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In Praise of Progress: John Warren,"Whig History" @ history-ontheweb.co.uk. Seventy-five years ago, Herbert Butterfield's The Whig Interpretation of History criticized the work of Thomas Macaulay and Lord Acton. Warren suggests that Butterfield's critique did not resolve all the issues and that they are as germane as yesterday's discussion at Cliopatria. Thanks to Ancarett's Abode for the tip.
Perlstein Redivivus: Four years after its publication, Rick Perlstein's Before the Storm, about Barry Goldwater's unsuccessful campaign for president in 1964, is getting renewed attention in bloggerdom. See: Brad DeLong, Kevin Drum at Political Animal, Mark Schmidt at The Decembrist, MattYglesias, and John Holbo at Examined Life.
Revising the Canon: Holly Jackson,"Mistaken Identity," Boston Globe, 20 Feb., revises the body of literature by 19th century African-American women by showing that Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins was white. The interesting issue that remains: how did a female novelist who was known to be white in her lifetime subsequently come to be thought an African American?
Teasing the Soldier: Herbert A. Friedman's"Sex and Psychological Operations" is a study of the use of sex as propaganda in 20th century warfare. Friedman has gathered an extra-ordinary range of and illustrates his article with such material. (Warning: explicit sexual stuff) Thanks to Boing Boing for the tip.
Trashing a Book Quite Thoroughly: In the Telegraph, Sam Leith kicks Joe Queenan's Queenan Country: A Reluctant Anglophile's Pilgrimage to the Mother Country from the north of Scotland to the south of England.