A few thoughts
on history that I modestly named after myself.
1.
Everything that ever happened almost didn't...and vice versa.
As
David McCullough likes to say, "There is no such thing as
the past." Before it was history it was someone trying to
figure out what to do. History happens in the present, on the
fly, under deadline, in the heat of anmger, and sometimes by accident.
It's not set in stone before it happens, and it didn't have to
happen the way it did.Some of my favorite history stories are
about pivotal moments where things could have turned out very
differently. Play the video to hear about an example.
2.
History is made by people.
This
may seem obvious. Ovbiously it is people who are the primary actors
on the stage of history, not monkeys or trees, or rocks. My point
is that history is not always great armies colliding, or great
civilizations rising and falling. Sometimes it is what one single
person does: A chauffer who takes a wrong turn that triggers World
War I; ascientist who forgets to clean up his lab and, as a result,
ends up discovering penicillin. Three drunken redcoats who inspire
the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. We're not all just corks
rising and falling on the tides of history. Indivduals make a
difference.
3.
Yesterday's headline is today's forgotten story
Our
society's historical memory is incredibly short. So something
that was headline news 65 years ago (or even 10 years ago) turns
into a forgotten nugget just awaiting rediscovery. It was the
hottest story in American when President Franklin Roosevelt changed
the date of Thanksgiving in 1939 to lengthen the Christmas shopping
season. It divided the nation--literally--with half the states
celebrating on the old date and half on the new date proclaimed
by the President. But who remembers it today?
4.
Just because it is in a history book doesn't mean its true.
"History
would be a wonderful thing" said Leo Tolstoy," if only
it were true." I go to great lengths to assure that the stories
I tell in my books and documentaries are true, because there are
a lot of myths floating around out there. And some of them have
been enshrined in history books! Someone in my position has to
be a history detective, piecing together clues and different accoutns,
trying to trace everything back to its source to see if it is
really true.
5.
History is too much fun to leave to historians.
My mission in life
is to infect people with my passion for history. This stuff is
a blast!
If you have some thoughts
on history you want to share with me, drop me an email.
