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Sometimes an Art: Nine Essays on History
From one of the most respected historians in America, twice the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a new collection of essays that reflects a lifetime of erudition and accomplishments in history.
The past has always been How can we understand people whose worlds were utterly different from our own without imposing our own standards and hindsight? What did things feel like in the moment, when outcomes were uncertain? How can we recover those uncertainties? What kind of imagination goes into the writing of transformative history? Are there latent trends that distinguish the kinds of history we now write? How unique was North America among the far-flung peripheries of the early British empire?
As Bernard Bailyn argues in this elegant, deeply informed collection of essays, history always combines approximations based on incomplete data with empathic imagination, interweaving strands of knowledge into a narrative that also explains. This is a stirring and insightful work drawing on the wisdom and perspective of a career spanning more than five decades—a book that will appeal to anyone interested in history.
The past has always been How can we understand people whose worlds were utterly different from our own without imposing our own standards and hindsight? What did things feel like in the moment, when outcomes were uncertain? How can we recover those uncertainties? What kind of imagination goes into the writing of transformative history? Are there latent trends that distinguish the kinds of history we now write? How unique was North America among the far-flung peripheries of the early British empire?
As Bernard Bailyn argues in this elegant, deeply informed collection of essays, history always combines approximations based on incomplete data with empathic imagination, interweaving strands of knowledge into a narrative that also explains. This is a stirring and insightful work drawing on the wisdom and perspective of a career spanning more than five decades—a book that will appeal to anyone interested in history.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 20, 2015
15 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Bernard Bailyn
102 books134 followersBernard Bailyn is an American historian, author, and professor specializing in U.S. Colonial and Revolutionary-era History. He has been a professor at Harvard since 1953. Bailyn has won the Pulitzer Prize for History twice (in 1968 and 1987). In 1998 the National Endowment for the Humanities selected him for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 29, 2020
Had Bernard Bailyn written nothing other than his 1968, Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, his space in the firmament would have been secure. That 1968 volume was most influential to me in all my grad school reading. Thus, I came to Sometimes an Art: Nine Essays on History with elevated expectations. So it is perhaps unfair to say that this 2015 effort was a bit of a disappointment. Sometimes an Art is a miscellaneous digest of Bailyn’s essays and addresses over the years. There really isn’t any common thread amongst the essays and they are not the mature reflections on the craft of the historian. Still, some are very good. Not surprisingly, Bailyn is at his best on his home turf – topics related to the revolution. The best essays, for me, were “The Losers” and “Thomas Hutchinson in Context.” Both of which treat the loyalist position, ideologically. The final essay in the book, “The Search for Perfection,” an address delivered to the British Academy, is, if not exactly pointless, at least rambling and inconclusive. The essay, “Context in History” is timely & relevant. Bailyn notes: “The first problematic consequence of succeeding in contextualizing history is essentially moral. To explain contextually is, implicitly at least, to excuse.” (p. 38) Full disclosure: I’m a committed contextualist. The historian’s job is to explain. It is not to judge. However, when it comes to deciding who in the past to honor, then judgement is warranted. But I digress. All-in-all, one can’t go wrong reading anything by Bailyn. He is a most esteemed historian for good reason. It’s only the subtitle of the book that caused me to expect more than this book delivered.
March 10, 2015
A collection of essays by one of the great historians of our time. The second essay, "Context in History", should be required reading by every history student - required reading, in fact, for anyone who attempts to relate the present to the past, or apply our current-day values, beliefs, morality, and ways of thinking to the past. In Bailyn's words, "It is one of the central problems in the contemporary practice of history ... It is the problem of recovering the contexts in which events take place: the settings, the unspoken assumptions, the perceptual universes of the participants which shape the meaning of events for those who experience them. The past is a different world, and we seek to understand it as it actually was."
Other essays cover topics such as the Loyalists (Tories) in the American Revolutions ("The Losers"); another look at the pre-Revolution governor of Massachusetts who became a Loyalist, and whose biography Bailyn wrote years ago ("Thomas Hutchinson in Context"); and an examinstion of the peopling of North America and other areas of the British Empire ("Peopling the Peripheries" and "England's Cultural Provinces").
All in all, a wonderful sampling by a master historian.
