A review by arquero
The Use and Abuse of History: Or How the Past is Taught to Children by Marc Ferro

3.0

The promise of this book was mesmerizing and there were indeed many interesting observations, particularly the sections about India, Arabs, and Iran. Alas, the book is already rather old, a lot did happen in the meanwhile, particularly in Asia. e.g. I really missed the post-soviet narratives.

Overall, it shows how quite different are the political and civilizational goals around the world. How official history is always subordinate to the state-building policies, how it cannot be apolitical by its very nature, and how the world is not really moving towards reconciliation, but rather loading the populace with one-sided truths.