The
Necessity of History, as Practiced by Historians
During the last few days I
read Hillary Clinton’s latest book, What
Happened. Then I turned to John Bridges’ Everybody Knows What Happened. The first is centered on Clinton’s
account of her campaign for the presidency, while the Bridges book (he is Dr. Bridges on the title page) is a most
critical account of that theme, betraying his support for Bernie Sanders. I could
not have gotten through either book without generous (to me!) skipping.
I am not noting these facts on my blog to give an account of either of
these books; they are inexpensively available on Kindle. I mention them as evidence for the
title over these paragraphs. Bridges’ sources are mostly newspaper
articles—giving away his orientation by the citing several times the Washington Times (look it up) and Ms.
Clinton has both the advantage and handicap of speaking for herself. It’s all
very provisional or, if you like, preliminary. Whoever lives long enough will
begin to hear from historians.
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