Other essays cover topics such as the Loyalists (Tories) in the American Revolutions ("The Losers"); another look at the pre-Revolution governor of Massachusetts who became a Loyalist, and whose biography Bailyn wrote years ago ("Thomas Hutchinson in Context"); and an examinstion of the peopling of North America and other areas of the British Empire ("Peopling the Peripheries" and "England's Cultural Provinces").
All in all, a wonderful sampling by a master historian.
July 16, 2017
Sometimes an Art: Nine Essays on The British Empire (and One or Two on General History) would be a more accurate title.
Essays on the British Empire (and subsequently Colonial America) isn't a bad thing per say, but when you promote a book as essays on general history I expect essays on, you know, general history that isn't extremely western-centric or in this case, British-centric. The author, of course, specializes in that area so it really shouldn't be that surprising to see his bias showing but come on there was an entire essay on the historiography of the loyalists. How is that general history?
A word of warning as well: this author really likes to talk and will go on unrelated tangents through the essays to the point where you can't remember what he was originally talking about.
If I had known ahead of time that the majority of these essays would be centered around or use the British Empire as an example, I might have rated this higher. They were, after all, interesting to read. I'm just bitter about this false promotion.
Essays on the British Empire (and subsequently Colonial America) isn't a bad thing per say, but when you promote a book as essays on general history I expect essays on, you know, general history that isn't extremely western-centric or in this case, British-centric. The author, of course, specializes in that area so it really shouldn't be that surprising to see his bias showing but come on there was an entire essay on the historiography of the loyalists. How is that general history?
A word of warning as well: this author really likes to talk and will go on unrelated tangents through the essays to the point where you can't remember what he was originally talking about.
If I had known ahead of time that the majority of these essays would be centered around or use the British Empire as an example, I might have rated this higher. They were, after all, interesting to read. I'm just bitter about this false promotion.
August 19, 2015
A wonderful compilation of essays with important reminders and reflections for any serious student of history. The essays in the first half of the book focus on the study of history itself, while the second half is more content-based, examining Bailyn's specialty, transatlantic history in the 17th and 18th centuries.
As a high school history teacher, I was hoping some of these essays might be useful for my students. As it turns out I don't think entire essays would be accessible to many high school students, but I may use passages that focus on the importance of context and not allowing hindsight to cloud our understanding of past worlds. These essays certainly left me thinking about how I approach history, and I am confident that they will do the same for my students.
As a high school history teacher, I was hoping some of these essays might be useful for my students. As it turns out I don't think entire essays would be accessible to many high school students, but I may use passages that focus on the importance of context and not allowing hindsight to cloud our understanding of past worlds. These essays certainly left me thinking about how I approach history, and I am confident that they will do the same for my students.
February 8, 2015
A readable, yet informative, selection of essays. I connected with his observations on history as a craft, sometimes an art. Bernard Bailyn is a profound historian, and his works are well worth reading.
June 18, 2018
A collection of essays by an eminent American historian covering various aspects of historiography, mainly for North America. Very interesting. He also discusses the Australian colonial settler experience, contrasting it to the American one. I think he is on less solid ground when he does this as he appears to be drawing a rather long bow with some of his observations and impressions. Still, it made me sit up and think, which is always a good thing.
July 15, 2017
It's no wonder that Bernard Bailyn has mentored some of the finest historians of the American Revolution (Gordon Wood, Pauline Maier, others). His knowledge seems boundless; his writing is deep and readable. This book is Bailyn at full stride, giving a serious amateur in the field thrills and chills again and again. An intellectual feast.
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February 18, 2021While there were many individual bits here that I liked - and I very often like books as a whole merely for being composed of individual interesting bits - I find myself utterly unable to summon feelings about this work as a whole, an inability that surely reflects at least as poorly on me as on this collection.
Neither recommended nor un-recommended.
Neither recommended nor un-recommended.
May 23, 2017
This is an excellent book on the nature of history. Bailyn is a clear and graceful writer, even where the subject matter is specifically academic. He also uses telling detail in explaining his subjects. Highly recommended
May 28, 2017
After thoroughly enjoying collections of essays by historians Eric Foner and Gordon Wood, it made sense to give a read to this one by the venerable Bernard Bailyn.
Problem is, this has little of the relevance and readability that make Foner's and Wood's work so wonderfully thought provoking.
Problem is, this has little of the relevance and readability that make Foner's and Wood's work so wonderfully thought provoking.
