Historians in trouble : plagiarism, fraud, and politics in the ivory tower

Available for the first time in paperback after being widely reviewed and discussed upon its hardcover publication, Historians in Trouble is investigative journalist and historian Jon Wiener's "incisive and entertaining" ( New Statesman ) account of several of the most notorious history scandals of the last few years. Focusing on a dozen key controversies ranging across the political spectrum and representing a wide array of charges, Wiener seeks to understand why some cases make the headlines and end careers, while others do not. He looks at the well publicized cases of Michael Bellesiles, the historian of gun culture accused of research fraud; accused plagiarists and "celebrity historians" Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin; Pulitzer Prize winner Joseph J. Ellis, who lied in his classroom at Mount Holyoke about having fought in Vietnam; and the allegations of misconduct by Harvard's Stephan Thernstrom and Emory's Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, who nevertheless were appointed by George W. Bush to the National Council on the Humanities. As the Bancroft Prize-winning historian Linda Gordon wrote in Dissent, Wiener's "very readable book . . . reveal[s] not only scholarly misdeeds but also recent increases in threats to free debate and intellectual integrity."

Why do some allegations of scholarly misconduct and error become large media spectacles and result in sanction against the offending writer, while others receive far less attention and punishment? The one-word answer, for Wiener (history, U. of California at Irvine), is power. He examines stories in which leftist writers (or those perceived to be supporting leftist arguments) such as Mike Davis and Michael Bellesiles are dragged over the coals for relatively minor inaccuracies in their respective works Ecology of Fear and Arming America, while far more egregious errors and even outright scholarly fraud in support of power and the conventional wisdom are treated by kid gloves by media representatives and academic institutions. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Harper's Magazine

Goes into court documents and behind the newspaper and network scenes to tell us about coverups, screwups, and secret settlements.

"Historians have been in the news recently, and the news has not been good - accusations of plagiarism, research fraud, and classroom misconduct have made headlines, brought protracted investigations, and, in some cases, landed big names in the courtroom." "In Historians in Trouble, investigative journalist and historian John Wiener examines a dozen history scandals of the last few years, and asks why some charges end up on page one and end careers, while others do not. He argues that media spectacles end careers only when powerful groups outside the profession demand punishment - and that such campaigns typically come from the right rather than the left."--Jacket Twelve chapters each on a single case. Each chapter reports the facts fully and fairly but makes no pretence to neutrality, it takes a stand. Throughout, Wiener illustrates the pitfalls of writing history, the pressures of publishing and how organized pressure groups campaign against authors they regard enemies.