It is a lot more thoughtful and considerate than others I have seen. As we increase in our knowledge of history, the temptation is to exercise power over those who are gone, render judgment on them, and emerge from the exercise justified, righteous, and pure. The dead are at our mercy–they cannot come back and offer their explanations, their justifications, their apologies, or their acts of restitution. The dead are a source of contemplation for us in the present they offer us perspective, humility, and aid us in our own self-examination as we study their lives. And we love the dead for their own sakes, rather than for some utilitarian purpose we might have for them.
Loving the dead means we tell the truth about them, as far as it is possible given our limitations and the complexities of the past. This love is not sentimental, nor does this love absolve the subjects of their sins. Schweiger argues that the Christian historian has a duty to love the historical subjects she studies, who are now dead. It is an essay on writing history by Beth Barton Schweiger, entitled “Seeing Things: Knowledge and Love in History,” published in Confessing History: Explorations in Christian Faith and The Historian’s Vocation. I make my criticism through the lens of one of the most powerful essays I have ever read. More than anything, this passage from the review grabbed hold of my imagination, and had me wondering of a better way: Wilsey lays his cards on the table, "I admit, at times I wanted to find ways to argue that she (Du Mez) was objectively wrong." And still, as a victim of abuse himself, Wilsey also writes, "any honest appraisal of a book like this must reckon with the ugly details of the narrative.
What a honest soul searching review! Now, I am a poor reader of books, and easily persuaded, so take my appreciation for the review with that in mind. Well this review really nailed it in my opinion. The review caught my eye as the book has been mentioned numerous times on the sub, and I've had a kind of uneasy feeling about the book.