Popular History: Are the Facts Being Obscured? Listen

A scene from Columbia's Black Hawk Down

Forums: Are you concerned about the accuracy of the historical books and movies you consume?

Most Americans get their history not from history class, but from the bookstore. The genre of "popular history" has undergone explosive growth in the past few years, with books by David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Stephen Ambrose rocketing to the top of the best-sellers list. But Ambrose's recent admission of plagiarism has fired heated debate over the role that popular history plays in the American consciousness. As the Ambrose case shows, these books may not be held to the same standards of accuracy that so-called "academic" histories are forced to follow. Are Americans, infatuated with popular histories, reading accurate histories at all? Are these nothing more than "valentines" - feel-good renditions - to historical darlings? How do these popular histories influence the American citizenry's sense of itself?

Guests:

Donald Rumsfeld

Read Robert Wright's article "Rumsfeld's Moment"

Forums: What do you think of Donald Rumsfeld and the job he is doing?

Donald Rumsfeld: Secretary of Defense and National Icon Listen

He's witty, straight-talking, and gets more air time than perhaps anyone in the Bush Administration, including the President himself. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is anything but politically correct. He admitted he would like to see Osama bin Laden dead. He openly said he "did not feel even the slightest concern" about the treatment of the al Qaeda prisoners brought to Guantanamo Bay. His press conferences have not only kept Americans abreast of the war, but have provided some of the most enjoyable television over the past several months.

This hour, in the first of a series of shows on the players in the war on terrorism, we profile Donald Rumsfeld. "He was shaping as a poor secretary of defense, but he's been a great secretary of war," says one critic. This hour's guest warns that Rumsfeld's straight-talking could be harming America's perception in other parts of the world. This hour, a look at Donald Rumsfeld.

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