William D. Rubinstein – författare

For many intelligent people, the stuff of history does not consist of the kind of dry-as-dust investigations of diplomatic, economic, or political history that most university historians research and write about, but the famous topics of “history’s mysteries”- who was Jack the Ripper? Was there a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy? Did Richard III murder the Princes in the Tower? What are the mysteries of the ancient Pyramids?

Not only have a great many books and articles been written on these and similar topics by so-called “amateur historians,” but they have generated societies, conferences, newsletters, and television programmes. Many people who are not academic historians take a keen interest in these topics, and have in some cases made themselves real experts on them, with interesting theories of their own.

Despite all of this, however, these topics are virtually ignored by academic historians and can be treated with contempt. In Shadow Pasts, William D. Rubinstein a well-known and widely published history professor, examines seven of the most famous and interesting topics which have been discussed, debated, examined, and written about by “amateur historians. Each of these mysteries and the theories surrounding them are examined in detail, with Professor Rubinstein presenting his own original and sometimes surprising conclusions about what really happened.

Genocide is a topic beset by ambiguities over meaning and double standards. In this stimulating and gripping history, William Rubinstein sets out to clarify the meaning of the term genocide and its historical evolution, and provides a working definition that informs the rest of the book. He makes the important argument that each instance of genocide is best understood within a particular historical framework and provides an original chronology of these distinct frameworks. In the final part of the book he critically examines a number of alleged past and recent genocides: from native Americans, slavery, the Irish famine, homosexuals and gypsies in the Nazi concentration camps, Yugoslavia, Rwanda through to the claims of pro-lifers and anti-abortionists.

Genocide is a topic beset by ambiguities over meaning and double standards. In this stimulating and gripping history, William Rubinstein sets out to clarify the meaning of the term genocide and its historical evolution, and provides a working definition that informs the rest of the book. He makes the important argument that each instance of genocide is best understood within a particular historical framework and provides an original chronology of these distinct frameworks. In the final part of the book he critically examines a number of alleged past and recent genocides: from native Americans, slavery, the Irish famine, homosexuals and gypsies in the Nazi concentration camps, Yugoslavia, Rwanda through to the claims of pro-lifers and anti-abortionists.

For many intelligent people, the stuff of history does not consist of the kind of dry-as-dust investigations of diplomatic, economic, or political history that most university historians research and write about, but the famous topics of historys mysteries- who was Jack the Ripper? Was there a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy? Did Richard III murder the Princes in the Tower? What are the mysteries of the ancient Pyramids?

Not only have a great many books and articles been written on these and similar topics by so-called amateur historians, but they have generated societies, conferences, newsletters, and television programmes. Many people who are not academic historians take a keen interest in these topics, and have in some cases made themselves real experts on them, with interesting theories of their own.

Despite all of this, however, these topics are virtually ignored by academic historians and can be treated with contempt. In Shadow Pasts, William D. Rubinstein a well-known and widely published history professor, examines seven of the most famous and interesting topics which have been discussed, debated, examined, and written about by amateur historians. Each of these mysteries and the theories surrounding them are examined in detail, with Professor Rubinstein presenting his own original and sometimes surprising conclusions about what really happened.

For many intelligent people, the stuff of history does not consist of the kind of dry-as-dust investigations of diplomatic, economic, or political history that most university historians research and write about, but the famous topics of historys mysteries- who was Jack the Ripper? Was there a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy? Did Richard III murder the Princes in the Tower? What are the mysteries of the ancient Pyramids?

Not only have a great many books and articles been written on these and similar topics by so-called amateur historians, but they have generated societies, conferences, newsletters, and television programmes. Many people who are not academic historians take a keen interest in these topics, and have in some cases made themselves real experts on them, with interesting theories of their own.

Despite all of this, however, these topics are virtually ignored by academic historians and can be treated with contempt. In Shadow Pasts, William D. Rubinstein a well-known and widely published history professor, examines seven of the most famous and interesting topics which have been discussed, debated, examined, and written about by amateur historians. Each of these mysteries and the theories surrounding them are examined in detail, with Professor Rubinstein presenting his own original and sometimes surprising conclusions about what really happened.