"Who are these unread historians , I am very curious!"
Take your pick
Keith claims to have read both Issac Deuscher and Robert Conquest on Stalin.
They contain basic contradictions totally unmissable to anybody who has read them, yet he refuses to commit himself on what that is.
He claims to have made a life's study of World War One yet was totally unaware that it led to nationwide revolution in Germany which was almost successful - he dismissed it as "made-up shit".
He used Max Hastings, a non-qualified tabloid journalist (he insisted on qualified, living, published-in-real-bookshops historians for the rest of us) as a source - having being given a review of Hastings book which shows him somewhat critical of the war and its leaders, he first dismissed it as a rubbish review, then claims the writer wasn't a historian, then claims that Hastings praise of the review was not genuine and finally settles on "Hastings doesn't contradicts my three points" - a sort of fumbling around until he finds an excuse.
That sort of behaviour does not inspire confidence that he has any real knowledge on the subject.
I don't claim to have read these people, but I stumbled on a copy of Margaret McMillan's book a few weeks ago and was able to spot thay as she said herself - the aspects of the war (the ones we are discussion) are incredibly complex and cannot be dealt with in soundbite-sizes responses - much of what I was able to read of her showed her to contradict or at least, only partially back up what Keith is claiming.
It stands to sense that relying on quick trawls of the net is stupid and simply dishonest.
It it utterly ludicrous to suggest that history has a sell-by date and all information has to come from living historians.
No new information of any significance has been discovered over that last twenty years - what has happened is that, at the centenary of the war a group of historians have decided to rehabilitate WW1 as well led and acceptable, and have adopted the extremely insulting tactic of suggesting that the British people's knowledge of that war is based on a television sit-com.
Keith and Terrytoon have both taken to that tactic like ducks to water.
And that's the case for the defense - yer 'onour
"All lies", no doubt!!
Jim Carroll