January 14, 2018
Bailyn is just a wonderful writer, and for anyone interested in history as a craft as well as a subject for study, this book is a rewarding read.
August 19, 2025
writing research papers is still an art and this collection made that very beautifully clear
November 4, 2015
Bernard Bailyn brought out this valedictory collection of his essays over the span of career to clarify some points in current confusion and to make a quiet mark. Every essay is elegant, useful, purposeful, and a careful distillation of major concerns: that history is a craft, a practice, not a science, and not wholly an art; we benefit from a contextual sense of the past; moralism is an awful historical practice. As said before, a spirited and useful rejoinder to the faddish in academic culture just now.
March 21, 2015
Bailyn is a great historian who writes with clear and often entertaining prose. These essays communicate his deep love of his subject through occasional writings from throughout his career. Essay #5 on the historiography of the loyalists is fascinating, as well as his essay comparing the intellectual fecundity of the American founding and the Scottish enlightenment. An excellent introduction to the work of a great historian.
May 19, 2015
Exceptionally written, this collection of essays by Bernard Bailyn is as impressive as it is deep. I found these writings to be a challenge as a layman history reader. Highly academic and pointing out creative comparisons conversely geographically opposite and like in time that parallel in their growth as developing countries. Thought provoking and at times over my realm of understanding I enjoyed the publication and I'm glad I read it.
March 16, 2015
Bailyn is a master of his field. These nine essays on the writing and the understanding of history are loaded with insights and Bailyn's unique prose.
April 30, 2017
When I was an undergraduate student taking a course on historiography, there was one sense in which I was like all of my other classmates. We were presented with a choice as to whether we would defend history as an art or as a science. Everyone I talked to, and I made it an effort to discuss the matter widely, chose to view history as an art. Now, at the time I was a civil engineering student, and nothing in my professional career has made me less fond of quantitative analysis, which I have spent a great deal of my own life involved in, but I am still prone to view history as an art [1]. This book, written by someone who like me is fond of a great deal of quantitative history, nevertheless gives a strong defense of history as an art by dealing with the craft of history, providing a set of thoughtful and related essays that combine together to present a worthwhile introduction to the author's work as a whole. This is the sort of work that gives highly quotable [2] and bite-sized servings of the author's work as a way of encouraging the reader to look more into his material.
In terms of its structure, the nine essays of this work are divided into two parts and take up about 260 pages of material in total, making this a very reasonably sized book for most readers of history. The first part of the book contains five essays on history and the struggle to get it right, first looking at the importance of data in better understanding the slave trade, then examining the importance of context in history (a favorite study of mine), an examination of three trends in modern history (the importance of data in providing the context of historical events, a greater cross-fertilization of disciplines to show influence, and the search for knowledge in interior and subjective aspects of history), and a sympathetic look at the American loyalists, among whom was at least one of my ancestors. The second part of the book contains four essays that deal with the provincial aspects of the American founders, including a retrospective look at the ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson, the last royal governor of Massachusetts, a comparative analysis of Scotland and America as England's cultural provinces, co-authored with John Clive, an examination of how the peripheries of the British world were peopled, and a discussion of perfectionism in the context of American history. At least as far as I am concerned, these are excellent essays and it is immensely worthwhile to read them here.
In terms of the overall structure of this book, it is apparent that this is a mosaic book, not a large and sustained one. At this stage in the author's life and career, though, anything he releases is likely to be worth reading, and he has earned the right to capitalize off of his well-earned reputation as a seminal historian of the Atlantic world to release late-career collections of essays for critical acclaim and the approval of discerning audiences. I will certainly not begrudge him that profit, and this book further confirmed my own interest in reading as much by this author as I can, given that this is the third book I have read by him and all have been very excellent so far. If you like reading thoughtful discussions of the American founding and gracious comments about its implications for other areas, including the founding of Australia, and you want to see the author's work in small packages for appreciative audiences, this is a worthwhile book to read that will whet the appetite for more substantial material.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
[2] See, for example:
"In politics he was active, bold, and forthright, but never a mean-spirited, vituperative, vengeful antagonist; his speeches, memos, letters, and formal pronouncements were logical, rational, and cogent. His aim in politics was to keep the peace, maintain the received structure of authority, and enforce the law in accepted, traditional ways. The Puritan values of self-restraint, personal morality, worldly asceticism, and above all, stubborn insistence on pursuing the truth however unpopular or dangerous it might be to do so were essential parts of his personality. He was acquisitive, but not ostentatious; eager for public office--for his family as much as for himself--but careful not to overstep the accepted bounds of law and custom. Though more dutiful than colorful and in appearance unimpressive--a contemporary described him as "tall, thin, half-starved"--he was intelligent, well informed, well-educated, and capable of clear exposition, with a writer's instinct to resolve and objectify his experience by writing about it, if not with Jefferson's lyrical flow than with Madison's concision and accuracy of phrasing. In this sense his life was surprisingly contemplative (150-151)."
