The Book After The Fact - Essay Example

AFTER THE FACT Introduction For over 25 years, after the fact has been a guide to the through American history and the methods used to study it. The book contains dramatic episodes that explain the chronological changes and dynamics of the America history. This award winning book examines variety of topics that include: photographs, films and television programs, oral evidence, ecological data, census records, church and town records, and novels. Whether for a historical methods course or for an introductory survey, this book is the perfect text to introduce readers, stepwise, to the analytical approaches and detective work that historians use when they are actually doing history. The authors of the book are both are both history professors and historians who have specialized in American history and they draw their work from the history of the USA to provide illustrations of the ideas they are interested in describing. Each chapter of the book is dedicated to an individual detection technique that can be applied in depth to explore and renovate past events. The main idea behind the book is communicated in an extensive introduction that looks at the life of an 18th C diplomat called Silas Deane, whose death was nothing less than mysterious death (Davidson and Mark, 88). The book illustrates how historical investigation is equivalent to the seemingly more exciting detective work used to solve mysterious in tv, movies and real life. I must say that; through this work, we are able to uncover the truth of what happened in the past. The authors take people and/or events in the USA history and write chapters on the events representing techniques and methods used in writing and studying history. To some people this may seem boring- but fact is, it is not. The reality is an interesting look at events- some known other not clear- that reminds us that good narratives are required for good history and historians must use numerous diverse techniques and methods to get the information they require to completely and appropriately write the narratives. In chapter one, the authors examine the significance of the selection of evidence even if its real importance may not appear understandable at first. The authors focus on early settlement of Virginia as an example. The Virginia settlement is a vital historical subject in America especially because it is one of the earliest English settlements in the United States of America. Until today, there is still a good deal of written description about Virginia settlement that survives despite the fact that much of the written records about the settlement have been lost (Davidson and Mark, 9). The most remembered historical account is that of Captain John smith, whose swashbuckling tale gives emphasis to his own involvement and importance. Smith witnessed a Native American ritual of some form and described it in writing. As demonstrated by the authors, Smith’s account, however, was given in terms that were similar to him and would have been familiar to his readers. Unknown to him was the intended meaning of the traditional roles and ritual of the people involved. Some other prove is found in the dry accounts of financial transactions and court decisions, which include an order necessitating Virginia settlers to plant at least two acres of corn while at the same time forbidding them from burning hay to dry tobacco. If you have read this book, then you will certainly agree with me that it is possible to know truth about the past historical events. History is a very interesting that every person should fall in love with. The chapters in the book combine one incident and one aspect on the way historians go about doing what they love best-history. For example, the chapter of the Salem witch trials tells us a rather interesting story while at the some time introducing the reader painlessly to the historical perceptions of community dynamics, demographics, multiple causations, and the status of women in the 17th C New England (Davidson and Mark, 65). It also demonstrates through providing numerous reasons why the young accusers may have had physical convulsions. The book gives a reader a diverse opinion about what we can learn from history. The concept of psychohistory is widely exposed and exploited in the story. This concept directs the reader to think about the entire conception of insanity or madness in our legal system and what makes up sanity. One of my favorite chapters as historian is the chapter of the Prologue. Silas Deane was a relatively unknown diplomat who existed during the period of Revolutionary. Through utilization of the state of affairs of his death to describe and discuss the pivotal historical issue of evidence and how difficult it is to show which of the evidence are significant. Well, reading through the book for the first time will show you how much you do not know about historical events and how the best history is always open and prone to various interpretations. You will certainly remind yourself why numerous historians also enjoy reading mysteries and detective fiction (Davidson and Mark, 122). History does not only involve reading through the line but also there have been integration of visual aspects. The authors engage in visual documents through discussing photography. The title of chapter 8 makes references to the photograph as a mirror that apart from reflecting the image of the photograph but also the intent of the photographer. For instance, to emphasize on the importance of photograph, the authors use Jacob Riis who was the publisher of the book called “How the Other Half Lives”, a study of the slum-like living conditions in the New York. Immigration was a major issue in New York during the second half of the 19thC and Riis himself was an immigrant. Just like any other immigrant, he faced a lot of challenges while searching for a job to a point that he begged for food. However, because of his determination and hard work, Riss managed to overcome these challenges and become a successful writer. Chapter 7 also looks at some of the challenges through examining the history of people who existed in the classes of the society. The well known example from the book was the Federal Writers Project of the 1930s that was meant to interview blacks about their experiences. This is described in the quote below: “By the 1930s, the number of former black slaves still living was decreasing. The Writers project sent interviewers out to find living former slaves and document their recollections. Because of their position in society, slaves did not leave many written records of their own. What was written about them at the time of slavery was told from the point of view of the southern white society that had enslaved them, or the northern white society that was faced with the challenge of reconstructing the South.”(Davidson and Mark, 28) The perception and the motives of the people who participated on these events are largely revealed in the book. Most of the people in this book are represented as people who were ever struggling and fighting for the rights and wellbeing of mankind. They underwent through a lot challenges but that did not deter them from pursuing what they believed was right, even if it meant losing their lives. After the act shows us that the freedom that most Americans enjoy today was never bought for free but rather people fought for it. This book gives a very intimate touch with those who love history and even students that do not love history interesting will not shy away from reading this interesting book. I won’t be wrong to say that the book is history written the way history should be written. References Davidson, James W, and Mark H. Lytle. After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection. New York, N.Y: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print. Read More