Invented History, Fabricated Power
The Narrative Shaping of Civilization and Culture
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Anthem Press
Published:16th Nov '20
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£45.00(9781839986130)
This book explores over twenty cultures, revealing how rulers, empires, and religions have bolstered their power through fictional histories, divine claims, and fabricated narratives, culminating in a critique of contemporary liberal democracy.
Invented History, Fabricated Power explores the ways in which various cultures, both ancient and contemporary, have constructed narratives to bolster authority and power. The book delves into over twenty societies from Eastern and Western traditions, highlighting how kings, empires, religions, and communities have utilized fictional histories, claims of divine origins, and fabricated genealogies to enhance their legitimacy.
Beginning with a look at prehistoric beliefs in spirits and rituals among tribal peoples, the author illustrates how these early forms of spirituality laid the groundwork for later divine sanctioning of rulers across civilizations such as the Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. As these kingdoms expanded into empires, the creation of grand narratives and genealogies served to portray their superiority and greatness, often intertwining with the miraculous lives of religious founders from various faiths, including Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.
The narrative also examines the unique case of the Roman Church, which crafted papal authority through forgeries, as well as the doctrine of discovery that justified European conquests during the Age of Exploration. The book further discusses how both Marxist and Nazi ideologies produced self-serving narratives disguised as political or economic theories. Ultimately, the text critiques the current liberal democratic framework, acknowledging its aspirational goals while also addressing the challenges and limitations it faces as a sustainable narrative in the long term.
By focusing on the way political elites have used constructed narrative as a way of validating their claims to power, the author offers a fresh and convincing analytical framework for understanding the emergence of powerful leaders from ancient times to the present.
The author offers a convincing argument that power needs to be considered as something less tangible than mere control of economies or military systems. Historians should also consider power as an invention of elites who for millennia have used artists and story tellers to weave narratives to ‘convince’ people of the legitimacy of claims to power being made by political elites.
In Invented History, the author reminds us that for millennia history has essentially been a narrative shaped by legions of storytellers and artists, who have used their narrative skills to offer explicit validation for the claims to authority and leadership made by political elites.
By providing a comprehensive overview of the role of narrative in the invention and maintenance of power, the author has provided historians who work in larger scales a new approach to the psychology of power, and the sociology of nationalist and imperialist thinking by entire populations. — Dr. Craig Benjamin, PhD, Professor of History, Frederik J. Meijer Honors College, Grand Valley State University
Official Review: Nonfiction Authors Association Award (NFAA) Author Barry Wood’s Invented History, Fabricated Power is a detailed journey through the ages depicting how fictional narratives and storytelling have been used to create histories that have woven their way into cultures around the world. The book traces these different narratives of power from prominent cultures over the years (from the earliest phase of society associated with kingship down to modern examples that include Hitler) and across the globe, while asking us to think of power as an intangible invention of leaders, elites, artists, sculptors, or storytellers in imperial courts. The author’s approach to his topic is thoughtful, research-based, and methodical. Overall, an excellent way to begin thoughtful conversations about how we create and view history – for adult scholars or simply those with an interest.
Historical Events in a Different Light (NFAA Review) I liked this book. It presents historical events in a different light that fully justifies its title. There is never a dull paragraph, every word resonating with some of my pet feelings. And the copious bibliography is capable of adding to it. I agree with the author—the human situation is to the point where our inventive imagination is turning in random directions. And the once promising ideal narrative of liberal democracy for all of humanity is moving more and more away from us.
Official Review: Nonfiction Authors Association Award (NFAA) Author Barry Wood’s Invented History, Fabricated Power is a detailed journey through the ages depicting how fictional narratives and storytelling have been used to create "histories" that have woven their way into cultures around the world. The book traces these different narratives of power from prominent cultures over the years (from the earliest phase of society associated with kingship down to modern examples that include Hitler) and across the globe, while asking us to think of power as an intangible invention of leaders, elites, artists, sculptors, or storytellers in imperial courts. The author’s approach to his topic is thoughtful, research-based, and methodical. Overall, an excellent way to begin thoughtful conversations about how we create and view history – for adult scholars or simply those with an interest.
Historical Events in a Different Light (NFAA Review) I liked this book. It presents historical events in a different light that fully justifies its title. There is never a dull paragraph, every word resonating with some of my pet feelings. And the copious bibliography is capable of adding to it. I agree with the author—the human situation is to the point where our inventive imagination is turning in random directions. And the once promising ideal narrative of liberal democracy for all of humanity is moving more and more away from us.
ISBN: 9781785274756
Dimensions: 229mm x 153mm x 26mm
Weight: 454g
402 pages