The Death of William Gooch: A History's Anthropology

by Greg Dening

William Gooch died at Waimea on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian chain. Pahupu, Hawaiian warriors 'cut-in-two' by their tattoos, killed him there. He was only twenty-two. Gooch's is a short life indeed on which to base a book. But Greg Dening uses the incident of his murder as the basis for a penetrating study of historical narrative and meaning. Gooch, the young astronomer on board the Daedalus, is written into history through the perceptions and intentions of the historian. This is 'history's anthropology'. The layers of interpretation and meaning are woven into the fabric of the history itself. And this is the historian entwined in the fragments of the past that are sought, found, reworked and retold.

Genres: History, Anthropology

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 1988

About the author

Gregory Moore Dening was an Australian historian of the Pacific.

Reviews

[Garrett Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t have an incredibly nuanced review to leave for this book. All I can say is that this has reinvigorated my love for my profession. Very often I am told that as a historian there are things that I am not able to do because it lies outside the boundaries of my discipline. Dening proves that the boundaries of disciplines are only there to be stretched and retooled by each practitioner. I don’t think I’ll ever consider history in the same way again.

[Rynookai Schriefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book... especially if you live on Oahu. Writer's style is a little poetic, so if you don't like that style, it might not be the book for you.

[AskHistorians]

A striking text that explodes a previously ignored violent 18th century encounter between a British vessel and a group of Hawaiians and mines it for meaning. Dening reflects on the nature of history, memory, encounter, culture, and anthropology throughout this fabulous (and heavily illustrated) book.