Monday, April 26, 2010

Historians having ethical issues

Don't do this.

Orlando Figes, British historian of Russia, here, writes anonymous reviews trashing his rivals, then threatens lawsuits, then lets his wife take the blame, then....

Update
: Now he says Stalin made him do it.

Update, April 29
: But this is weird: someone called Jonathan Jones thinks it's only those tedious profs who complain when someone "popular" trashes the books of rivals anonymously and threatens libel action when exposed.

Stephen Ambrose, American historian of presidents and war, here, seems to have made up his oral-history interviews.
 
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