This book reads like a long essay on history, its uses, and abuses. Not particularly insightful or inspiring or informative, not much new ground broken here, but it has some good reminders, and it is interesting to get a Canadian historian's read on some recent world history. ( )

Well-written, intelligent, accessible, engrossing. So many of the author's points could have become books in themselves. My only wish was for more. ( )

This is one of those books that I fondly refer to as a "crabby pants book." These books are books that generally lament one development or another - consumerism, scientific illiteracy, yuppies - and claim that the world is ending because of said development. They can be well-written or poorly written, seriously or stupid, but they are always crabby.

MacMillan's essential thesis is that history is important - it shapes how we understand ourselves and others, how we understand our country and others, how governments and leaders justify their actions - and incredibly popular among ordinary people - witness the immense popularity of geneology, historical fiction, documentaries - but is dangerously open to manipulation and misuse because professional historians have immersed themselves in the minutiae of obscure topics and have largely abandoned general history to non-academics (the aforementioned geneology websites, historical fiction writers, and cable channel documentaries). In this sense, the book is not only a crabby-pants book but an elitist one as well. And I do not mean that as a smear - despite my love of crappy vampire novels and trashy cable cooking shows, I have quite an elitist streak in me.

Although MacMillan's book starts out pretty well, it quickly starts to seem shallow and repetitive. I didn't realize until I read the end-notes that the book is actually based on a series of lectures given by the author, which helped me understand why she cited the same ten examples of manipulation of history for political ends again and again and again. The author divides the book into chapters based on loose themes and uses specific examples to illustrate these themes, but because these are rich examples, history is rarely misused in only one specific way in each. So certain incidents and ideas come up repeatedly: how history is used to advance specific national ideologies, how conflicting interpretations of history spill into the public sphere in museum displays and films, disputes over whose perceptions and interpretations of events in the past are authoritative, and whether the purpose of history is to "uplift" or to "inform" (and what that even means). I wondered if it might have been more effective to structure the book as a series of case studies of disputes over specific historical events/moments/interpretations and then to draw out the themes associated with each dispute - but I can see how that method might get repetitive as well. Overall, an interesting book but one that probably would have had more legs as an essay - but of course, who publishes or reads standalone essays much anymore? ( )

A nifty little book about the different ways that people throughout the world use history. Leaders compare themselves to well-respected leaders of the past in order to gain support. Victors re-write history to glorify themselves, painting the defeated as unimportant or unworthy, causing history to "change" as different factions come into power. Historical events are used to define groups of people in the present, such as when previously oppressed minorities gain a measure of stature in society. History is used to create a sense of nationalism and to promote patriotism. Historical events are used as evidence in current disputes - this happens at home when one spouse accuses another of always doing something wrong, or never doing something right, and the same thing happens on a global scale, too. History is used when planning or justifying warfare - the problem is in choosing the best historical comparison for the present situation.

I thought it was fascinating. Short and easy to read, it is thought-provoking and provides lots of examples taken from headlines all around the world. Best quote, taken from the final paragraph of the last chapter, "We can learn from history, but we also deceive ourselves when we selectively take evidence from the past to justify what we have already made up our minds to do." (pg 164) Recommended. ( )

Margaret MacMillan is a brilliant writer and historian. This is not her best book.
It is not very detailed, and to me is a fine skim through good and bad uses of history, but a bit superficial. Its roots in a lecture are evident. Apparently good people use good history well, bad people use bad history badly. George W. Bush and the critics of the Bomber Command display at the Canadian War Museum are the worst people of all.
I recommend this book as a worthwhile quick read, not as an accession for your personal library. ( )