Routledge The Use and Abuse of History: Or How the Past is Taught to Children (Routledge Classics)

Use and Abuse of History has become a key text of current historiography; this is a book that poses fundamental and disturbing questions about the use and abuse of history. Engaging and challenging, this book confronts the reader with the many 'histories' that exist and have existed around the world, from the Zulu kingdoms to Communist China. This title has now been extensively revised by Marc Ferro, a well respected historian, and presents the different narratives that constitute the histories of countries as diverse as India, Iran, Trinidad and the United States makes for fascinating reading in their own right. What makes this book so valuable, though, is what these narratives tell us about the societies which create them – how much is history distorted in order to condition the minds of those who are taught it? Use and Abuse of History appeals to anyone with a general interested in history. Review 'The Use and Abuse of History has the singular effect of bringing into focus a dimension of historical awareness which is much more integral to the understanding of the contemporary world than we might have thought.' - The Times Literary Supplement'Marc Ferro is remarkable in writing history enjoyed both by scholars and by people curious about the world in which they live and its past.' - Natalie Zemon Davis, Author of Return of Martin Guerre'It is ... a very thought provoking analysis of how history is taught in many different countries.' - History Teaching Review 'Marc Ferro is remarkable in writing history enjoyed both by scholars and by people curious about the world in which they live and its past.' - Natalie Zemon Davis About the Author Marc Ferro (1924-) President of the Association of Research at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and co-director of the prestigious French review Annales.