Presenting History

PETER J. BECK Emeritus Professor of History at Kingston University, UK and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His publications include Using History, Making British Policy: the Treasury and Foreign Office, 1950-1976 and Scoring for Britain: International Football and International Politics, 1900-1939. He has contributed to a wide range of publications, radio and television programmes in the UK and internationally, including History Today and the BBC History Magazine.

'We should be grateful to Peter Beck for a nuanced, thoughtful and superbly documented study of public history as currently practised in Britain.' - John Tosh, Rethinking History 'In this intriguing and thought-provoking book, Beck provides an account that shifts our attention away from the academy and directs it instead toward a wider audience. In exploring how they address the needs and desires of the public, he seeks to reconfigure the way in which historians are defined, not as makers, but as presenters of history...a valuable book for anyone wishing to study the nature of history today.' - BBC History Magazine 'Beck's lively and engaging writing style makes this thought-provoking book a pleasure to read. Those seriously interested in historical fiction and how knowledge of the past is transmitted in the modern world will find it engrossing.' - Historical Novels Review 'I very much enjoyed reading the chapter on A.J.P. Taylor. Lucid and shrewd, skilfully constructed. This book is joining my MA reading list immediately.' - Professor Chris Wrigley, University of Nottingham, UK 'Professor Beck has written a scholarly and accessible study of the many ways that people write and enjoy history. In a fair and thoughtful way he considers the very many ways that history informs popular culture and how writers deploy it for their own work. For anyone who has ever wondered how much history there 'should' be in a historical novel - Professor Beck provides a number of answers. At a time when history-based films plays and novels are dominating the culture it is an interesting examination of why we love history, and how we use it. - Philippa Gregory, Author 'Peter Beck's well-researched, well-written and hugely engaging book has already become the standard work on this important subject. He is not afraid of making his well-informed views clear, and his book is all the better for it.' - Andrew Roberts, Author, The Storm of War 'Compared to the development of historiography, the problem of the public presentation of history has been rather neglected. Peter J. Beck's Presenting History is therefore in some sense a pioneer work, all the more as it combines studies of presentation by academics (and the problems that may arise) and a consideration of the wider penetration of historical information into the public domain in print and on screen. The book is remarkably well informed, at least to the end of 2011. It is a well planned and lucidly written book which should certainly be read with profit by those who wish to understand our century.' - Professor Eric Hobsbawm, Birkbeck, University of London, UK 'The study looks at something that historians are only now beginning to approach and attempt to understand. It is therefore a useful starting point for further examination into the varied ways of presenting history, a challenge to historians to write thoroughly-researched academic texts in an approachable and readable manner.' - Reviews in History

• List of BoxesPrefaceAcknowledgementsList of AbbreviationsIntroductionPART I: PRESENTING HISTORY Why History and Presenters of the Past MatterPresenting History in AcademiaReaching Out to a Popular AudiencePART II: PRESENTERS OF THE PAST: CASE STUDIES A.J.P. Taylor: the People's 'History Man'Eric Hobsbawm: the Marxist Historian Simon Schama: the Television Historian