Greetings Cosmic Americans!So, who was it? I ask this question from time to time on the C.A. Facebook page and Twitter...purely out of curiosity. I am not developing any thesis or historiographical essay, I just want to know.
I find it interesting that a handful of names come up repeatedly. David Potter set the bar
for excellence for many professional historians, and of course Bruce Catton's magnificent prose is unmatched (one person referred to Catton as the "gateway drug" for Civil War history...I found that to be about right). Barbara Tuchman taught one person (on this last round of inquiries) that women could write compelling history, and, to rocket us into to the twenty-first century, fellow blogger Brooks Simpson got a few tips o' the hat (despite his love of the NY Yankees). Allan Bogue, Albert Castel, and James Robertson made the list this time out as well.So I ask again - who influenced you the most?
Keith
Carol Reardon and Joseph Harsh, 1 and 1.
ReplyDeleteJohn Keegan was probably the most instrumental in transforming my desire from being a history enthusiast to a historian. Specifically, his A History of Warfare was the perfect gateway into the massive history of war. Since then, the list is far to massive and specialized.
ReplyDeleteA spot-on description of Bruce Catton. Anyone interested in the Civil War should begin their journey with his centennial trilogy, or with James McPherson and Shelby Foote.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to narrow it down to just one, but I'd have to cast a vote for Howard Zinn. Though not a Civil War historian per se, his "A People's History of the United States" showed me some of the gaps in the history I studied in school.
Probably Livy. Among Civil War historian, Reid Mitchell because he offered a frame I was not familiar with.
ReplyDeleteRichard Hofstadter, Kenneth M. Stampp, Stephen B. Oates.
ReplyDeleteYou have all inspired me to dig in to my library and do some serious re-reading. Thanks for the comments, everyone!
ReplyDeletePS – I am really excited about re-reading Eric Hobsbawn’s Age of Empire. Not a Civil War book, clearly…but one of my all-time favorites from days gone by!
ReplyDeleteSince an early age I was always influenced by James Robertson. But my main historian that I always paid unusually strong attention to was Ed Bearss
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