Press. This book is a collection of his reviews of works by other historians. He discusses the works of such historians as David McCullough, Barbara Tuchman, David Herbert Donald, and David Hackett Fischer, among many others. In these reviews, he looks not only at the scholarship of the specific work, but also at the historians themselves. He discussed his thoughts on the difference between memory and history. He gave his opinion on historians who integrate their own political beliefs into their writing of history. He also gave some recommendations on history books and a short lesson on how to read a history book. Professor Wood has taught history at Brown University for 39 years. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1992 book The Radicalism of the American Revolution. close

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Q&A with Gordon Wood

3,280 Views
Program ID:
204550-1
Category:
Q&A
Format:
Interview
Location:
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
First Aired:
Apr 13, 2008 | 8:00pm EDT | C-SPAN 1
Last Aired:
Sep 05, 2011 | 3:00am EDT | C-SPAN 3

Airing Details

  • Apr 13, 2008 | 8:00pm EDT | C-SPAN 1
  • Apr 13, 2008 | 11:00pm EDT | C-SPAN 1
  • Apr 14, 2008 | 5:48am EDT | C-SPAN 1
  • Sep 03, 2011 | 2:04pm EDT | C-SPAN 3
  • Sep 04, 2011 | 7:00am EDT | C-SPAN 3
  • Sep 05, 2011 | 3:00am EDT | C-SPAN 3
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Q&A with Gordon Wood

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