ROUNDTABLING ERIC ALTERMAN
This should be a link of interest to readers Left, Right and Center – particularly if political history is their thing.
Eric Alterman is best known for his partisan commentary in The Nation and blogging at Altercation ,but he is also an academic, when not engaged in polemical pursuits, with a Ph.D in History from Stanford. In his scholarly role, Professor Alterman has a new book out, When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and Its Consequences, which has been reviewed by an H-Diplo Roundtable. That in itself is an endorsement of the book’s quality.
I was surprised to learn that Dr. Alterman had studied under the eminent historian Walter LaFeber, which I found somewhat ironic as Eric and I have swiped at each other a few times on H-Diplo, yet my own mentor in history was a friend and classmate of LaFeber’s when both were studying under William Appleman Williams ( as a result I think I read every book and most of the papers LaFeber had published up until the mid-late 1990’s).
The roundtable is a thorough and scholarly treatment of the book from historians across the political spectrum and Dr. Alterman is given an opportunity to resond to criticisms and make extended comments. It’s a good online read ( PDF format).
These symposiums represent H-Diplo at its best.
