Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: vrdxhq!verdix.com!bob@uunet.UU.NET (Bob Boulanger)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: WWI History
Message-ID: <6549@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 13 May 89 02:25:57 GMT
References: <6345@cbnews.ATT.COM> <6461@cbnews.ATT.COM>
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From: vrdxhq!verdix.com!bob@uunet.UU.NET (Bob Boulanger)

In article <6461@cbnews.ATT.COM> lance@kodak.com (Dan Lance) writes:
>
>From: lance@kodak.com (Dan Lance)
>
>In article <6345@cbnews.ATT.COM> budden@manta.nosc.mil (Rex A. Buddenberg) writes:
>>From: budden@manta.nosc.mil (Rex A. Buddenberg)
>>Don't confuse history with journalism.  Liddel-Hart writes
>>history; Barbara Tuchman writes journalism.
>
>Why do you classify Tuchman with the journalists?  She's trained as a
>historian and she writes about historical subjects.  Her work may not
>be as dry or as rigorous as some academic works, but that certainly
>doesn't justify lumping her in with the hacks.
>


Wait a minute! How did this discussion of WW1 histories suddenly turn into
a complete denigration of journalists!?  Most journalists are not hacks.
They are professional reporters trying to do their jobs to the best of
their abilities, just like Liddel-Hart or Patton, neither of whom were
historians or journalists, but managed to write credible discussions of the
World Wars.  Like professional soldiers (Liddell-Hart, Patton, and
Eisenhower) professional journalists must meet deadlines and work with the
"equipment" they are given.

So let's hop of the back of journalists and continue with the relevant
discussion.  And yes there are hack writers (of all kinds) just as there
are hack soldiers and hack historians and hack politicians.

Bob Boulanger
 

[mod.note.  For the love of Pete... Danged if I ever thought anyone in
this group would start arguing about book reports !  

Bob has a valid point; referring to all journalists as "hacks" was probably
a cheap shot (despite my personal agreement 8-) and didn't deserve to
go unchallenged.  It's now been answered, and I'll be very circumspect
of any further submissions re: the merits of authors.  Let's keep it
polite and *factual*.  Remember that everyone has a preference of writing
styles, and that often depends on what they want from the book.  - Bill ]