A.L. Rowse – The Uses of History (1963 revised edition)
History – 170 pages – my edition (Penguin paperback; 1971) bought for £1 from The Book Cupboard on Plymouth Barbican, sometime in 2006
- 2 nods out of 5 -
A.L. Rowse is one of Cornwall’s most famous sons: from a humble beginning in St Austell, he became an outstanding scholar and adequate poet, making a name in History writing, and later in critiques upon Shakespearian works. This book – The Uses of History – is an overview of the subject, ‘of its uses and pleasures’. For a History buff, as the Worm claims to be, this was intended to be good reading.
A plethora of topics are discussed, including the Use of History, Historical Thinking, as well as History’s relation to Education and Culture. Rowse comments on many of the continuing debates, such as the difference between History as a Science or rather an Art. Rowse can debate with the best of them, but he leaves little for counter-argument; furthermore, many of his points appear dated in a new century, such as denouncing the German nation as power hungry.
This illustrious Cornishman fails to bring these pages to life. Rowse is open to many accusations: Stuffy? Yes. Pretentious? Perhaps. And most certainly always patronising (for evidence of which, jump to the last chapter: How to Teach Yourself History). Despite ticking the boxes of arguments and general discussion, Rowse fails to captivate his audience, and although he fulfils the ambition in his opening paragraph - to create ‘a manual of instruction on how to approach the subject’ – any intended pleasure is snuffed out and abandoned.
Such snobby tones are fit only for the elite; yet History is not for a section of society, for the brains of education, but instead for one and all. Sadly, Rowse’s short book in the main fails to deliver on the Worm’s expectations of access to History; but at least it is a short book.
History – 170 pages – my edition (Penguin paperback; 1971) bought for £1 from The Book Cupboard on Plymouth Barbican, sometime in 2006
- 2 nods out of 5 -
A.L. Rowse is one of Cornwall’s most famous sons: from a humble beginning in St Austell, he became an outstanding scholar and adequate poet, making a name in History writing, and later in critiques upon Shakespearian works. This book – The Uses of History – is an overview of the subject, ‘of its uses and pleasures’. For a History buff, as the Worm claims to be, this was intended to be good reading.
A plethora of topics are discussed, including the Use of History, Historical Thinking, as well as History’s relation to Education and Culture. Rowse comments on many of the continuing debates, such as the difference between History as a Science or rather an Art. Rowse can debate with the best of them, but he leaves little for counter-argument; furthermore, many of his points appear dated in a new century, such as denouncing the German nation as power hungry.
This illustrious Cornishman fails to bring these pages to life. Rowse is open to many accusations: Stuffy? Yes. Pretentious? Perhaps. And most certainly always patronising (for evidence of which, jump to the last chapter: How to Teach Yourself History). Despite ticking the boxes of arguments and general discussion, Rowse fails to captivate his audience, and although he fulfils the ambition in his opening paragraph - to create ‘a manual of instruction on how to approach the subject’ – any intended pleasure is snuffed out and abandoned.
Such snobby tones are fit only for the elite; yet History is not for a section of society, for the brains of education, but instead for one and all. Sadly, Rowse’s short book in the main fails to deliver on the Worm’s expectations of access to History; but at least it is a short book.
