Mark Johnson opines that Stephen Ambrose is the “Michael Jordan of historians“.
Since his comment system appears to be broken (but isn’t, I’ve learned, so my initial post is there twice — Mark, fyi), I’ll post my response right here:
Doesn’t the fact that Ambrose has done a bit of plagiarizing bother you? (one report of details)
Greatest historian of all time is not only too strong for Ambrose, but a travesty to many stronger writers, storytellers, and scholars given his penchant for borrowing the words of others. I’ve read only one Ambrose history, Nothing like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869, and it was a decent story, but it didn’t sing. It was a good survey that made me want to read the originals, but nothing more.