THE USES AND ABUSES OF HISTORY BY MARGARET MACMILLAN

(London: Profile Books, 2009; pp. 194)

Abstract

One thing that unites all people regardless of their current place in the world is their history and their past. Another similarity that unites them is the tendency to distort the past for their own ends. Every country and every nation have their own myths which have become the cornerstone in their establishment andprogress. The misuse of history is most dominantly done by ideologies and their creators as a tool in justifying their work.

The author of this book is Margaret MacMillan, who is a Canadian histo- rian most notable for her work on the Versailles conference of 1919, which she mentions more than once in this book. MacMillan’s understanding and insight into history and national iden- tity are brought out in this book, where she points out mythical roots of some of today’s most problematic national and ethnic questions.