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ISBN: 9781459416932

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Myths of Modern History

From the French Revolution to the 20th century world wars and the Cold War - new perspectives on key events

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Revisionist historian Jacques R. Pauwels challenges readers to reconsider what they know about some key events in the last 250 years of world history.

At a time when it’s all too easy to see history in black-and-white terms, historian Jacques R. Pauwels urges readers to let go of conventional history textbooks and re-examine historical events outside the bounds of conventional ideologies and agendas.

Pauwels uses twelve key events, from the French Revolution onwards, to debunk well-known accepted historical narratives in the western canon. He challenges readers to rethink their views by compiling the recent work of specialized scholars whose research demonstrates that the facts contradict the myths that have been offered to explain these events.

Beginning with a reconsideration of the impacts of the French Revolution, Pauwels finishes by dismantling the American narrative surrounding the use of nuclear weapons in the Second World War and the real rationale for the Cold War and the U.S.’s postwar global democracy project.

Contributors

Jacques R. Pauwels

Jacques R. Pauwels has taught European history at a number of universities in Ontario, including York, Waterloo and Guelph. He is the author of The Great Class War 1914–1918, Big Business and Hitler and The Myth of the Good War, revisionist histories of the rise of fascism and the World Wars. His books are read around the world and have been published in French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Russian, Turkish and Korean. An independent scholar, Pauwels holds PhDs in history (York) as well as political science (U of T). He lives in Brantford, Ontario.
Chapter Title Contents Contributors Pages Year Price

Preview

The author introduces the book, discussing myths and mythologized history and the importance of teaching of teaching history and acknowledging bias. He also explores the history of democracy and … 31 $3.10

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The book begins with the myth of the French Revolution, the “original catastrophe” (Urkatastrofe, to use a term coined by German historians) of modern history, and the wars that … 34 $3.40

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This chapter focuses on the First World War and the myth that this was an unexpected war triggered by an "accident;" rather, as the author explores, this war was wanted, expected, … 29 $2.90

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In this chapter the author argues against the cliché of conventional historiography that the First World War was a war for democracy, as well as the notion that this war was not a product of … 25 $2.50

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This chapter deconstructs major myths surrounding the 1917 Russian Revolution and especially its second phase, "Red October" and considers the positive impacts of this event on world … 23 $2.30

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This chapter explores the rise of fascism in Europe, highlighting the fact that Europe’s upper class used its wealth and influence to create fascist movements everywhere and to bring … 45 $4.50

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This chapter confronts the myth that Hitler was personally responsible for the Second World War, when– in reality– he shared responsibility with others, namely Germany’s … 26 $2.60

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This chapter tackles a myth recently "certified" by the European parliament: that WW2 became possible because Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union concluded an “alliance,” … 30 $3.00

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Pauwels explores the popular idea that the tide of war turned in June 1944, when the Americans and their allies landed in Normandy; he proposes instead that the tide had turned in the second half … 21 $2.10

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This chapter examines the myth surrounding that “day of infamy” when America presumably crashed into the war as a result of the Japanese “surprise attack” at Pearl … 14 $1.40

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Pauwels examines the mythologized narratives surrounding the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which America’s mainstream media has long presented as a tragic necessity in order to force … 23 $2.30

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This chapter explores how in theory US foreign policy and ceaseless military ventures promote democracy, but in reality they seek to achieve corporate desiderata such as worldwide open doors for … 25 $2.50

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The author examines the myths concerning the winding, up-and-down road taken by democracy from 1945 to the present. He argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the 1989 fall of the Berlin … 26 $2.60

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The author explores the fraught relationship between capitalism and democracy. 30 $3.00