"From his embattled position in the defense of a liberal alternative to totalitarianism, the enemy was ideological perfectionism, the passionate pursuit of which he took to be the driving force behind the twentieth century's tyrannies. No one knew better than Berlin or expressed more brilliantly the genealogy and structure of perfectionist ideas. But their threat to civilization, in the most general terms, lay not in their intrinsic malevolence but in the brutality of those who implacably imposed them: the populist thugs, the fanatical monopolists of power--beings alien to Berlin's sensibilities, incomprehensible to his humanely inquiring mind (260)."
In terms of its structure, the nine essays of this work are divided into two parts and take up about 260 pages of material in total, making this a very reasonably sized book for most readers of history. The first part of the book contains five essays on history and the struggle to get it right, first looking at the importance of data in better understanding the slave trade, then examining the importance of context in history (a favorite study of mine), an examination of three trends in modern history (the importance of data in providing the context of historical events, a greater cross-fertilization of disciplines to show influence, and the search for knowledge in interior and subjective aspects of history), and a sympathetic look at the American loyalists, among whom was at least one of my ancestors. The second part of the book contains four essays that deal with the provincial aspects of the American founders, including a retrospective look at the ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson, the last royal governor of Massachusetts, a comparative analysis of Scotland and America as England's cultural provinces, co-authored with John Clive, an examination of how the peripheries of the British world were peopled, and a discussion of perfectionism in the context of American history. At least as far as I am concerned, these are excellent essays and it is immensely worthwhile to read them here.
In terms of the overall structure of this book, it is apparent that this is a mosaic book, not a large and sustained one. At this stage in the author's life and career, though, anything he releases is likely to be worth reading, and he has earned the right to capitalize off of his well-earned reputation as a seminal historian of the Atlantic world to release late-career collections of essays for critical acclaim and the approval of discerning audiences. I will certainly not begrudge him that profit, and this book further confirmed my own interest in reading as much by this author as I can, given that this is the third book I have read by him and all have been very excellent so far. If you like reading thoughtful discussions of the American founding and gracious comments about its implications for other areas, including the founding of Australia, and you want to see the author's work in small packages for appreciative audiences, this is a worthwhile book to read that will whet the appetite for more substantial material.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
[2] See, for example:
"In politics he was active, bold, and forthright, but never a mean-spirited, vituperative, vengeful antagonist; his speeches, memos, letters, and formal pronouncements were logical, rational, and cogent. His aim in politics was to keep the peace, maintain the received structure of authority, and enforce the law in accepted, traditional ways. The Puritan values of self-restraint, personal morality, worldly asceticism, and above all, stubborn insistence on pursuing the truth however unpopular or dangerous it might be to do so were essential parts of his personality. He was acquisitive, but not ostentatious; eager for public office--for his family as much as for himself--but careful not to overstep the accepted bounds of law and custom. Though more dutiful than colorful and in appearance unimpressive--a contemporary described him as "tall, thin, half-starved"--he was intelligent, well informed, well-educated, and capable of clear exposition, with a writer's instinct to resolve and objectify his experience by writing about it, if not with Jefferson's lyrical flow than with Madison's concision and accuracy of phrasing. In this sense his life was surprisingly contemplative (150-151)."
"From his embattled position in the defense of a liberal alternative to totalitarianism, the enemy was ideological perfectionism, the passionate pursuit of which he took to be the driving force behind the twentieth century's tyrannies. No one knew better than Berlin or expressed more brilliantly the genealogy and structure of perfectionist ideas. But their threat to civilization, in the most general terms, lay not in their intrinsic malevolence but in the brutality of those who implacably imposed them: the populist thugs, the fanatical monopolists of power--beings alien to Berlin's sensibilities, incomprehensible to his humanely inquiring mind (260)."
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews