Practicing History, Barbara W. Tuchman
Practicing History, Barbara W. Tuchman
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Practicing History
Selected Essays

Author: Barbara W. Tuchman

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Unabridged: 12 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/23/2009

Synopsis

Master historian Barbara W. Tuchman looks at history in a unique way and draws lessons from what she sees. This accessible introduction to the subject of history offers striking insights into American's past and present, trenchant observations on the international scene, and thoughtful pieces on the historian's role. History should not just be a series of facts, names, and dates—it should be a flowing narrative, the story of humanity, written as vividly as a novel.Here is a splendid body of work, the story of a lifetime spent "practicing history."

About Barbara W. Tuchman

Barbara W. Tuchman (1912–1989) was a self-trained historian and author who achieved prominence with The Zimmerman Telegram and international fame with The Guns of August, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1963. She received her BA degree from Radcliffe College in 1933 and worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Pacific Relations in New York and Tokyo from 1934 to 1935. She then began working as a journalist and contributed to publications including The Nation, for which she covered the Spanish Civil War as a foreign correspondent in 1937. Her other books, include The Proud Tower, A Distant Mirror, Practicing History, The March of Folly, The First Salute, and Stilwell and the American Experience in China: 1911-45, also awarded the Pulitzer Prize. In 1980 the National Endowment for the Humanities selected her to deliver the Jefferson Lecture, the US government’s highest honor for intellectual achievement in the humanities.

About Wanda McCaddon

Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Charlene on September 13, 2020

Listened to this but it was probably better suited to reading in print. Barbara Tuchman was perhaps the David McCullough of the past generation, a self-trained historian who wrote excellent, best selling histories (twice won Pulitzer). I vaguely remember reading The Guns of August and A Distant Mi......more

Goodreads review by Carol Bakker on June 21, 2012

I started out loving Barbara Tuchman's book of essays. The first eight essays, on the craft of writing history, sent me over the moon. My ardor went down just a degree or two in the next section, which might be described as history in small chunks. Although the final section, in which she comments a......more

Goodreads review by Evan on September 21, 2013

Practicing History is a collection of 33 short essays by Pulitzer Prize winning historian Barbara Tuchman. I am a big fan of Tuchman’s work, which includes one of the most interesting nonfiction books I’ve ever read (A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century) and a true masterpiece (The Guns of......more

Goodreads review by Bryan--The Bee’s Knees on April 23, 2019

I ran across an old audio cassette version of this book not long ago, and although it didn't have all the essays included in the book, it was enough to get me started. I also had a copy on my shelves, and so I read the remainder (about as much cut from the audio as it included), and felt that the be......more

Goodreads review by Eric on February 08, 2024

Early on I was of a mind that Tuchman was a far better historian than essayist, but really started warming to her outlook on things as she took the press to task. I made note of this quote. "Communiques have about as much relation to what actually happens as astrology has to the science of the stars......more

Quotes

“A book to celebrate…A delight to read.” New York Times Book Review

“The essays about writing in Practicing History are an invaluable and charming tutorial for those interested in learning the historian’s craft. History students, especially those entering graduate study, would be well advised to steep themselves in her advice.” Wall Street Journal

“Persuades and enthralls…I can think of no better primer for the nonexpert who wishes to learn history.” Chicago Sun-Times

“Provocative, consistent, and beautifully readable, an event not to be missed by history buffs.” Baltimore Sun

“I was then, and am still, in awe of her ability to write history and make it readable. This volume of essays is no exception.” International Social Science Review

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