New Releases by Margaret MacMillan

„O fascinantă lucrare de istorie" – Tony Blair, Guardian Recomandată de editorii ziarului New York Times Carte distinsă cu premiile SAMUEL JOHNSON • DUFF COOPER • HESSELL-TILTMAN • ARTHUR ROSS, acordat de Council on Foreign Relations (Medalia de argint) și PREMIUL GUVERNATORULUI GENERAL AL CANADEI Conferința de Pace de la Paris, 1919, și încercarea de a pune capăt războiului Între ianuarie și iunie 1919, după încheierea „războiului care urma să pună capăt tuturor războaielor", oameni din toate colțurile lumii au sosit la Paris pentru Conferința de Pace. Cele mai importante personalități prezente au fost conducătorii celor trei mari puteri – Woodrow Wilson, Lloyd George și Clemenceau –, dar la Paris au sosit mii de alți delegați, fiecare cu propria sa agendă. Regi, prim-miniștri și miniștri de externe, însoțiți de suitele lor de consilieri, stăteau cot la cot cu jurnaliști și lobbyiști, luptând pentru o serie întreagă de cauze, de la independența Armeniei până la drepturile femeilor. T.E. Lawrence, regina Maria a României, Maynard Keynes, Ho Și Min – tot mapamondul avea ceva de rezolvat la Paris în acel an. Lumea nu mai văzuse niciodată ceva asemănător și nici că avea să mai vadă vreodată. „Captivantă… detaliată, justă, mereu vivace, plină de portrete sclipitor realizate." – Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph „Exact genul de carte care îmi place – scrisă alert și condimentată cu o cutezanță bazată pe o erudiție solidă." – Roy Jenkins, Sunday Times „Plină de viață, fascinantă și provocatoare" – Choice „Antrenant scrisă și bine documentată" – Stand To Magazine În 1919, Parisul era capital lumii. Conferința de Pace era cea mai importantă chestiune la ordinea zilei, iar delegații – cei mai puternici oameni de pe mapamond. Se întâlneau în fiecare zi. Discutau, dezbăteau, se ciorovăiau și cădeau iar la înţelegere. Încheiau acorduri. Redactau tratate. Creau noi state și noi organizații. Cinau și mergeau la teatru unii în compania celorlalți. Timp de șase luni, din ianuarie până în iunie, Parisul a fost deopotrivă guvern, curte de apel și parlament mondial, nucleul temerilor și speranțelor întregii lumi. Oficial, Conferința de Pace a durat încă și mai mult, până în 1920, însă primele șase luni sunt cele mai importante, căci atunci s‑au luat deciziile‑cheie și s‑a pus în mișcare un lanț de evenimente cruciale. O lucrare magistrală, de o relevanță uluitoare nu numai pentru istoriografia secolului XX, dar și pentru înțelegerea resorturilor și dinamicii lumii de azi.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review - The Economist - The Christian Science Monitor - Bloomberg Businessweek - The Globe and Mail From the bestselling and award-winning author of Paris 1919 comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I. The century since the end of the Napoleonic wars had been the most peaceful era Europe had known since the fall of the Roman Empire. In the first years of the twentieth century, Europe believed it was marching to a golden, happy, and prosperous future. But instead, complex personalities and rivalries, colonialism and ethnic nationalisms, and shifting alliances helped to bring about the failure of the long peace and the outbreak of a war that transformed Europe and the world. The War That Ended Peace brings vividly to life the military leaders, politicians, diplomats, bankers, and the extended, interrelated family of crowned headsacross Europe who failed to stop the descent into war: in Germany, the mercurial Kaiser Wilhelm II and the chief of the German general staff, Von Moltke the Younger; in Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Joseph, a man who tried, through sheer hard work, to stave off the coming chaos in his empire; in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II and his wife; in Britain, King Edward VII, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, and British admiral Jacky Fisher, the fierce advocate of naval reform who entered into the arms race with Germany that pushed the continent toward confrontation on land and sea. There are the would-be peacemakers as well, among them prophets of the horrors of future wars whose warnings went unheeded: Alfred Nobel, who donated his fortune to the cause of international understanding, and Bertha von Suttner, a writer and activist who was the first woman awarded Nobel's new Peace Prize. Here too we meet the urbane and cosmopolitan Count Harry Kessler, who noticed many of the early signs that something was stirring in Europe; the young Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty and a rising figure in British politics; Madame Caillaux, who shot a man who might have been a force for peace; and more. With indelible portraits, MacMillan shows how the fateful decisions of a few powerful people changed the course of history. Taut, suspenseful, and impossible to put down, The War That Ended Peace is also a wise cautionary reminder of how wars happen in spite of the near-universal desire to keep the peace. Destined to become a classic in the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, The War That Ended Peace enriches our understanding of one of the defining periods and events of the twentieth century.

