Evaluating Historical Materials

Many who read history make the mistake of accepting at face
value all the information an author presents. This is true of those
reading a single history book and those conducting historical
research and analysis. In reality, only part of any historical work is
uncontested fact; the rest is the author's interpretation or opinion of
how and why things happened. In addition, errors of fact can easily
be found in most books, articles, or documents due to the author's
error or errors in the documents he used in his research. The
realization of these failings often causes some readers to go to the
extreme of doubting all that they read. History can be of immense
value to any reader, including the professional soldier, if these
shortcomings are recognized and the facts are carefully sifted. To
do this, the reader must critically evaluate the book he is reading or
the materials he is using in his analysis.
This CSI Report deals with ideas and techniques the professional
soldier can use to assess historical materials critically. The soldier
can apply this evaluation process to individual history books or the
assorted documents, articles, and .monographs used in historical
research. There is nothing complex or even magical about this
procedure. The techniques are basically the same commonsense
rules or guides the average person uses every day. Essentially, the
reader, much as a consumer, is concerned with the quality of the
materials used in making the item, the craftsmanship of the person
or persons who did the work, and the purpose for which the item
was designed to serve.