I Wish I'd Been There: Twenty Historians Bring to Life Dramatic Events That Changed America

by Byron Hollinshead and Theodore K. Rabb

Book Overview

I Wish I'd Been There brings together twenty of our most distinguished historians' responses to the question "What scene or incident in American history would you most liked to have witnessed--and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385516193
• ISBN13: 9780385516198
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Great concept, Broad scope of events

I found this collection of essays to be very enjoyable. They are based on factual events, but it is admittedly fun to speculate also, to imagine what might have been. I appreciate the broad scope of topics, but that does have limitations. Some of these choices seem too personal in nature, driven by personal, even political agendas. The choice of each historian of what event to speculate on, of course, is a personal decision. While these essays are well-written throughout, I wouldn't have chosen some of these topics. I enjoyed the chapter on John Brown at Harper's Ferry in contrast to the treatment Brown receives in "Lies My Teacher Told Me." Thomas Fleming successfully debunks the notion of Brown as a "moral visionary" and "serious political thinker." Also, I admired some of the chapters on lesser-known incidents. This collection includes a wide range of topics, for example the Alexander McGillavary story, the significance of Jenny Lind's American debut, and a little known 1965 meeting between Lyndon Johnson and George Wallace. I don't mean to suggest that all the chapters concerned unknown events; much light is shed on greater-known historical events also. In conclusion, I recommend this collection as an intriguing, easy read for history buffs or novices. Also, while not definitive nor comprehensive as a source, (the essays are comparatively brief) it could be used as an excellent starting resource for history students. I would use it as a teaching tool.

Makes you wonder what you'd like to have witnessed in history!

Twenty historians and writers of historical fiction were asked to pick a defining event in American history and write an account of it. Given the sheer number of significant events in American history and the various lenses one could use to view history, picking a single event (or compiling twenty events) becomes a daunting task. The selection is a reflection of the authors' personal choices. One willl remember endeavors like this one for their omissions-rather than their accomplishments. Arranged chronologically, this work begins with the funeral of a chieftain in Cahokia and ends with Lyndon Johnson's conversation with George Wallace in regard to civil rights. It also includes Washington's treaty with the Creek Nation Indians, Lincoln's assassination, the Salem witchcraft trial, the Amistad trial, the Scopes trial, Lewis and Clark expedition, Jenny Lind's debut in New York, Chief Joseph's surrender at Bear Paw Mountains, John Brown's stand at Harper's Ferry, John and Robert Kennedy discussing the Vietnam war, and others. The contributors were given liberties to hear testimonies that were not written down, witness reactions which are not recorded, listen to thoughts that are only imagined, and experience conditions that are conjured up for that time period. As with works like this one, readers would find certain chapters more appealing than others, certain events more interesting than others and certain writing styles more provocative than others. We engage in role play everyday. Our moments of empathy bear witness to such role play. Hence the idea of compiling a book where the author is free to role play is a good one. The "short story" format of the book allows the reader to take in history in small doses. While this works for those of us who only have a limited duration of reading time, it does not allow for in-depth historical analysis and insight. Permitting the authors to embellish what is known through historical records humanizes the historical events. However in some cases, the authors go a little too far. There are some really good chapters and some that need refinement - overall a mixed bag. Armchair Interviews says: Unique look at history--what was chosen and what was omitted.

Read It, But Don't Buy It

Like another reviewer I found this book to be a mixed bag. A lot of these essays have to do with politics which is so much a part of American history. A few of my personal favorites included the Salem witchcraft trials, the surrender of Chief Joseph in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, Jenny Lind making her American debut at Castle Garden in New York City, and LBJ's conversation with George Wallace in regard to civil rights. There were, however, a number of choices I didn't find very appealing. I realize these are all personal choices for these historians, but with all that has happened during our history some of these choices surprised me given the latitude of so many years in our past. This is certainly a book worth reading, but if I knew then what I know now I would not have bought it.