„Un tur extraordinar de bine ghidat printr-o relatare dramatică, profund revelatoare, despre acei oameni care fie din întâmplare, fie cu premeditare au creat lumea noastră de astăzi." – National Post „Margaret MacMillan, profesor la Oxford, evită cronologiile seci și ne oferă în schimb întâlniri intime cu personaje reale. Se pare că îi place să aducă la lumină detaliile revelatoare.«Vreau să bârfesc», mărturisește ea – și același lucru îl vrem și noi." – New York Times Book Review Margaret MacMillan propune o selecție inedită de personalități, unele faimoase, altele mai puțin cunoscute, care și-au lăsat amprenta asupra trecutului. Unele au schimbat cursul istoriei și chiar au dat tonul epocilor în care au trăit. MacMillan analizează conceptul de leadership, așa cum este acesta reprezentat de personaje precum Otto von Bismarck, William Mackenzie King sau Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Observă, de asemenea, cum pot comite unii conducători greșeli enorme, cu consecințe devastatoare, așa cum s-a întâmplat cu Hitler, Stalin sau Thatcher. Richard Nixon și Samuel de Champlain sunt înfățișați ca exponenți ai caracterelor temerare, care și-au asumat riscuri, urmandu și cu încăpățânare propriul drum și sfidând adesea societățile din care proveneau. Apoi sunt descriși visătorii, exploratorii și aventurierii, oameni ca Fanny Parkes și Elizabeth Simcoe, care au înfruntat sau ignorat limitările impuse de societățile lor. În cele din urmă, sunt trecuți în revistă observatorii, personaje asemeni lui Babur, fondatorul dinastiei indiene a mogulilor, sau Victor Klemperer, un supraviețuitor al Holocaustului, care a ținut jurnale și memorii ce readuc la viață trecutul.Oamenii istoriei prezintă relația complexă și deosebit de importantă dintre biografie și istorie, indivizi și epocile în care au trăit.

Von den Stammeskämpfen der Frühgeschichteüber die Feldzüge Alexanders, Cäsars und Napoleons, den desaströsen Zweiten Weltkrieg bis zu den blutigen Konflikten unserer Gegenwart: Kaum etwas hat die Geschichte der Menschheit, ihre Institutionen, Werte und Ideen so geprägt wie die gewalttätigen Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Staaten und Völkern. Wann und wie begann der erste Krieg? Ist es von der Natur vorgegeben, dass Menschen gegeneinander kämpfen? Wieso sind Kriegsmaschinerien perfekt organisiert und fast alle Soldaten Männer? Margaret MacMillan schildert anhand der militärischen Konflikte von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, wie diese unsere Vergangenheit, unsere Entwicklung, unsere Sicht auf die Welt und unser Selbstverständnis bestimmt haben. Unsere Sprache, unser öffentlicher Raum, unsere privaten Erinnerungen, selbst große kulturelle Schätze spiegeln Ruhm und Elend des Krieges wider. SeineAmbivalenz liegt darin, dass er nicht nur zerstört, sondern auch zum technischen, organisatorischen, politischen und sogar künstlerischen Fortschritt beiträgt. All dies zeigt Margaret MacMillans große Kulturgeschichte.

