Margaret MacMillan is a Canadian historian who finds the “rewriting” and suppression of history by governments and political groups offensive. In this slim volume, MacMillan provides plenty of examples of politicians tampering with history. Stalin pretty much erased Leon Trotsky. Mao had his Red Guard thugs silence anyone who dared to refer to the past: teachers, historians, doctors, etc. John F. Kennedy suffered from serious illnesses and took a cocktail of serious drugs while he was President yet few people knew about it. For McMillan, history is a story that holds information about our futures. To tamper with that information is to distort decisions about the problems facing us. Margaret MacMillan has written a series of fine essays that are both insightful and passionate. GRADE: B+
During Stalin’s time, those who fell out of favor had their images removed from old photographs. On one hand that seemed absurd, on the other hand, very chilling.
There are a lot of chilling stories in DANGEROUS GAMES, Drongo. But you’re right, Stalin had a special skill of “erasure” all his own.
Try looking at some of religious right’s home-schooling social studies books for a chilling recreation of history.
I’m always alert to the spin various religions put on their interpretation of events, Patti. What about “The Birthers” who want to rewrite Barack Obama’s history? Or Sarah Palin’s “death panels”? Plenty of rewriting history there.