''Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It?'' is a 2002 book about

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

Michael Shermer Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of ''Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientific ...

and

Alex Grobman Alex Grobman is an American historian.
"Holocaust revisionism deconstructed," Feb. 4, 2006, Josh Bains ...

with collaboration of

Arthur Hertzberg Arthur Hertzberg (June 9, 1921 – April 17, 2006) was a Conservative rabbi and prominent Jewish-American scholar and activist. Biography Avraham Hertzberg was born in Lubaczów, Poland, the eldest of five children, and left Europe in 1926 with ...

Reviews

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' gave the book a positive review explaining, "Keeping their focus on larger questions about historical rigor and public memory, Shermer (a professor of the history of science at

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

and publisher of ''Skeptic'' magazine) and Grobman (''Rekindling the Flame'') look closely at the methods employed by deniers and those used by legitimate historians. "Holocaust denial," they argue, "is not just a Jewish issue. It is an attack on all history and the way we transmit the past to the future." Drawing on a wide array of evidence and interviews they conducted with famous deniers (including

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include ''The Destruction of Dresden'' (19 ...

) and text from their Web sites and literature, the authors explore the difference between legitimate historical revisionism and pseudohistorical denial."

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

wrote "...Shermer and Grobman do more than just refute ridiculous allegations. They also use the example of Holocaust denial literature to examine free speech issues, the psychology of right-wing extremists, and the role of biases in historical research." They further "reveal that Holocaust Denial is not skepticism, and that the revisionists are not being genuinely skeptical. Honest skepticism involves an inquisitive attitude which, as far as is humanly possible, is not marred by political or ethnic prejudices. Skepticism also involves a willingness to follow the evidence wherever it leads, rather than ignoring that which does not fit preconceived desires."

References

Bibliography

External links

Denying History
from MichaelShermer.com 2002 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Books about Holocaust denial Books by Michael Shermer English-language books Holocaust studies University of California Press books {{Holocaust-book-stub