Is peace an aberration? The New York Times bestselling author of Paris 1919 offers a provocative view of war as an essential component of humanity. NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “Margaret MacMillan has produced another seminal work. . . . She is right that we must, more than ever, think about war. And she has shown us how in this brilliant, elegantly written book.”—H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World The instinct to fight may be innate in human nature, but war—organized violence—comes with organized society. War has shaped humanity’s history, its social and political institutions, its values and ideas. Our very language, our public spaces, our private memories, and some of our greatest cultural treasures reflect the glory and the misery of war. War is an uncomfortable and challenging subject not least because it brings out both the vilest and the noblest aspects of humanity. Margaret MacMillan looks at the ways in which war has influenced human society and how, in turn, changes in political organization, technology, or ideologies have affected how and why we fight. War: How Conflict Shaped Us explores such much-debated and controversial questions as: When did war first start? Does human nature doom us to fight one another? Why has war been described as the most organized of all human activities? Why are warriors almost always men? Is war ever within our control? Drawing on lessons from wars throughout the past, from classical history to the present day, MacMillan reveals the many faces of war—the way it has determined our past, our future, our views of the world, and our very conception of ourselves.

In The Lion’s Cub, her 2018 Symons Medal address, eminent Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan examines the impact of the First War World on Canadian Confederation. With her characteristic flair and gift for telling detail, Margaret MacMillan shows the paradox of Canada’s experience in the First World War. On the one hand, the Great War, as it was originally known, brought Canada closer to nationhood and gave many Canadians a greater sense of identity. On the other hand, the Great War also marked a time when Confederation was shaken and very nearly came apart. Its divisive impact continued to be felt throughout the twentieth century. And can still be felt today, in Canada’s national political life, and in the relationship between Quebec and the rest of the country. Yet Canada survived, and continues to survive. And Margaret MacMillan concludes that this is the great strength of Confederation. The Lion’s Cub suggests Canada’s endurance should be recognized for the achievement it is. In a world where political boundaries are often as artificial as Canada’s, the ability of our “improbable country” to survive and prosper may be an example of hope for a wider world. The Symons Medal is one of Canada’s most prestigious honours. It is presented annually by the Confederation Centre of the Arts to honour persons who have made an exceptional contribution to Canadian life. Bilingual Edition - Historienne et écrivaine canadienne de réputation internationale, Margaret MacMmillan aborde la Première Guerre mondiale et ses répercussions paradoxales sur le Canada dans son discours prononcé en 2018 lors de la remise de la médaille Symons et intitulé Le lionceau. Avec son style caractéristique et son talent inné de narratrice, Margaret MacMillan a révélé le paradoxe saisissant de l’expérience canadienne durant la Première Guerre mondiale. En effet, si la Grande Guerre, comme on l’appelait à l’époque, a sensibilisé le Canada à l’idée de nation et a conféré à bon nombre de Canadiens un sentiment accru d’identité, elle a aussi symbolisé une époque où la Confédération canadienne fut fortement ébranlée et faillit même se désagréger. De plus, les risques de fracture résultant de la Grande Guerre perdurèrent durant tout le XXe siècle. Et aujourd’hui encore, ses effets continuent de se faire sentir dans la vie politique nationale canadienne, particulièrement dans les relations entre le Québec et le reste du pays. Pourtant, le Canada a survécu et continue de survivre. Selon Margaret MacMillan, c’est d’ailleurs la plus grande force de la Confédération canadienne. Dans son ouvrage intitulé Le lionceau, elle suggère que l’endurance et la résilience du Canada devraient être impérativement reconnues à leur juste valeur. Dans un monde où les frontières politiques sont souvent aussi artificielles que celles du Canada, la capacité à survivre et à prospérer de notre « pays improbable » est un brillant exemple d’espoir pour un monde plus vaste et plus divers. La médaille Symons est une des récompenses honorifiques les plus prestigieuses du Canada. Chaque année, elle est remise par le Centre des arts de la Confédération à une personne distinguée en reconnaissance de sa contribution exceptionnelle à la vie canadienne. Édition bilingue

