Dominic Sandbrook Explained

Dominic Sandbrook
Birth Date:2 October 1974
Birth Place:Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England

Dominic Christopher Sandbrook, (born 2 October 1974) is a British historian, author, columnist and television presenter.[1] [2] He co-hosts The Rest is History podcast with author Tom Holland.

Early life and career

Sandbrook was born on 2 October 1974 in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England.[3] [4] He was educated at Malvern College, then an all-boys independent school in Worcestershire.[5] [6] He studied history and French at Balliol College, Oxford. He then studied for a Master of Letters (MLitt) degree in history at the University of St Andrews and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at Jesus College, Cambridge.[7] [8] His doctoral thesis was titled "The political career of Senator Eugene McCarthy" and was completed in 2002.[9]

Previously a lecturer in history at the University of Sheffield, he has been a senior fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford University and a member of its history faculty. Sandbrook was a visiting professor at King's College London,[10] and a freelance writer and newspaper columnist. In 2007 he was named one of Waterstone's 25 Authors for the Future. In July 2021, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS).

Authorship

Sandbrook's first book, a biography of the US presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, proved controversial on its publication in the United States in 2004. Writing for H-Net, a forum for scholars in the humanities and social sciences, David Stebenne said it "describes McCarthy's life and work with outstanding grace and clarity", and was "a very fine study of a significant figure that serious students of American postwar history will want to consult."[11] McCarthy himself called the book "almost libellous".[12]

In 2005, Sandbrook published Never Had It So Good, a history of Britain from the Suez Crisis to the Beatles, 1956–63. It was described as a "rich treasure chest of a book" by Anthony Howard in The Daily Telegraph, who wrote of his "respect for the sweep and scope of the author's knowledge".[13] Nick Cohen wrote in The Observer that it was "a tribute to Sandbrook's literary skill that his scholarship is never oppressive. Alternately delightful and enlightening, he has produced a book which must have been an enormous labour to write but is a treat to read".[14] [15] Richard Gott was more sparing in his praise: "Sandbrook does his best, but he lacks the literary talent to cover such a wide canvas and keep the reader awake."[16]

The sequel, White Heat, covering the years 1964–70 and the rise and fall of Harold Wilson's Labour government, was published in August 2006. "Sandbrook's book could hardly be more impressive in its scope", wrote Leo McKinstry in The Times. "He writes with authority and an eye for telling detail."[17] In November 2009, it was named by the Telegraph as "one of the books that defined the Noughties".[18] James Buchan observed, "For all the charm of Dominic Sandbrook's book, with its minute anatomy of social forms and brilliant parade of charlatans and fools, it is hard not to feel that somehow time has not been well used."[19] Unlike some historians of the 1960s, Sandbrook argues it was marked by conservatism and conformity. His books attempt to debunk what he sees as myths associated with the period, from the sexual revolution to student protest, and he challenges the "cultural revolution" thesis associated with historians like Arthur Marwick. Charles Shaar Murray, writing in The Independent, called Sandbrook "the Hoodie Historian" and imagined him "slouching into shot while throwing whatever passes for gang signs in the history department of the University of Sheffield, and announcing to Arthur Marwick, Jonathon Green et al. that 'You is all mi bitches nuh.'"[20]

Sandbrook continued the history of postwar Britain with State of Emergency (2010), covering the period 1970–74,[21] and Seasons in the Sun, which took the story up to the election of Margaret Thatcher as prime minister in 1979. A fifth volume, Who Dares Wins, covering the period 1979–1982, was published in October 2019.[22] Anthony Quinn, reviewing for The Observer, described it as a "long, painstaking and pretty enjoyable haul through Britain in the first three years of the Thatcher government ... ungratifyingly even-handed in his portrait of [Thatcher], alive to the flaws in her character and sharp in confounding the popular myths."[23] For The Sunday Times, Piers Brendon said it was "a rich mixture of political narrative and social reportage ... scholarly, accessible, well written, witty and incisive."[24]

