A superb book. The writing is fluid, the material fascinating, the interpretive points made gracefully and effectively. -- Jeffrey Wasserstrom, author of China in the Twenty-First Century: What Everyone Needs to Know A remarkable and fascinating foray by a distinguished Chinese historian into the realms of history, memory, and 'history stories,' those tales we tell about past events that help us understand and instill meaning into the present, even at the cost of distorting the past. Analyzing several celebrated cases of refashioned distant historical moments, ranging from Masada and King Goujian to the Battle of Kosovo and Joan of Arc, Cohen lucidly demonstrates how at times of crisis modern societies reach back for succor and inspirationto the stories and myths of their greatest triumphs and defeats. -- Omer Bartov, author of Erased: Vanishing Traces of Jewish Galicia in Present-Day Ukraine Paul A. Cohen cements his place as one of the most original contemporary historians, this time by going beyond his area of expertise, China, to draw parallels with other countries on the uses of history. Written in his usual vigorous, accessible style, Cohen meditates on the intersection of myth and history, showing the universality of storytelling in the human experience. -- Ian Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and writer, author of Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China Bold, complex, yet wholly accessible and in places profoundly moving, this exquisite work seamlessly weaves together story, poetry, history, public memory, and savvy political analysis, threaded through with keen observations about the human experience. Paul Cohen has moved the historian's craft almost to the level of art. -- Nina Tumarkin, author of The Living and the Dead: The Rise and Fall of the Cult of World War II in Russia Cohen uses dramatic and colorful historical episodes to illustrate the guiding power of culturally shared stories. A landmark intellectual achievement. -- David B. Pillemer, University of New Hampshire

When people experience a traumatic event, such as war or the threat of annihilation, they often turn to history for stories that promise a positive outcome to their suffering. During World War II, the French took comfort in the story of Joan of Arc and her heroic efforts to rid France of foreign occupation. To bring the Joan narrative more into line with current circumstances, however, popular retellings modified the original story so that what people believed took place in the past was often quite different from what actually occurred. Paul A. Cohen identifies this interplay between story and history as a worldwide phenomenon, found in countries of radically different cultural, religious, and social character. He focuses here on Serbia, Israel, China, France, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, all of which experienced severe crises in the twentieth century and, in response, appropriated age-old historical narratives that resonated with what was happening in the present to serve a unifying, restorative purpose. A central theme in the book is the distinction between popular memory and history. Although vitally important to historians, this distinction is routinely blurred in people's minds, and the historian's truth often cannot compete with the power of a compelling story from the past, even when it has been seriously distorted by myth or political manipulation. Cohen concludes by suggesting that the patterns of interaction he probes, given their near universality, may well be rooted in certain human propensities that transcend cultural difference.