A Mixed Bag

It was a clever idea to ask prominent writers to imagine historical moments, but like most compilations of various authors, this book has some great articles and a few real duds. My favorite is William Leuchtenberg's recreation of a confrontation about civil rights between George Wallace and LBJ, two men who rose from the same poverty, one of whom transcended his past and one who was mired in it. It is a sensitive portrait of both men and so real that you believe you're in the room with them. The worst by far is Robert Dallek's imagining a conversation between JFK and Bobby Kennedy in which they decide that they won't escalate in Vietnam, only to have the blinkered Johnson overriding this decision after JFK's assasination. And lest you disagree with this fiction, Dallek informs you that it is based on five years study (so take THAT, stupid reader!). Unfortunately, you do not need much background to realize what a crock this is. For one thing, Bobby asked LBJ to send him to Vietnam as ambassador in early 1964, hardly the request of someone who didn't believe in what we were doing there. Also, after the US complicity in the assasination of Diem and the resulting chaos in Vietnam, there was no more room for maneuver. Everyone knew we were behind the coup (just read the articles of the great underrated Marguerite Higgins immediately following the coup), so how would we expect to keep any third world allies in the middle of the Cold War if we killed the leader of a friendly nation, welcomed the collapse of government authority and walked away to turn the place over to its enemies. If we had done that, we would have been lucky if Great Britain didn't apply to join the Warsaw Pact. The sad thing about Dallek is that he is a good writer, but is unable to discern the difference between what really happened and what he would have liked to have happened and that makes him an unreliable historian. So, this is a very enjoyable collection, but be careful.

Historians let their imaginations range

Given a chance to let their imaginations round out their expertise, these historians and writers flesh out the incidents in American history that most fascinate them. This is an inviting and intriguing premise for those of us who like our history served up in short dramatic narratives. And it's mostly successful, although, as with any anthology, some writers are better than others, and some pivotal events are more riveting or moving or impressive than others. Arranged chronologically, the anthology begins with the elaborate funeral of a chieftain in 1030 Cahokia, a metropolis on the Mississippi, as witnessed by Biloine Young. It concludes with William Leuchtenburg's discussion of Lyndon Johnson's heated confrontation with George Wallace before the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. In between we see the Lewis and Clark expedition crossing the Continental Divide with the help of the Shoshone Indians, George Washington in a post-revolutionary moment of diplomatic eloquence, the shooting of Abraham Lincoln, the Salem witch trials, the Amistad trial, singer Jenny Lind's American debut, John Brown's strange and reckless stand at Harper's Ferry, the surrender of the Nez Perce Indians in 1877, the Scopes trial, FDR's turn for the worse before his fourth-term election, JFK and the Vietnam war, the civil rights struggle, and more. Though each writer focuses on a particular moment in time, they bring their considerable knowledge of the background and subsequent results to bear, fixing the moment in context. Cornell professor Mary Beth Norton explains that when she was writing her book on the Salem witch trials, "In the Devil's Snare," she became so obsessed that she "thought it perfectly logical" to compose a weekly message on her answering machine detailing the events of the corresponding week in 1692 Salem. She, like most of the other historians, would use her time machine to go back and get the real truth - to hear testimony that was never written down, to discover how the villagers reacted to the convictions of well-liked and respected citizens, to find out why the trials ended so abruptly and mysteriously. Few historians want to imagine themselves as part of the events themselves, but rather prefer to satisfy their curiosity as scholars with first-hand knowledge. This is less true for those who are not professional historians. Novelist Jonathan Rabb ("Rosa," "The Overseer") de-mythologizes the Scopes trial for those of us reliant on the Hollywood version. But his main interest in being there is to share the unrecordable experience - the cadence of rousing speeches meant to be heard, not read, the mood of the crowd outside in the square, the scuttlebutt at the principal unofficial gathering place, Robinson's Drugstore. In his stirring essay, writer and TV producer Philip B. Kunhardt III would like to have been swept up by the voice of the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind, and have encountered the two strong personalities in