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>> vii Preface In beginning our history proper, it might perhaps be wise to forget all that we have said before and start fresh, as a lot of new things have come up. Robert Benchley, 1944 The humorist, essayist, and pseudo-documentary movie maker Robert Benchley had a rare gift for parody. One of his targets was the academic know-it-all who learns everything from books. For example, “in order to write about snake-charming, one has to know a little about its history, and where should one go to find out about history but to a book. Maybe in that pile of books in the corner is one on snake-charming. Nobody could point the finger of scorn at me if I went over to those books for the avowed purpose of research work.” Benchley put his finger on exactly what historians do when they write about other historians (a subject inelegantly called “historiography”). They go over to that pile of books, sort and read, compile genealogies of ideas and methods, and make judgments, and another book goes on top of the pile. Historians (if not, alas, their readers) find the study of the discipline of history endlessly fascinating. For at the center of the study of the past is a compelling paradox: We demand to know about the past but can never be sure we have gotten our account right. We would love to go back in time (all historians are secret re-enactors), but we cannot go back, and even if we could, how could we see all the events from all the perspectives that the past offers? History is Odysseus’ Sirens calling us to a place that we cannot reach, yet we persist in listening. The Sirens’ call is so enchanting—writing viii > ix and cheered me on. At New York University Press, editor Debbie Gershenowitz urged me to submit the manuscript; and her successor editor , Clara Platter, guided it through the Press Board approval process and then offered a remarkably kind pre-edit. No wrestling match with an opponent as experienced and wily as history will ever result in a complete victory, but to all of the kind people who shared this contest with me, my heartfelt thank you. This page intentionally left blank ...

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