Sandbrook has written articles and reviews for the Daily Mail, The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Observer and The Daily Telegraph and has appeared on BBC radio and television. His Radio Four series SlapDash Britain, charting the rise and fall of British governance since the Second World War, was described by the radio critic Miranda Sawyer as "very brilliant".[25]

Plagiarism accusation

In February 2011, Michael C. Moynihan identified instances of apparent plagiarism in Sandbrook's book Mad as Hell.[26] Moynihan later expressed amazement that there were few repercussions for Sandbrook's career.[27] He suggested that Sandbrook was shielded from criticism by his social connections, saying: "There is an element of protection. Media buddies who go to the same dinner parties and all the rest of it."[28]

In an interview with Brendan O'Neill, Sandbrook rejected the allegations and maintained that he "footnoted his sources, and if popular history books sometimes sound familiar that is because there are only so many ways to say things."

Television and radio

YearTitleBroadcasterNotes
2009Archive on 4

"The Anniversary Anniversary"

Radio 4An examination of people's obsessions with anniversaries[29]
2009Archive on 4

"Pinter On Air"

Radio 4Discussing the role of television and radio dramas in establishing Harold Pinter's reputation
2010SlapDash BritainRadio 4A 2-part series examining bureaucracy and incompetence in British government since the 1950s[30]
2010Archive on 4

"A Working-class Tory Is Something To Be"

Radio 4With David Davis. An exploration of the history of British working-class Conservatives
2011Archive on 4

"Mind Your PMQs"

Radio 4The history and role of Prime Minister's Questions
2011The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post OfficeRadio 4A 15-part series examining the history of the Royal Mail[31]
2012Archive on 4

"Tuning in"

Radio 4The history of British radio entertainment
2012The 70sBBC TwoA 4-part history of Britain during the 1970s[32]
2013Das Auto: The Germans, Their Cars and UsBBC TwoThe ascendence of the post-war automotive industry in Germany[33]
2013Strange Days: Cold War BritainBBC TwoA history of Britain during the Cold War[34]
2014Learning to ListenRadio 4The development of radio listening habits through the 1920s and 1930s[35]
2014Tomorrow's Worlds: The Unearthly History of Science FictionBBC TwoA 4-part history of science fiction[36]
2014Archive on 4

"The Eccentric Entrepreneur"

Radio 4The life of Captain Leonard Plugge
2015Let Us Entertain YouBBC TwoA 4-part history of British post-war culture[37]
2015Archive on 4

"The Future Of The BBC: A History"

Radio 4A history of the BBC and how it may need to change to survive
2016The 80s with Dominic SandbrookBBC TwoA 3-part history of Britain during the 1980s[38]
2016Future Tense - The Story of H.G. WellsBBC OneExamines how H. G. Wells's lower-middle class upbringing in the suburban counties of South East England influenced his early science fiction writing.[39]

Podcast

Since 2020, Sandbrook has co-presented a podcast with historian Tom Holland called The Rest is History.[40]

