A Bit More on Historians and Plagiarism

Since this issue has been our primary focus of discussion, I thought some of you would enjoy these additional sources.

Sources on Stephen Ambrose:

The Weekly Standard Stephen Ambrose Copycat Article click here.
How the Ambrose story developed click here. Story by HNN.
Los Angeles Times article on Ambrose click here.

Sources on Doris Kearns Goodwin:

How the Goodwin story developed click here. Story by HNN.
Doris Kernes Goodwin: Liar article click here.
Forbes Magazine article on Goodwin click here.

Of course these arn't the only historians to have been caught for plagiarism. They are, however, two very big names in the historical community, and therefore receive the greatest amount of publicity for their misdeeds.

"Historians in the Hot Seat"

In light of Lindsey's recent comments on Ellis, I thought this posting would be an appropriate way to keep the discussion alive. I have to credit our fellow contributor, Brian Tubbs, and his website The American Founding Blog for inspiring me to write this posting. On his blog you will find a recent posting on David McCullough, and the criticism surrounding his work. One of the sources that Brian mentions is a CBS News article entitled Historians Under Fire. The article makes the claim that several popular historians have, in recent years, come under fire for some of their questionable research methods. The article mentions some of the accusations of plagiarism facing the late Stephen Ambrose, most of which have been confirmed through a detailed inquiry into several of his books. There is also mention of McCullough's questionable research methods, especially in regards to his biographies on John Adams and Harry Truman. The Truman allegations are virtually undeniable, a reality that even McCullough has admitted to. McCullough has also recently admitted to taking sources and quotations for his John Adams book out of context.

Ambrose and McCullough are not the only historians to come under attack. In recent years, several news organizations have published allegations against a number of leading historians. As we have already discussed, historian Joseph Ellis has been a popular target in recent years. (read Lindsey's posting below for more on Ellis). Doris Kerns Goodwin, the highly acclaimed presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author of No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the very popular Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, has faced some severe criticism for plagiarism that is virtually indisputable. Both the New York Times and The Weekly Standard broke the stories regarding Goodwin's plagiarism. They point out the fact that Goodwin’s book The Fitzgerald’s and the Kennedy’s is virtually a carbon copy of work done by authors Rose Kennedy, Hank Searl, and Lynne McTaggart. Peter King of the L.A. Times has also noted that Goodwin's Pulitzer Prize winning book No Ordinary Time consists of several pages that are a virtual copy of Joseph Lash’s Eleanor and Franklin and Hugh Gregory Gallagher’s FDR’s Splendid Deception. The plagiarism in Goodwin's works is so blatant that several newspapers have published her writings along side the stolen texts, proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Goodwin copied from other sources (just so I don't get in trouble, you can click here and here for sources on Goodwin's plagiarism).

The History News Network has put together a list of historians in the "hot seat." Faced with the allegations of plagiarism, these historians face a difficult road in recovering their lost credibility. After all, plagiarism is to the writer, what steroids is to the athlete. Lesson to the wise: CITE YOUR SOURCES!!! It's really not that hard. Here is the link to the History News Network's article on plagiarism, and here is the link to the History News Network's list of "Historians in the Hot Seat."