Boston Globe columnist Cathy Young tries to turn the tables on those attacking Ward Churchill by pouring some light on the scholarship of historian Thomas Woods, Jr., author of “The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History” and co-founder of the pro-secession League of the South. (Hat tip: Real Clear Politics)
UNC law professor Eric Muller has been on the case of Woods already at length. Both Muller and Young have raked Woods over the coals, as his controversial book climbs the bestseller charts.
It looks to me as if we may have a new punching bag for the Left. To what extent does the history professor deserve such excoriation? Muller and Young say Woods has received highly insufficient critique from the political and cultural right. I’m not sure about that, but it does not surprise me.
As someone with a graduate degree in American history and a perspective very different from both the liberal academic establishment and the neo-Confederate reactionaries, I plan to investigate the matter over the coming days and report back to my faithful blog readers. I wasn’t familiar at all with Woods until I saw a copy of his book advertised in a conservative book club mailer. I remember scoffing at the cover with healthy skepticism. Let’s see where that leads….
Update and Correction: Thanks to a tip from Joshua,, I can see I’m a bit behind the curve. Glenn Reynolds already debunked the book. And I should have checked out what the folks over at Claremont had to say first. Nevertheless, I plan to offer up some extended remarks this evening.
My prior statement that indicated they said conservatives had given the book unvarnished praise was an overstatement and has been modified. Ms. Young in her article did mention the critiques of Reynolds and Max Boot but made the larger point that the center-right had been mostly silent.
“Unvarnished praise?” Hardly. Glenn Reynolds (libertarian) has linked to any number of righties who viewed the book first with skepticism, then with disdain.
Muller and Young need to get out more.