Historical Voice Stilled Forever

History, Tragedy

I see with extreme regret that historian Paul Johnson has died.  Shit.

There is a very good case that Johnson’s History Of The American People should be required source material for high school U.S. History classes.

And his History Of The Jews and History Of Christianity (along with Jacques Barzun’s From Dawn To Decadence) should be part of World History classes in both high school and university curricula.

Oh, for heaven’s sake:  if you read all of Paul Johnson’s history books and absorb just a third of the material, you’ll still be one of the most educated people on the planet.

He will most definitely be missed.

9 comments

  1. Kim,
    I just requested “A History of the Jews” from my local library. Right now I’m reading “Bibi” – Benjamin Netanyahu’s autobiography. I suspect many of Bibi’s political / philosophical positions resonate well with you. Whether a person agrees or disagrees with The Man, there’s no denying he’s lived a fascinating life, having been on the cutting edge of World History for the last 50 years.

    Along the same lines as your recommendation, several years ago I read Irving Cutler’s “The Jews of Chicago” – another very fine work, albeit somewhat limited in scope.

    Thanks – Brad

    1. Hmm, I wonder whether the leftists that run my local library have any of Paul Johnson’s works (Magnum Opi? I haven’t had much occasion to actually use Latin, but I still feel a deficiency).
      This business of buying the books myself gets into some expense, and my list of unread books was six pages, single spaced, 12 point several years ago, and the list has expanded considerably since the advent of the internet.

  2. I’d not heard of him before, but the three books you recommended are on their way. Thanks for the recommendation.

  3. His book, “Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky”, is most enlightening as well regarding how we got into the situation in which we find ourselves today. In short, the founders of all the leftist movements infecting the world today were to a man despicable people.

  4. The History of the American People is a wonderful read. Intellectuals, and The History of Christianity/ Jews are on my must be read list. May I live that long.

    RIP Mr. Paul Johnson. Well done. Well done, indeed.

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