Het Verdrag van Versailles (1919) maakte formeel een einde van de Eerste Wereldoorlog. In ‘Vredestichters’ beschrijft Margaret MacMillan de totstandkoming van het verdrag. Margaret MacMillan vertelt in ‘Parijs 1919’ over de onderhandelingen en de uitkomst van het Verdrag van Versailles en over degenen die de wereldkaart opnieuw intekenden. Wilson, Lloyd George en Clemenceau zaten aan de onderhandelingstafel, maar duizenden anderen mannen en vrouwen kwamen bijeen: koningen, ministers, journalisten en lobbyisten kwamen voor hun eigen belangen naar Parijs. In ‘Parijs 1919’, dat vele internationale prijzen won, schetst Margaret MacMillan niet alleen een portret van die belangrijke gebeurtenissen in 1919, maar toont ook de oorsprong van de moderne wereld zoals wij die nu kennen.

La gran historiadora canadiense Margaret MacMillan, autora del bestseller internacional 1914. De la paz a la guerra, nos presenta aquí su propia selección personal de las figuras del pasado, hombres y mujeres, algunos famosos y otros menos conocidos, que en su opinión destacan como "personas que hicieron historia". MacMillan examina el concepto de liderazgo a través de Bismarck y su papel en la unificación de Alemania, Willam Lyon Mackenzie King en la defensa de la unidad canadiense, y Franklin D. Roosevelt en la política estadounidense durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y señala los grandes errores o decisiones destructivas de dirigentes totalitarios Hitler, o democráticos como Nixon o Thatcher. También hay espacio para soñadores y aventureros y personalidades únicas menos conocidas pero cruciales en su época. Este libro trata de la relación importante y compleja que establecen la biografía y la historia, los individuos y su tiempo.

Part of the CBC Massey Lectures Series In History’s People internationally acclaimed historian Margaret MacMillan gives her own personal selection of figures of the past, women and men, some famous and some little-known, who stand out for her. Some have changed the course of history and even directed the currents of their times. Others are memorable for being risk-takers, adventurers, or observers. She looks at the concept of leadership through Bismarck and the unification of Germany; William Lyon MacKenzie King and the preservation of the Canadian Federation; Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the bringing of a unified United States into the Second World War. She also notes how leaders can make huge and often destructive mistakes, as in the cases of Hitler, Stalin, and Thatcher. Richard Nixon and Samuel de Champlain are examples of daring risk-takers who stubbornly went their own ways, often in defiance of their own societies. Then there are the dreamers, explorers, and adventurers, individuals like Fanny Parkes and Elizabeth Simcoe who manage to defy or ignore the constraints of their own societies. Finally, there are the observers, such as Babur, the first Mughal emperor of India, and Victor Klemperer, a Holocaust survivor, who kept the notes and diaries that bring the past to life. History’s People is about the important and complex relationship between biography and history, individuals and their times.

Pocos como los historiadores se han preocupado tanto de forjar identidades a lo largo del planeta. El pasado podemos usarlo casi para cualquier cosa que se desee hacer en el presente. Con responsabilidad para obtener reafirmación, lecciones o consejos y para abusar de él, para crear mentiras sobre un pasado que nunca existió, alimentar el narcisismo colectivo o escribir historias desde una única perspectiva. Los usos y abusos de la historia dan para mucho. En esta obra Margaret Mead trata del modo en que se usa la Historia y en que se abusa de ella, en que se la manipula para justificar una matanza, una guerra o el poder de un tirano, en que se la sustituye por leyendas urdidas para alimentar el narcisismo colectivo, para envejecer y ennoblecer un pasado que no tuvo nada de ejemplar ni de glorioso o que sencillamente no existió. "Usamos la Historia para entendernos a nosotros mismos y deberíamos usarla para entender a los otros", escribe MacMillan, pero el catálogo de desatinos que ella misma enumera le da a uno una idea más bien pesimista de la actitud humana hacia el conocimiento de la verdad.

