Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Tony Judt on academic historians: Facing a huge market, but unable to address it

Quote of the day is from Tony Judt, now unfortunately gone: "the market for history books is enormous, but most professional historians are simply unable to satisfy it." (P. 263, Thinking the 20th Century) By the way, Judt’s book Postwar is essential reading for, among others, anyone interested in the effect of World War II ...

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Quote of the day is from Tony Judt, now unfortunately gone: "the market for history books is enormous, but most professional historians are simply unable to satisfy it." (P. 263, Thinking the 20th Century)

Quote of the day is from Tony Judt, now unfortunately gone: "the market for history books is enormous, but most professional historians are simply unable to satisfy it." (P. 263, Thinking the 20th Century)

By the way, Judt’s book Postwar is essential reading for, among others, anyone interested in the effect of World War II on Europe.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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