History in the Media

January 1, 2007
Adult/High School-This volume provides an overview of the use of propaganda and bias, and the historical accuracy in more than 350 films and film series. The author chose works that are based on personal stories, or that portray documented historical incidents. The majority of films discussed deal with 19th- and 20th-century events. Organization is by broad topics such as the military, sports, music, race relations, labor, business, politics, and crime. Entries range from about a half-page to two pages. The extensive index includes film titles, actors, and others involved in the filmmaking process, historical characters and events, awards, and more. Film and history students and those researching social and cultural themes will find this a useful resource."Madeleine G. Wright, New Hampton School, NH"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2006
Film and television draw largely upon history, but history can sometimes be distorted to make a better story. Author Niemi explores this discrepancybetween reality and media in his book about visual chronicling of the military, sports, art, race relations, crime, business, and politics.

The book focuses on films and television programs that are firmly based on a documented historical incident, occurring mainly in the twentieth century. Most productions are U.S. based. Additionally, most titles are dramatizations of events (docudramas) rather than strict documentaries. Arrangement is topical and, within chapters, chronological. More than one-third of the book is dedicated to military history.

Coverage is selective. There are 20 baseball films compared to 5 on football and 1 on basketball. Several anti-Vietnam movies are fully covered, but " Green Berets" receives only a sentence or two. " JFK "is here, but " Nixon" isn't. Most readers will be able to think of additional titles for most of the topics covered.

Niemi introduces each main topic with a short narrative time line. Entries for films and occasional television offerings entries average one page in length. Each discusses the event or person who is the basis for the movie. Some awards are noted. Niemi highlights the discrepancies between the media portrayal and the actuality, sometimes ascribing the reason to societal context (such as Cole Porter's lack of homosexuality in the 1946 movie " Night and Day"). An extensive bibliography and name index conclude the volume.

This book is a borderline reference work, better suited for browsing than quick fact-finding. It reflects the author's personal choices so it is not exhaustive or even clearly aligned with consistent criteria for inclusion. It is, however, a very accessible work and fun to read. For larger film and media collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)