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I probably wouldn't call it reliable, going on what I've read about it, tho blasting it does seem to be an overly popular past-time on the web, and I wonder is a lot of it just nit-pickery.

The bits I've read have tallied with what I know, so this book has earned pride of place in the main bog in the house, displacing 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die[/url:2u937r83]. While both are enjoyable I won't be basing my thesis on either.

"Tube":1riibvzr wrote: I probably wouldn't call it reliable, going on what I've read about it, tho blasting it does seem to be an overly popular past-time on the web, and I wonder is a lot of it just nit-pickery.[/quote:1riibvzr]

its published by Oxford University Press Inc, one of the leading academic publishers, peer review and fact check are part and parcel that goes with such a publication

if the editor in charge cant get the correct information or trust those that contributed to it should not be published or at least issue a disclaimer when erroneous materiel has been used

Not making excuses, but history can be notoriously difficult to pin down (the Great Famine: 1 million died, 1 million emigrated, so where did the other 2 million disappear to?).

There is no excuse for getting plain facts wrong tho.

"Tube":16jxi0kp wrote: history can be notoriously difficult to pin down[/quote:16jxi0kp]The problem here is that the OCB has repeated pervasive myths that have long been thoroughly, publicly, discredited. The correct information was all out there, originally sourced and cited, but was ignored by the authors.

It is a lovely book, and it's great that it exists, I think. And it does explode more than a couple of the pervasive myths, but it has too many huge howlers to be considered actually reliable, which is a pity.

"Tube":377j1wnj wrote: Not making excuses, but history can be notoriously difficult to pin down (the Great Famine: 1 million died, 1 million emigrated, so where did the other 2 million disappear to?).

There is no excuse for getting plain facts wrong tho.[/quote:377j1wnj]

Ah yea very true, it think would be a bit much expecting everyone to got reference every statement with archive material. But repeating myths that have been debunked and by histories who blog their finds and publishes there work is an issue

"Tube":2hiw6jbd wrote: Not making excuses, but history can be notoriously difficult to pin down (the Great Famine: 1 million died, 1 million emigrated, so where did the other 2 million disappear to?).

There is no excuse for getting plain facts wrong tho.[/quote:2hiw6jbd]
The population was in steady decline after the famine.
It was 1926 before it hit its low point 4 million lower than the pre-famine high <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->