Official History Books and Works List
An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced for a government. The term also applies to commissions from non-state bodies including histories of commercial companies. An official biography (one written with the permission, cooperation and sometimes the participation of its subject or heirs) is an authorised biography.
Official histories frequently have the advantage that the author has had access to archives, been allowed to interview subjects and use other primary sources closed to independent historians. Because of the close relationship between author and subject, such works may be (or be perceived to be) partisan in tone and to lack historical objectivity. Such bias varies and some official histories have been called exercises in propaganda; in other cases the authors have retained a measure of independence.
Read more...
Voting Rules
- You can vote up or down. Please always consider the context when voting, e.g. a song should be voted up or down with respect to the other songs contained on the album, an actor's performance in comparison with other actors in the same movie, a book with respect to other books by the same author or within the same genre.
- A vote can be cancelled by simply clicking the opposite vote within 24 hours. You can then vote again on the same item.
- Each user has one vote per item within a specific list every 24 hours. After 24 hours you can vote again on the same item within the same list.
- You can vote on as many items as you like within a list or on the same item if it's part of another list. For example, you can vote David Bowie up or down on the list of pop music artists as well as on the list of indie rock artists and on the list of rock music artists. etc.
- Happy Voting!