El relato definitivo de las fuerzas políticas, culturales, militares y personales que llevaron a Europa hacia la Gran Guerra. La Primera Guerra Mundial puso fin a un largo periodo de paz sostenida en Europa: una época en la que se hablaba confiadamente de prosperidad, de progreso y de esperanza. Y sin embargo, en 1914 el continente se lanzó de cabeza a un conflicto catastrófico, que mató a millones de personas, desangró las economías nacionales, derrumbó imperios y puso fin para siempre a la hegemonía mundial europea. Fue una guerra que hubiera podido evitarse hasta el último momento. La pregunta es: ¿por qué se produjo? Empezando en el siglo xix y acabando con el asesinato del archiduque Francisco Fernando, la gran historiadora Margaret MacMillan desvela la compleja red de alianzas, cambios políticos y tecnológicos, decisiones diplomáticas y, sobre todo, personalidades y debilidades humanas que llevaron a Europa al desastre. Una narración imprescindible para conocer el mundo de hoy entendiendo mejor el de hace un siglo.

Rivalités de tous ordres, course aux armements, impérialisme_: quelle est la part de responsabilité de chaque pays dans le déclenchement de la Grande Guerre ?En Europe, une poignée de dirigeants, diplomates et responsables parfois inconnus ont aussi, à un moment précis, fait le choix de la guerre. Quelle a été la part humaine, donc émotionnelle et irrationnelle, dans ce choix ? De tempérament faible, le tsar Nicolas II pouvait-il résister aux généraux russes ? Si le chancelier allemand n’avait pas perdu sa femme au début de l’été 1914, aurait-il été moins fataliste ? Le chef d’état-major des armées austro-hongroises voulait la gloire pour son propre pays, mais peut-être aussi pour la femme qu’il voulait épouser ? La fresque de Margaret MacMillan décrit magnifiquement les mécanismes politiques, technologiques, stratégiques, mais aussi humains, qui ont mené à ce moment de l’été 1914 où la guerre est devenue plus probable que la paix. Vers la Grande Guerre est le récit virtuose de cette résistible descente aux enfers d’un continent en paix.« Magistral, riche, vivant et sophistiqué. » Christopher Clark« Une extraordinaire clarté de pensée. » Antony Beevor« Un sens aigu du suspense. » Alistair HorneTraduit de l'anglais par Laurent Bury.

