David Hackett Fischer
David Hackett Fischer | |
---|---|
Born | December 2, 1935 |
Occupation | Professor |
Nationality | United States |
Genre | History |
Notable works | Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History); Albion's Seed |
David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor and Earl Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have tackled everything from large macroeconomic and cultural trends (Albion's Seed, The Great Wave) to narrative histories of significant events (Paul Revere's Ride, Washington's Crossing) to explorations of historiography (Historians' Fallacies, in which he coined the term Historian's fallacy).
He is best known for two major works: Albion's Seed and Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History). In Albion's Seed, he argues that core aspects of American culture stem from four British folkways and regional cultures and that their interaction and conflict have been decisive factors in U.S. political and historical development. In the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington's Crossing, Fischer provides a narrative of George Washington's leadership of the Continental Army during the winter of 1776–1777 during the American Revolutionary War.
In 2008 he published Champlain's Dream, an exploration of Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer and founder of Quebec City. The book was a runner-up in the 2009 Cundill Prize.
Fischer received a B.A. from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. He received the 2006 Irving Kristol Award from the American Enterprise Institute. He was admitted as an honorary member of The Society of the Cincinnati in 2006.
Selected works
- Historians' Fallacies : Toward a Logic of Historical Thought (1970) ISBN 0-06-131545-1
- The Revolution of American Conservatism: The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy (1976) ISBN 0-226-25135-7
- Growing Old in America (1977) Series: Chester Bland--Dwight E. Lee Lectures in History.
- Concord: The Social History of a New England Town 1750–1850 (1984) (Editor)
- Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (1989) ISBN 0-19-503794-4
- Paul Revere's Ride (1994) ISBN 0-19-508847-6
- The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History (2000) ISBN 0-19-505377-X
- Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History) (2004) ISBN 0-19-517034-2
- Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America's Founding Ideas (2005) ISBN 0-19-516253-6
- Champlain's Dream: (2008)
- Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies: New Zealand and the United States (2012)
External links
- A review of David Hackett Fischer's Historians' Fallacies : Toward a Logic of Historical Thought
- Brandeis University History Department Faculty Page
- They Didn't Name That Lake for Nothing, Sunday Book Review, The New York Times, Oct. 31, 2008
- Booknotes interview with Fischer on Paul Revere's Ride, July 17, 1994.
- In Depth interview with Fischer November 7, 2004
- 1935 births
- Living people
- American academics
- American historians
- Historians of the United States
- Pulitzer Prize for History winners
- Princeton University alumni
- Johns Hopkins University alumni
- Brandeis University faculty
- 20th-century American writers
- 21st-century American writers
- 20th-century historians
- 21st-century historians