Making History

The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past

By: Richard Cohen

Narrated by: Richard Cohen

A “supremely entertaining” (The New Yorker) exploration of who gets to record the world’s history—from Julius Caesar to William Shakespeare to Ken Burns—and how their biases influence our understanding about the past.

There are many stories we can spin about previous ages, but which accounts get told? And by whom? Is there even such a thing as “objective” history? In this “witty, wise, and elegant” (The Spectator), book, Richard Cohen reveals how professional historians and other equally significant witnesses, such as the writers of the Bible, novelists, and political propagandists, influence what becomes the accepted record. Cohen argues, for example, that some historians are practitioners of “Bad History” and twist reality to glorify themselves or their country.

“Scholarly, lively, quotable, up-to-date, and fun” (Hilary Mantel, author of the bestselling Thomas Cromwell trilogy), Making History investigates the published works and private utterances of our greatest chroniclers to discover the agendas that informed their—and our—views of the world. From the origins of history writing, when such an activity itself seemed revolutionary, through to television and the digital age, Cohen brings captivating figures to vivid light, from Thucydides and Tacitus to Voltaire and Gibbon, Winston Churchill and Henry Louis Gates. Rich in complex truths and surprising anecdotes, the result is a revealing exploration of both the aims and art of history-making, one that will lead us to rethink how we learn about our past and about ourselves.

Critic reviews

"It’s hard to imagine any other narrator performing this audiobook as effectively, and equally hard to imagine this narrator performing any work other than his own. A well-known British publisher and author, Richard Cohen has a strong, distinctive, heavily accented voice, untrained but engaging — a grandpa voice. It’s one you grow accustomed to over time and eventually come to appreciate as his information-packed and idiosyncratic narrative unfolds."

Fascinating with one Blemish

This is a book about 25 centuries worth of historians creating history. His knowledge is encyclopedic and he is a terrific story teller– an excellent, pithy writer. Cohen really made me think about the similarity between “nonfiction” and fiction storytellers. His survey includes conventional historians like Thucydides, Gibbon, and Foner. But it also includes writers of historical fiction like Shakespeare, and photographic historians like Matthew Brady and Ken Burns.  It’s a long work, but has maintained my interest. The only major blemish is the narration. Cohen, like many egotistical authors, does his own narrations. Regrettably he attempts French, Russian, Southern USA, etc. accents. HIs take on Lincoln’s words was truly cringeworthy. Even worse, it seems that he did the recording on an iPhone. The sound production is poor and contains continual edits where the tone and dynamics of his voice change. This is the only reason I gave the audiobook four stars. 

Brilliant, intellectually ambitious, wide-ranging

Necessarily limited to Western historiography.

Only weakness: author's unfortunate efforts to sound "American" in citing sources.

Great overview of historiography

I didn’t like the narrator at first but I warmed to him. I really love the book. I’m a historian myself and so I’ve read most of the historians Cohan discussed, but I loved his take on things and ordered a few books he interested me in. I especially liked his various categories, such as professionals, participants, and TV presenters. I may listen again one day, but I’ve got a long list to tackle first.

Missing 20 pages from book

Missing first 20 pages from chapter 10. Audible refuses to take responsibility. What’s going on?

Good summary of the history of historians

Fine montage of the. Keepers of the Flame-Cohen brings a keen insight to those storytellers we know as historians.