As the 100th anniversary of World War I approaches, historian Margaret MacMillan compares current global tensions—rising nationalism, globalization’s economic pressures, sectarian strife, and the United States’ fading role as the world’s pre-eminent superpower—to the period preceding the Great War. In illuminating the years before 1914, MacMillan shows the many parallels between then and now, telling an urgent story for our time. THE BROOKINGS ESSAY: In the spirit of its commitment to high-quality, independent research, the Brookings Institution has commissioned works on major topics of public policy by distinguished authors, including Brookings scholars. The Brookings Essay is a multi-platform product aimed to engage readers in open dialogue and debate. The views expressed, however, are solely those of the author. Available in ebook only.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The Economist • The Christian Science Monitor • Bloomberg Businessweek • The Globe and Mail From the bestselling and award-winning author of Paris 1919 comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I. The century since the end of the Napoleonic wars had been the most peaceful era Europe had known since the fall of the Roman Empire. In the first years of the twentieth century, Europe believed it was marching to a golden, happy, and prosperous future. But instead, complex personalities and rivalries, colonialism and ethnic nationalisms, and shifting alliances helped to bring about the failure of the long peace and the outbreak of a war that transformed Europe and the world. The War That Ended Peace brings vividly to life the military leaders, politicians, diplomats, bankers, and the extended, interrelated family of crowned heads across Europe who failed to stop the descent into war: in Germany, the mercurial Kaiser Wilhelm II and the chief of the German general staff, Von Moltke the Younger; in Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Joseph, a man who tried, through sheer hard work, to stave off the coming chaos in his empire; in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II and his wife; in Britain, King Edward VII, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, and British admiral Jacky Fisher, the fierce advocate of naval reform who entered into the arms race with Germany that pushed the continent toward confrontation on land and sea. There are the would-be peacemakers as well, among them prophets of the horrors of future wars whose warnings went unheeded: Alfred Nobel, who donated his fortune to the cause of international understanding, and Bertha von Suttner, a writer and activist who was the first woman awarded Nobel’s new Peace Prize. Here too we meet the urbane and cosmopolitan Count Harry Kessler, who noticed many of the early signs that something was stirring in Europe; the young Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty and a rising figure in British politics; Madame Caillaux, who shot a man who might have been a force for peace; and more. With indelible portraits, MacMillan shows how the fateful decisions of a few powerful people changed the course of history. Taut, suspenseful, and impossible to put down, The War That Ended Peace is also a wise cautionary reminder of how wars happen in spite of the near-universal desire to keep the peace. Destined to become a classic in the tradition of Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August, The War That Ended Peace enriches our understanding of one of the defining periods and events of the twentieth century. Praise for The War That Ended Peace “Magnificent . . . The War That Ended Peace will certainly rank among the best books of the centennial crop.”—The Economist “Superb.”—The New York Times Book Review “Masterly . . . marvelous . . . Those looking to understand why World War I happened will have a hard time finding a better place to start.”—The Christian Science Monitor “The debate over the war’s origins has raged for years. Ms. MacMillan’s explanation goes straight to the heart of political fallibility. . . . Elegantly written, with wonderful character sketches of the key players, this is a book to be treasured.”—The Wall Street Journal “A magisterial 600-page panorama.”—Christopher Clark, London Review of Books

Entre enero y julio de 1919, tras la primera guerra mundial –ese devastador conflicto cuyas consecuencias se extendieron hasta Oriente Próximo y zonas de Asia y África–, dirigentes de todo el mundo llegaron a París para tratar de organizar una paz duradera. En esa Conferencia de Paz, los «tres grandes» –el presidente estadounidense Woodrow Wilson, más los primeros ministros de Inglaterra y Francia, David Lloyd George y Georges Clemenceau– se enfrentaban a una tarea gigantesca: volver a poner en pie una Europa en ruinas, detener el avance de la reciente Revolución rusa y gestionar el inestable equilibrio de poderes tras la desaparición de viejos imperios y la aparición de nuevas entidades políticas, como Iraq, Yugoslavia o Palestina.El apasionante y pormenorizado relato de unas negociaciones en que se ventilaba sin compasión el destino de los más variados pueblos y naciones hace de París, 1919 un libro fundamental para entender los conflictos del último siglo y descubrir la cara oculta y poco amable de la diplomacia internacional; aunque no menos fascinante es la galería de retratos de personajes como Lawrence de Arabia, Winston Churchill o Ho Chi Minh, que años después acabarían adquiriendo un papel preponderante.

The past is capricious enough to support every stance - no matter how questionable. In 2002, the Bush administration decided that dealing with Saddam Hussein was like appeasing Hitler or Mussolini, and promptly invaded Iraq. Were they wrong to look to history for guidance? No; their mistake was to exaggerate one of its lessons while suppressing others of equal importance. History is often hijacked through suppression, manipulation, and, sometimes, even outright deception. MacMillan's book is packed full of examples of the abuses of history. In response, she urges us to treat the past with care and respect.

