Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Readalikes
Margaret MacMillan, the great-granddaughter of famous British statesman and Prime Minister David Lloyd George, received her Ph.D. from Oxford University. A past provost of Trinity College at the University of Toronto, MacMillan is the warden of St. Antony's College at Oxford University. A leading expert on history and international relations, MacMillan is a frequent commentator in the media.
She is the author of Women of the Raj, a selection of the "History Book Club." In addition to numerous articles and reviews on a variety of Canadian and world affairs, MacMillan has co-edited books dealing with Canada's international relations, including with NATO, and with Canadian-Australian relations.
Her non-fiction Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War won the Duff Cooper Prize for outstanding literary work in the field of history, biography or politics; the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History; the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize for the best work of non-fiction published in the United Kingdom and the 2003 Governor General's Literary Award in Canada.
In August 2014, MacMillan was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.
Margaret MacMillan's website
This bio was last updated on 10/20/2014. We try to keep BookBrowse's biographies both up to date and accurate, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's a tough task. So, please help us - if the information about this author is out of date or inaccurate, and you know of a more complete source, please let us know. Authors and publishers: If you wish to make changes to a bio, send the complete biography as you would like it displayed so that we can replace the old with the new.
In your book, you make a compelling case for the importance of history in our daily lives. When did you realize that people made use of history as a tool?
There was no one Aha! Moment, but I really started to think about it in the 1990s when I was teaching a course on identities—what goes into making them—and it was clear that history was a key factor. Individuals and groups told themselves stories about where they and their ancestors had come from, including, for example, the great moments in their past and their progress toward the present. The stories were not always wrong, but they often included myths or chose facts very selectively. One of the main things we looked at was nationalism and the ways in which historians had helped to create the sense of a nation that was much bigger than its individual members, which predated them and which would endure long after they were dead. At the time, we had a terrifying example of the abuse of history right in front of us in the Balkans, where Yugoslavia was falling apart and all sides were using the past to stir up their own people against the others.
Dangerous Games draws much attention to the politicians, governments, and other entities that misuse history to bolster...
John M. Barry is a prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author whose books have won more than twenty awards.
In 2005 the National Academies of Science named The Great Influenza, a study of the 1918 pandemic, the ...
(more)
If you enjoyed:
Paris 1919
Try:
The Great Influenza
by John M. Barry
Born in France on November 30 1907, historian Jacques Barzun came to the United States in 1920. After graduating from Columbia College, he joined the faculty of the university, becoming Seth Low Professor of History and, for ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Dangerous Games
Try:
From Dawn To Decadence
by Jacques Barzun
We recommend 13 similar authors
From a dazzling new literary voice, a debut novel about a Palestinian family caught between present and past.
About the book
A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza
A deeply moving story of love, identity and belonging--the first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint.
Reader Reviews
If You See Me, Don't Say Hi by Neel Patel
Patel's stories introduce a bold and timely new literary voice.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends books that we believe to be best in class. Books that will whisk you to faraway places and times, that will expand your mind and challenge you -- the kinds of books you just can't wait to tell your friends about.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info & giveaways by email.
