Scan barcode
A review by bookpossum
The Art of Time Travel: Historians and Their Craft by Tom Griffiths
5.0
This is such an interesting and enjoyable book, each chapter devoted to a writer of Australian history. Most of the writers, but not all, are or were professional historians. Griffiths is himself Professor of History at the Australian National University. He was a student at the University of Melbourne at the time I was there back in the 1970s and I was amused to find that I had shared at least one experience there with him.
He had started off studying History and English Literature, as had I. After one year of English, which seemed to be run along the lines that books were either good or bad because F R Leavis had said so over in Cambridge, I dropped it in favour of extra History subjects and it seems I was not alone in that.
"The past was testing ground for thought. Studying English Literature at the same time, I had felt that I was trying to second-guess some undeclared orthodoxy that defined right and wrong answers and good and bad texts. Consequently there was an exodus of literary-minded students from English to History at Melbourne University in the mid-1970s." (page 205)
One of the best anecdotes in the book concerns a final year History student called Graeme Davison who
"... was walking the back-streets of Melbourne's inner suburb of Richmond in search of its nineteenth-century history when he was apprehended by a policeman. He was photographing houses and carrying an old canvas bag containing two cameras and the hammer and screwdriver he needed to carry out running repairs on his uncle Jack's 1948 Triumph Roadster. As he was gazing at the lanes and cottages, he became aware that he was being followed by a car driven by 'two burly young men'. Suddenly one of the men jumped out, bundled him into the back seat of the car and began to go through the incriminating canvas bag. Graeme was suspected of housebreaking.
'What do you think you're doing?' asked the plain-clothes detective.
'Historical research.'
'And how long have you been on this caper?' " (page 220)
Fortunately he survived this brush with the law to become an historian of note.
The main drawback of this book is that it has made me want to read one or more books by most of the historians portrayed!
Probably of interest mainly to Australians who love the craft and discipline of history.
He had started off studying History and English Literature, as had I. After one year of English, which seemed to be run along the lines that books were either good or bad because F R Leavis had said so over in Cambridge, I dropped it in favour of extra History subjects and it seems I was not alone in that.
"The past was testing ground for thought. Studying English Literature at the same time, I had felt that I was trying to second-guess some undeclared orthodoxy that defined right and wrong answers and good and bad texts. Consequently there was an exodus of literary-minded students from English to History at Melbourne University in the mid-1970s." (page 205)
One of the best anecdotes in the book concerns a final year History student called Graeme Davison who
"... was walking the back-streets of Melbourne's inner suburb of Richmond in search of its nineteenth-century history when he was apprehended by a policeman. He was photographing houses and carrying an old canvas bag containing two cameras and the hammer and screwdriver he needed to carry out running repairs on his uncle Jack's 1948 Triumph Roadster. As he was gazing at the lanes and cottages, he became aware that he was being followed by a car driven by 'two burly young men'. Suddenly one of the men jumped out, bundled him into the back seat of the car and began to go through the incriminating canvas bag. Graeme was suspected of housebreaking.
'What do you think you're doing?' asked the plain-clothes detective.
'Historical research.'
'And how long have you been on this caper?' " (page 220)
Fortunately he survived this brush with the law to become an historian of note.
The main drawback of this book is that it has made me want to read one or more books by most of the historians portrayed!
Probably of interest mainly to Australians who love the craft and discipline of history.