The River of History: Trans-national and Trans-disciplinary Perspectives on the Immanence of the Past

Graeme S. Mount is a professor of history at Laurentian University. He
is the author of Canada’s Enemies: Spies and Spying in the Peaceable
Kingdom, Chile and the Nazis, and The Diplomacy of War: The Case of
Korea.

History matters. Conflicting interpretations of the past (e.g., the
intentions of the Fathers of Confederation, the rights and wrongs of
conscription during World Wars I and II) can create political conflict,
even wars. In The River of History, 12 scholars—nine Canadians, two
Australians, and one American—discuss history’s past and future.

Topics include Canadian and non-Canadian subjects. In his introduction,
editor Peter Farrugia discusses, among other subjects, A.J.P. Taylor on
World War II and J.L. Granatstein’s Who Killed Canadian History?
Robert Wright reviews television’s use of history as entertainment.
That there are so many history programs and even a History Channel
testifies to history’s popularity, he notes, even if professional
historians have little input. John McLaren, Nancy E. Wright, and A.R.
Buck discuss the relevance of history to land ownership in Canada and
Australia. John S. Hill demonstrates that selective use of facts and
documents in order to whitewash German responsibility for World War I
affected subsequent German foreign policy. Similarly, the Nye Commission
blamed bankers and industrialists for catapulting the United States into
that war and subsequently, as Hitler’s power grew, gave the impression
that America as a whole had little reason for involvement in European
affairs. Jeffrey Scott Brown discusses the philosophy of history, and
Carol Brown examines the African diaspora’s migratory history.

At first glance, some of the essays appear to deal with futurology, an
intriguing but dubious discipline. Who foresaw the opening of the Berlin
Wall or the events of 9/11 and the changes that would follow? Despite
their titles, these essays do not. Leo Groarke’s “Teaching History:
The Future of the Past” focuses less on predictions and more on the
need for history. James Gerrie’s “Future History: Technological
Development and Historical Change” is a review of recent Canadian
historiography. M. Carleton Simpson’s “Linking the Past to the
Future” concerns the impact of the car on human life.

Some articles require deep concentration. Readers’ personal interests
will make some more attractive than others. Nevertheless, this is a
worthwhile collection.