A Life in History

by David E. Kaiser

"His sober and totally candid memoir is absorbing reading that clearly and personally illuminates the ever more tragic collapse of authentic higher education in America." Arthur Waldron, Lauder Professor of International Relations, The University of Pennsylvania " A Life in History , captures a rare quality these days--the ability to stand for what you believe and base those beliefs on facts, not trendy opinions." Morley Winograd, Senior Fellow, Annenberg USC Center for Communications & Leadership Policy ". . . a probing, sometimes searing, look at the professional life of an intellectual during the past half century. . . . In these reflections, Kaiser offers a personal answer to how to sustain the life of the mind and to ensure a public presence for bold thinking." Anne Rose, Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies, Penn State University "insightful and entertaining, and it forces readers to think." Jeremi Suri, Professor, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs "This absorbing tale is a window into the inner workings of academia at our nation's premier institutions" James Goldgeier, Professor of International Relations, American University David Kaiser David Kaiser taught history at Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, the Naval War College and Williams College from 1976 through 2012. His nine books include American Kennedy, Johnson, and the Origins of the Vietnam War, and Politics and European Conflict from Philip II to Hitler . He lives in Watertown, Massachusetts, and writes the blog historyunfolding.com.

408 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2019

About the author

David E. Kaiser, born June 7, 1947, is an American historian whose published works have covered a broad range of topics, from European Warfare to American League Baseball. He was a Professor in the Strategy and Policy Department of the Naval War College from 1990 until 2012 and has also taught at Carnegie Mellon, Williams College(2006-7 and 2012-3), and Harvard University.

Reviews

[Steve Barrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Kaiser's autobiography focuses on his career as an academic historian; hence its title, "A Life In History." He does write a bit about his family life, but for the most part relates his professional life, and his love of history, acquired from an early age. Either way he is very candid about his perspective, making this a warm and personal narrative. Professor Kaiser had a long career teaching history in a university setting, and at the Naval War College (he is now retired). He writes frankly about his disappointment with how history departments in academia have evolved in his lifetime, as the older generations of professors have departed and the departments have been taken over by postmodernism. There is personal disappointment in his career as well, as he was never able to acquire tenure at a university, though he did have a distinguished and satisfying career in the long run, doing what he loves. Many of his students greatly appreciated him, as proven by their testimonials which he includes in the book.

As well as teaching history, Professor Kaiser has written a number of history books; I have never read them, but after reading his autobiography am inspired to do so. He is from the Boomer generation, and his choice of subject matter for his books reflects, I believe, what are important influences on his generation: the Kennedy Assassination, the Vietnam War, even baseball. He also has written extensively about Great Power conflict in the modern era, covering long arcs of historical time. On top of that, he has been keeping up a blog called "History Unfolding" since the 2000s, where he analyzes current events from his learned perspective.

This takes me to generations theory, which is how I met David Kaiser. We both are fans of Strauss & Howe generational theory, which describes long cycles in history based on generational change. We met on forums online in the 1990s and I have had the pleasure to meet him in person on a couple of occasions. He brings up generational theory in his autobiography, including the fact that for a good many years he applied the theory in a Generations in Film course that he taught at the Naval War College. I actually had the opportunity to take the course last summer, when he offered it over Zoom to fellow generations fans on a group we are in. Some of his former students whose testimonials appear in his autobiography participated as well.

I enjoyed this book for its candid nature, and for how it taught me details of the life of someone I know. None of my other friends or acquaintances have written autobiographies. Even if you don't know Professor Kaiser, this book about his life will teach you a lot about history, and about the state of history as a profession over the course of the past half-century.

You can also learn more about David Kaiser's thinking from his blog at:

http://historyunfolding.blogspot.com/