Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (edição 2015)

It was very good and informational and interesting I was just very bored at times. It was like a textbook. But also not. I really liked the ending the most. ( )

Talked about enticingly here.

An important book in the history of writing and thinking about history. Trouillot -- and Hazel Carby in her excellent introduction to this edition -- make the point that power and prejudice often determine historical "truth." Trouillot, through meticulous use of sources, demonstrates how events are forgotten, misinterpreted, just plain lied about, to serve a larger narrative.

Besides being a landmark work of historiography, Trouillot tells great stories about Haiti and its revolutions, ones you may not be familiar with if you haven't seriously studied the period. I highly recommend this book. ( )

History may be written by the winners, but it is also written by those in power. Often, they are one and the same. So, who is to say what becomes “history” and what does not? Who controls what is recorded as history and what is forgotten? What events are ignored or left silent? That is the premise of this book.

The author focuses mainly on Haitian history, since he is Haitian. However, the ideas are useful in analyzing all of history, from any place in the world. How do the events we live become history? Who chooses which to include in history books? What is left out and why? What becomes worthy of being recorded and passed down to future generations?

Details and events are often left out of historical accounts. Simply, there is no way to record everything, so some incidents or details are left out. The choice of what to include falls to those in power. That may be a nation, or an individual, or a society. Some facts are not recorded for posterity and some are just ignored. The silences are the people, events and happenings that get left out of the historical narrative.

The premise of this book is something to keep in mind whenever reading historical accounts. We need to consider that some things may have been “silenced” or simply left out of the narrative we read. This book provides a foundation for all readers and students of history to make a more thoughtful analysis of the historical accounts they read. Are those accounts complete, or was something important left out, either deliberately or through emphasis on the tale those in power wished to pass on to future generations?

It is thought-provoking material and a book that I recommend for all students of history. The language is a bit over-the-top at times, so it is something I would recommend for college students rather than high school history students. However, the information presented, and the author’s analysis of various historical events, and their written accounts, is fascinating reading.

This is an important and classic work of historiography. It is pretty out of place in the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, since it is the only book I can recall seeing here that is academic. And yes, this is an academic book, and not popular non-fiction. That being said, I think it deserves a wider reading audience than the purely academic, since it deals with issues that are of profound and vital interest to everyone, and not just scholars. To a certain extent, it is actually more vital for non-academics to read this, since many of its lessons are taken for granted by scholars these days. As long as you know what to expect when you pick this book up, I think you will be fine. If you are looking for a quick or easy read, this is not the book for you. If you are willing to struggle a bit to have your mind blown, then give Trouillot's book a try. We have all heard that history is written by the victors, but Trouillot's book puts this into concrete terms that show just how real and devastating the effects of this truism are. ( )