Even if they leave a memoir, those memoirs are liable to be slanted and faulted. And their story itself is a brainwasher, in a sense. And he or she has his or her own point of view and perspective. Yet, given all these limitations, I would argue that history is utterly essential, essential to making us human. It separates us from the animals.
Human beings interact with their environment.
And out of that interaction comes a culture. And what history is, is our memory, our collective memory of that culture. It puts us in touch with our past. By putting us in touch with our past, our past ceaselessly influences us and even haunts us. A Biography of America is a series of 26 programs that tell the American story through narrative lecture, discussion and debate.