"The Wild Blue" author, Ambrose, accused of plagerizing

[David]

fnaWife2AFVV

Registered to :Sep 26, 2001
Messages :198
From :
Posted 21-01-2002 at 22:57
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http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/2002/2002-01-14-ambrose-reputation.htm
Quote:
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01/14/2002 - Updated 07:34 AM ET
Will mistakes be a footnote to Ambrose's career?
By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY

Stephen Ambrose's reputation as the leading popularizer of American history will likely survive reports that he copied passages in four of his books from earlier, lesser-known works.

In cases cited by The Weekly Standard and Forbes.com, Ambrose credited other authors in footnotes or a bibliography but not in the text of his books, including The Wild Blue, a best seller on the World War II heroics of former U.S. Sen. George McGovern and other young pilots.

But booksellers and others say the issue matters more to historians and journalists than to most readers, who have made Ambrose, a retired professor, the most popular historian of the past decade:
(snip)
Publishing consultant Lorraine Shanley says readers will "give him the benefit of the doubt. They want to believe him." She notes that "some of the authors he plagiarized ? inadvertently, I assume ? have been more generous than he's been." (Ambrose acknowledges that quotation marks are missing and says attributions will be added in future editions.)
(snip)

Thought this might be of interest to WWII readers....
m


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Profile www Qoute
usmcsgt65

Registered to :Jan 03, 2002
Messages :49
From :Las Vegas, NV
Posted 23-01-2002 at 21:47
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At least he fessed up to quickly, personally, I like his writing style and story telling.Quote:
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"The only new history, is the history you did not read."
President Truman
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Semper Fi

[Cwilkens]

As a teacher and historian

As long as a writer acknowledges his/her sources and tells a good story that arouses the interest of the reader, I think his/her work is valuable.

Mr. Ambrose is a great story teller and he makes history exciting. He works to preserve history;ie, the museum of WWII History in New Orleans dedicated to the Normandy invasion.

His books are extrodinary. He made a mistake. It could have been a simple overlooking and notation, or a good piece discovered and used, or it could have been the arrogance of success.

Whatever it was he acknowledged it when it was pointed out to him.

Hopefully it was a one time thing and I hope that he continues to tell a good story.

cwilkens/ 716 MP BN/ Saigon/ 1967- 68