Scribble, Scribble, Scribble: Writing on Politics, Ice Cream, Churchill, and My Mother

British historian Simon Schama is not afraid to leave the Ivory Tower. A jet-setter who has starred in documentaries across the globe, Schama is famed for popularizing history and art through award-winning, educational films. Television programs such as his “History of Britain” series on BBC have made Schama’s scholarship accessible to readers outside the academy – including me.

Buy this book from:

Related stories

• The American Future: A History
• 10 books to help you understand the UK election results
• The demise of handwriting – reports greatly exaggerated?
• Visit book editor Marjorie Kehe's Fan page (Facebook.com)

I first encountered Schama’s films in a high school classroom, and I have been a fan ever since. Few historians – before or since – have been able to make me feel so invested in the drama of the past. Given this experience, I eagerly picked up Schama’s latest book Scribble, Scribble, Scribble: Writing on Politics, Ice Cream, Churchill, and My Mother.

What I discovered was a diamond in the rough – an anthology which included both striking and dull essays, but which could have dazzled readers if only Schama had focused on what he does best: historical analysis, character sketches, and personal essays.

9 books Bill Gates thinks you should read

Schama excels at those forms of writing partly because of his uncommon psychological insight. He is masterful at explaining how people tick, and this is true whether he is describing himself or others. His shining moment in the anthology is the essay, “Rembrandt’s Ghost,” in which he discusses Picasso’s admiration of Rembrandt and shows how these two artists, despite their very different aesthetics, had kindred spirits and similar motivations for their work. Another standout is “Rescuing Churchill,” in which Schama eloquently defends Churchill from modern critics, as in this passage:

“It is, in fact, to Churchill’s imperishable credit that, faced with the alternatives of hanging on to the scraps of empire, courtesy of Adolf Hitler, or fighting to the end, whatever long-term damage might accrue to British power, he unhesitatingly opted for the latter. Even for its most conspicuous eulogist, better by far an ‘end of glory’ than the end of freedom.”

For such gems alone, this collection is worth reading.

However, not all the essays were so insightful.

1 | 2

Next