The s*** just got real.

History gives contexts for contemporary problems. How can we hope to overcome hatred and violence without knowing where that anger came from?

When you study history, you not only learn who you are. You learn how how the world works. And that is no small task, both for the student and the teacher.

Back in 1970, David Hackett Fischer demanded more from historians than what we had been doing for decades. This quote from his book, Historian's Fallacies, demands that we put ourselves out there for the world.

[N]othing is more necessary to the peace of the world. Let us have no romantic humbug about brotherhood and humanity. What is at stake is not goodness, but survival.

Men must learn to live in peace with other men if they are to live at all. The difficulties which humanity has experienced in this respect flow partly from failures of intellect and understanding. Historical knowledge may help as a remedy- not a panacea, but a partial remedy. And if this is to happen, professional historians must hold something more than a private conversation with themselves. They must reach millions...and they will never do so through monographs, lectures, and learned journals.

I doubt that they can hope to accomplish this object by literary history or by the present forms of popular history. Instead, they must begin to exploit the most effective media of mass communication - television, radio, motion pictures, newspapers, etc. They cannot assign this task to middlemen. If the message is left to communications specialists, it is sure to be garbled in transmission.
(p. 316)

No pressure, David. :)

This quote has guided how I felt about history since I first read it in graduate school. I hope it gives you some idea on why I like to write fiction with a strong historical bent and why I'm starting this series.

Next up:

Delving into Vlad Tepes, and why I wanted to write Dracula's Secret.


Photo of Dr. Fischer from www.historians.org.
Doesn't he look like he'd demand the best of you?

Opening quote shamelessly stolen from Hot Fuzz. Who stole it from other people.

History Geek.

I don't usually talk about my background in history. I'm not an American historian nor did I study things like who wore what, ate what, or invented what (history nerds call that cultural history). I will sheepishly admit that I studied political history.

Political history is the field that every student hates. Who signed what. Who declared war on whom. How monotheism came about. How religions interact. What diplomat did that boneheaded maneuver and what the hell was s/he thinking.

And guess what!

I've decided that you few, you lucky, happy few, will get to hear all about what I spend far too many years of my life figuring out. *evil toothy grin*

Brace yourselves! The horror is coming. :)