Juegos peligrosos trata de la Historia en sí: del modo en que se la usa y en que se abusa de ella, en que se la manipula para justificar una matanza o una guerra o el poder de un tirano, en que se la sustituye por leyendas urdidas para alimentar el narcisismo colectivo, para envejecer y ennoblecer un pasado que no tuvo nada de ejemplar ni de glorioso o que sencillamente no existió. %13Usamos la Historia para entendernos a nosotros mismos y deberíamos usarla para entender a otros%13, escribe MacMillan, pero el catálogo de desatinos que ella misma enumera le da a uno una idea más bien pesimista de la actitud humana hacia el conocimiento de la verdad. Organizaciones de veteranos de las fuerzas aéreas canadienses lograron que se clausurara una exposición en la que se ponía en duda la eficacia, por no hablar de la legitimidad, de los bombardeos que arrasaban las ciudades alemanas en la Segunda Guerra Mundial sin más objetivo que aterrorizar a la población civil. En la Unión Soviética los libros de Historia se modificaban de un día para otro para ajustarlos a los cambios en la ortodoxia o a la caída en desgracia de los cortesanos del Kremlin. Hitler se veía a sí mismo como un heredero del emperador medieval Federico I Barbarroja. Stalin se medía con Iván el Terrible y con Pedro el Grande, y los relatos históricos se ajustaban adecuadamente al capricho de su megalomanía. A otra escala, George W. Bush quería modelar su figura pública sobre la de Winston Churchill, del mismo modo que identificaba a Sadam Husein con Hitler, y a los que ponían en duda la conveniencia de atacar Irak con los apaciguadores que en los años treinta creían posible un compromiso con la Alemania nazi.

Em uma época em que o estudo da História — não somente aquele feito por historiadores profissionais — torna-se cada vez mais popular e relevante nos debates públicos, a premiada historiadora canadense Margaret MacMillan nos mostra como sua utilização pode se revelar uma faca de dois gumes. Na década de 1980, o passado parecia muito mais simples do que é hoje. A Guerra Fria foi, entre outras coisas, uma pausa entre duas filosofias rivais da História que serviu para manter o mundo nos trilhos. Então, com a queda do Muro de Berlim, veio o arrefecimento. De forma sinistra, narrativas pouco lembradas, identidades há muito esquecidas e ódios veneráveis emergiram. Uma região após outra descobriu que o povo, como Churchill uma vez dissera sobre as tribos dos Bálcãs, tinha mais história do que podia consumir. Neste brilhante ensaio, fruto de uma série de palestras conduzidas pela autora na University of Western Ontario, MacMillan examina os valores e perigos da História, e como ela afeta nossas vidas. Ao mesmo tempo em que é extremamente útil quando usada com propriedade, visando ao entendimento do modo como pensamos e reagimos, a História como forma de compreender o mundo é suscetível a manipulação e distorção, para atender a diferentes propósitos. Os nacionalistas contam histórias falsas ou unilaterias sobre o passado, enquanto os ditadores omitem as que ameaçam suas pretensões de onisciência e autoridade. Os líderes políticos arregimentam seus públicos contando-lhes bravatas: Hitler mentiu sobre a derrota da Alemanha na Primeira Guerra Mundial e sobre o papel dos judeus. Tirar lições do passado pode também se tornar problemático — pois elas oferecem interpretações que podem servir a muitos fins. Margaret MacMillan preocupa-se com a possibilidade de a profissão de historiador estar se voltando para dentro de si mesma, abandonando as grandes questões num momento em que há urgência em aumentar nosso conhecimento sobre o passado, e prova que a História pode se transformar em uma perigosa arma dependendo de quem a use. USOS E ABUSOS DA HISTÓRIA é um argumento vital e poderoso sobre a importância da História e dos historiadores.