On the Spot: Geoffrey Parker
‘What historical topic have I changed my mind on? I underestimated the role of women.’
Why are you a military historian?
I was born in 1943 and grew up in a landscape of desolation. I thought: ‘Great and terrible things happened here, and I want to know why.’
What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?
That taking decisions without studying the past is like driving in traffic without a rear-view mirror.
Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?
Braudel’s La Méditerranée.
What book in your field should everyone read?
Primo Levi’s The Drowned and the Saved, which reminds us how many voices we will never hear, and how those we do may not be typical.
Which moment would you most like to go back to?
The meeting of the surviving commanders of the Spanish Armada on 9 August 1588, as they discussed whether to surrender.
Which historian has had the greatest influence on you?
Sir John Elliott.
Which person in history would you most like to have met?
Emperor Charles V, mainly to ask why he thought he could tell so many lies and not be found out.
How many languages do you have?
Polish with a dictionary and tears; Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese with a dictionary and fewer tears. I can lecture in Spanish and French (with a strong Nottingham accent).
What historical topic have you changed your mind on?
I underestimated the role of women.
What is the most common misconception about your field?
That military history is all about guns and trumpets.
What’s the most exciting field in history today?
Climate history.
Who is the most underrated person in history…
Edward Jenner.
… and the most overrated?
Michel Foucault.
Is there an important historical text you have not read?
The list is too long.
What’s your favourite archive?
The Archivo General de Simancas.
What’s the best museum?
The Rijksmuseum.
What technology has changed the world the most?
Vaccinations.
Recommend us a historical novel...
Wolf Hall.
... and a historical drama?
Grave of the Fireflies.
You can solve one historical mystery. What is it?
Why did Hitler order his troops to halt for three days as they closed in on Dunkirk in May 1940, allowing the evacuation of over 330,000 Allied troops.
Geoffrey Parker is Distinguished University Professor and Andreas Dorpalen Professor of European History at the Ohio State University.
