About Historical Veracity?

 

The People’s History of the United States is a difficult book to critique, as its assumptions and results align with my social and philosophical worldview.  But is that enough to say this book uses sound methodology to reach its conclusions?  I think not. This book is massive in scope, and therefore uses secondary sources.  Yet looking at the sources Zinn choses leaves me skeptical.   

Toward the end of this book, he writes that his work is “...a biased account, one that leans in a certain direction.”  We can certainly say this of this work, and other more ‘mainstream’ histories.  It is biased in one direction, as are all historical accounts. So how do we make decisions about historical veracity?

American Old School Colonialism

 

In Massacre in the Clouds: An American Atrocity and the Erasure of History, by Kim A. Wagner, we learn that a feature of colonial warfare was the atrocity.  By this Wagner means the wholesale massacre of indigenous, civilian men, women and children by an occupying power under the guise of military necessity.  When the massacre documented in this book took place, in 1906, many other colonial powers were engaged in similar behavior.  Unlike in European wars up to that point, where efforts were made to protect civilians, indigenous peoples were viewed as sub-human, and their lives were not considered important enough for the laws of war.  This atrocity – and the other American actions during the colonization of the Philippines, is no longer remembered in the US.  The people of the Philippines, however, remember them well. 

Wonderful Subtleties

 

Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law by Chaim N. Saiman is a throughgoing study of what halakhah, often translated as (Jewish) Law, actually means  different things in a variety of contexts.  Is the Torah law like secular law?  Yes and no.  Saiman will walk you through this.  Are the rules, guidelines, and pathways the Talmud lays out meant to be applied?  Sometimes yes, and sometimes no.  Read this very informative book to examine these wonderful subtleties. 

Never Fully Realized

 

Becoming Diaspora Jews: Behind the Story of Elephantine by Karel van der Toorn is journey to the ever-fascinating Jewish community of Elephantine Island, on the Upper Nile.  The community of soldiers (mercenaries) and their families lived on the island for a span of 100 years, during the 5th to 4th centuries BCE.  They left behind papyri and ostraca, most of which were excavated in the early twentieth century. Studying this group of Jews is essential for any investigation of First Temple Judaism.

One of the most interesting things about the community is their multiple identities; they self label themselves both Arameans and Jews in documents.  They seem to have a dual ethnic identity.  Van Der Toorn explores this dynamic, and its possible origins, in detail.

What is really important to understand about the Elephantine Jews is their unapologetic polytheism. They worshiped the Jewish deity, but other deities as well.  Their practice was not monotheism, but monolatry – the belief in one chief god and other deities.  The Elephantine Jews were in communication with official in the Holy Land.  They never try to hide or apologize their situation.  I suggest that at this time, this was the situation with  Judaism everywhere.  Strict  monotheism, and even the Torah, would come later. This book is an excellent window on a world hinted at in the Tanakh, but never fully realized. 

Sinks the Novel

 

Nick, by Michael Farris Smith, is the back story of Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby.  Of course, with such a book, there is the question if this book rises to the Gatsby level – but that is not the best question for this novel.  I judge this work by one rubric: is it a good depiction of Nick?  The author chose not to have Nick deliver his story in the first person. In Gatsby, we receive the events through Nick’s narration.  For Nick, the novel, this does not matter so much in the first part of this story, where the narration is 'close' to Nick the character.  We only see the world through Nick (even though he is not the narrator).  But the author changes the view of the novel; after France, we are in the heads of other characters, not introduced yet.  It is confusing and bewildering, and sinks the novel.

The Case of Looting

 

If you have read any of the post-Zionist “revisionist” historians, then Loot: How Israel Stole Palestinian Property, by Adam Raz, will not be overly shocking.   Like every conflict, civilians on the losing side, in this case Palestinians, suffered special depravations.  Like all armed forces, the pre-state Jewish militias and then the IDF engaged in looting Palestinian property.  Also, scores of Israeli civilians engaged in widespread theft.  This is well known at this point.  Why it happened is the rub.  Was it inevitable?

Raz’s thrust is that Ben-Gurion knew of the looting, but did not move to address it because these thefts fit with his strategic and ethnic goals.  With their property and possession gone, Palestinians would have nothing to return to at the conclusion of the war.  Raz’s proof is when Ben-Gurion ‘saved’ Nazareth from looting and ethnic cleansing – so as not to inflame Christian anger toward the new Jewish state.   When he wanted to preserve a Palestinian population, and stop looting – he was able to do so. 

How to Deal with the World

 

If you want to get an excellent introduction to Stoicism with a modern lens, then you can’t go wrong with Stoicism for Inner Peace Paperback by Einzelgänger.   How do we train ourselves to handle the shocks of life?  How do we get to the point where we expect our lives, at certain points, to be bad?  In this confusing world that wants to take everything from you, how can you find peace?  Open this book. It may help you in your quest.