American Heritage (r) : Great Minds of History

Even as academics increasingly break down the historical profession into areas of subspecialization, American Heritage continues to satisfy the public demand for "master narratives" of the American experience. The latest tome, Great Minds of History, is a lively collection of question-and-answer sessions conducted by veteran journalist Roger Mudd with five renowned scholars of the American Revolution, the Civil War, the West, the Gilded and Progressive Ages, and the late 20th century.

These conversations (drawn from the transcripts of a TV documentary series) allow each author to expound upon the more significant aspects of his field of expertise. Gordon Wood, for example, airs his controversial thesis that the words of the founding fathers and the egalitarianism of New England artisans made the American republic significantly different from its English progenitor. Other interviews stress the historian's craft in constructing causal relationships between events. When James McPherson is asked if the South came close to winning the Civil War, he offers three fully detailed, plausible scenarios for Confederate independence. Pressed to identify the most important Western historian, Richard White answers, "Buffalo Bill Cody," calling the showman's mixture of fiction and authenticity the first example of postmodern historical thought. David McCollough and Stephen Ambrose also make thoughtful (and occasionally bellicose) contributions to this collection, which should please fans of the History Channel and American Heritage alike. --John M. Anderson