Politicians, Socialism and Historians

by A.J.P. Taylor

The eminent, once controversial author of The Origins of the 2nd World War has become a BBC star, a pop survey purveyor (1979's How Wars Begin) & the very model of a crusty old English historian. The image has been fostered thru book reviews, many for the New Statesman & The Observer, which give opportunity to pass judgment & toss around bits of erudition. These 50 essays from 1952-80 are mostly short book reviews (exceptions range from an autobiographical essay from the Journal of Modern History to a travel piece on Lancashire for Vogue) which, taken together, cover a broad spectrum of prominent historical & biographical writing over a long period, but little else. What ties them together is an offhand style & his oft-repeated socialist leanings of indeterminate degree. Prefacing a longish essay on H.G. Wells, he notes that, "tho I owe more to Bernard Shaw than to any other single writer, I owe more to H.G. Wells' Outline of History than to any other single book." Aside from reflecting a sense of self-importance, this confession also pinpoints his archaic literary socialism. As a popularizer, Taylor the reviewer is good, but the brevity of the reviews, suitable to weeklies, gives them an insurmountable lack of depth. Chiefly for dipping into books now familiar mostly to specialists.--Kirkus (edited)

Genres: History

269 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Alan John Percivale Taylor was an English historian of the 20th century and renowned academic who became well known to millions through his popular television lectures.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because of A.J.P. Taylor's reputation as an historian of modern Europe and because I was interested in and gratified by his opinions about socialism.