Sir John Keegan isn't paying attention.
Nov. 24th, 2009 04:48 pm![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jonquilIn a linkspam, Brad DeLong destroys John Keegan's recent work. I had read the recent New York Times review that proved Keegan hadn't done his research on the Civil War -- . “The Ohio and its big tributaries, the Cumberland and the Tennessee form a line of moats protecting the central Upper South, while the Mississippi, with which they connect, denies the Union any hope of penetration.” Um.... ever heard of a boat?
It turns out, however, that Keegan is equally unreliable on the location of Bulgaria and that, furthermore, he testified for David Irving in the latter's libel suit against Deborah Lipstadt, Lipstadt having called Irving a Holocaust denier.
Keegan: "[Irving] has, in short, many of the qualities of the most creative historians. He is certainly never dull. Prof. Lipstadt, by contrast, seems as dull as only the self-righteously politically correct can be. Few other historians had ever heard of her before this case. Most will not want to hear from her again. Mr. Irving, if he will only learn from this case, has much that is interesting to tell us."
Sigh.
The Times review I linked to is riveting, if you, like me, enjoy watching one scholar cut another to shreds.
It turns out, however, that Keegan is equally unreliable on the location of Bulgaria and that, furthermore, he testified for David Irving in the latter's libel suit against Deborah Lipstadt, Lipstadt having called Irving a Holocaust denier.
Keegan: "[Irving] has, in short, many of the qualities of the most creative historians. He is certainly never dull. Prof. Lipstadt, by contrast, seems as dull as only the self-righteously politically correct can be. Few other historians had ever heard of her before this case. Most will not want to hear from her again. Mr. Irving, if he will only learn from this case, has much that is interesting to tell us."
Sigh.
The Times review I linked to is riveting, if you, like me, enjoy watching one scholar cut another to shreds.
poked fun mercilesslyblogged about it, but apparently not. Something very wrong there.