happinessisalltherage's review
3.0
Read in a week for a graduate class on History and its uses in international affairs, this is a fine book full of real world examples on that subject. I enjoyed the last chapter the most. I found a couple of MacMillan's comments requiring a citation or to be rather simple generalizations of complex historical topics. For example, she claims the Soviet policy of glasnot led to a loss of faith in the Soviet project and to it's disunion. I'm no Soviet scholar but that seems quite simplistic.
A quick, breezy read, but not an essential one.
A quick, breezy read, but not an essential one.
michael_k's review against another edition
3.0
More like 3.5 actually. It is a book that basically examines if and what history has taught us and how to critically approach it. It is written in a clear language and I think it is a must-read for all of us who enjoy history.
moris_deri's review
4.0
The teaching and the literary values of history have become George Orwell’s nightmare come true. History is written in a way that helps justify repressive regimes, religious authorities, wars, etc. It is a close examination of how erroneous the story-telling is, and the author blames it on mainstream historians who have relegated the duty of critical analyses to amateurs, preferring to work on the sidelines instead (such as to study the history of Queen Elizabeth instead of the royal family lineage as a whole). It is a cautionary literature on how identity can be an ersatz construct built by someone else who is not privy to the impugned events. Best read together with [b:The Undivided Past: Humanity Beyond Our Differences|15792475|The Undivided Past Humanity Beyond Our Differences|David Cannadine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1377898464l/15792475._SX50_.jpg|21514356].
hollyleaf's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Interesting, nuanced discussion of history in culture and the narratives created around them
siria's review
1.0
I started Dangerous Games in the hopes that it could be a useful introduction for students to how the past has been used and abused over time, both by professional historians and by politicians and the general public. Sadly this isn't even serviceable. While Margaret MacMillan writes in a very succinct and straightforward manner, her conclusions are often banal and the point of view laid out here is frequently almost shockingly naive—and that's the nicest I can say about it.
There's a careful attempt to seem scrupulously neutral when discussing the history of colonialism and the oppression of indigenous peoples in North America and Australia—some see this as X; others see this as Y—the disingenuous nature of which is revealed when MacMillan has no qualms about (rightly!) calling out post-WWII German, Austrian and Japanese popular amnesia about the atrocities committed by those nations. I found little evidence of a deep engagement with the historiography produced by indigenous historians or historians of colour. MacMillan criticises the turn of professional historians away from writing solely political or military history towards more social and cultural studies—the occasional study is all well and good, she suggests, but it's not proper history. This of course entirely ignores the fact that many historians still write—and teach—political and military history, and that the writing (and teaching) of such histories can only be made better through a more thorough and honest grounding in the contexts of its time.
And while perhaps it's unfair to chastise MacMillan, writing in the late 2000s, for not having predicted the rise of Flat Earthers when she wrote that "arguments over the position of the earth and the sun" belong to the past, it's mindboggling that she then goes on to assert that scientific racism and sexism are things of the past, when sadly we have daily proof that they are powerful forces still.
In her epilogue, MacMillan concludes by writing that the study of history is a necessity because it teaches us "humility, skepticism, and awareness of ourselves." Yes indeed—but only if we're willing to step outside of ourselves first.
There's a careful attempt to seem scrupulously neutral when discussing the history of colonialism and the oppression of indigenous peoples in North America and Australia—some see this as X; others see this as Y—the disingenuous nature of which is revealed when MacMillan has no qualms about (rightly!) calling out post-WWII German, Austrian and Japanese popular amnesia about the atrocities committed by those nations. I found little evidence of a deep engagement with the historiography produced by indigenous historians or historians of colour. MacMillan criticises the turn of professional historians away from writing solely political or military history towards more social and cultural studies—the occasional study is all well and good, she suggests, but it's not proper history. This of course entirely ignores the fact that many historians still write—and teach—political and military history, and that the writing (and teaching) of such histories can only be made better through a more thorough and honest grounding in the contexts of its time.
And while perhaps it's unfair to chastise MacMillan, writing in the late 2000s, for not having predicted the rise of Flat Earthers when she wrote that "arguments over the position of the earth and the sun" belong to the past, it's mindboggling that she then goes on to assert that scientific racism and sexism are things of the past, when sadly we have daily proof that they are powerful forces still.
In her epilogue, MacMillan concludes by writing that the study of history is a necessity because it teaches us "humility, skepticism, and awareness of ourselves." Yes indeed—but only if we're willing to step outside of ourselves first.
leezee's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
I enjoyed this! A quick read that is a little outdated at this point, being published in 2008, but with some interesting insights into how history is mobilized in classrooms and politics. While it suffers a bit from an overt Western perspective, MacMillan is sensitive to this. Overall: good read