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Popular historian Dominic Sandbrook: 'I'm no plagiarist' . . Tim . Walker . 8 August 2012 . 20 December 2020.
  2. News: Dominic Sandbrook entertains 800k. 5 November 2015. Matthew. Campelli. Broadcast. 1 December 2015.
  3. Web site: Seasons in the Sun. Penguin Books. 2013. 1 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208115807/http://www.penguin.co.uk/books/seasons-in-the-sun/9780141032160/. 8 December 2015. dead.
  4. Web site: About me. dominicsandbrook.com. 1 December 2015.
  5. News: The Malvern Experience 11–31 July 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20110723200302/http://www.malcol.net/general-information/enterprises/malvern-experience/. Malvern College. Wayback Machine. 1 December 2015. 23 July 2011.
  6. News: https://web.archive.org/web/20100924083048/http://www.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/newsletters/archive/lent-07/21-28-jan. The week ahead. 24 September 2010. Wellington College. Wayback Machine. 1 December 2015. 24 September 2010.
  7. Web site: About . Dominicsandbrook.com . 20 December 2020.
  8. Web site: Newsletter . Royal Historical Society . 5 June 2024 . November 2021.
  9. Sandbrook . Dominic Christopher . 2002 . The political career of Senator Eugene McCarthy . PhD . University of Cambridge . 5 June 2024.
  10. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20130425032725/http://www.dominicsandbrook.com/2013/01/kings-college-london/. King's College London. 25 April 2013. Wayback Machine. dominicsandbrook.com. 1 December 2015.
  11. News: Famous for Fifteen Minutes. David. Stebenne. H-Net. August 2005. 1 December 2015.
  12. News: Former Sen. McCarthy blasts biographer. The Hill. Washington, D.C.. 18 February 2004. 1 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20040609235930/http://www.thehill.com/under_dome/021804.aspx. 9 June 2004. Wayback Machine.
  13. News: The actor-manager's greatest production. Anthony. Howard. The Daily Telegraph. London. 1 May 2005. 1 December 2015.
  14. News: Nick Cohen. Nick. Cohen. The 60s? They began in '56. The Observer. London. 1 May 2005. 1 December 2015.
  15. See also Henrik Bering, "Taking the great out of Britain." Policy Review, no. 133, 2005, p. 88+. online
  16. News: Supermac and CND . The Guardian . Richard . Gott . Richard Gott . 7 May 2005 . 26 June 2023.
  17. News: The Times. London. 5 August 2006. Leo McKinstry. Leo. McKinstry. Which decade really swung?.
  18. News: Brian. MacArthur. 100 books that defined the noughties. The Daily Telegraph. London. 13 November 2009. 1 December 2015.
  19. News: Carry on governing. James. Buchan. 23 September 2006. The Guardian.
  20. News: Children of the revolution?. Charles Shaar Murray. Charles Shaar. Murray. The Independent. London. 11 August 2006. 1 December 2015.
  21. News: Simon Sebag Montefiore. Simon Sebag. Montefiore. State of Emergency by Dominic Sandbrook: review. The Sunday Telegraph. London. 10 October 2010. 1 December 2015.
  22. Web site: Sandbrook . Dominic . Who Dares Wins . www.penguin.co.uk . 9 October 2019 . en . 9 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191009112145/https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/188/188548/who-dares-wins/9781846147371.html . dead .
  23. News: Who Dares Wins: Britain, 1979-1982 by Dominic Sandbrook – review. Anthony. Quinn. 30 September 2019. 11 October 2019. The Observer. London.
  24. News: Who Dares Wins by Dominic Sandbrook review — how Thatcher led to Brexit. Piers. Brendon. The Sunday Times. London. 22 September 2019. 11 October 2019.
  25. News: Miranda Sawyer. Miranda. Sawyer. The Observer. London. Nicky Campbell; SlapDash Britain; Jeremy Vine. 20 June 2010. 1 December 2015.
  26. News: When the Tea Party Began . Michael C. Moynihan. Michael C.. Moynihan . The Wall Street Journal. New York City . 12 February 2011. subscription . 15 August 2013.
  27. News: Foster. Kamer. Q & A: Michael C. Moynihan, The Guy Who Uncovered Jonah Lehrer's Fabrication Problem . . New York City. 30 July 2012. 15 August 2013.
  28. News: The US journalist who exposed Jonah Lehrer wonders why his criticisms of Dominic Sandbrook were ignored. https://web.archive.org/web/20120810011615/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100175278/the-us-journalist-who-exposed-jonah-lehrer-wonders-why-his-criticisms-of-dominic-sandbrook-were-ignored/. dead. 10 August 2012. Brendan O'Neill (journalist). Brendan. O'Neill. The Daily Telegraph. London. 8 August 2012. 1 December 2015.
  29. Web site: RadioListings. Archive On 4. 3 November 2016. 11 November 2016.
  30. Web site: SlapDash Britain. BBC. 2010. 11 November 2016.
  31. Web site: The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office. Radio 4. 2016. 11 November 2016.
  32. Web site: The 70s. BBC. 2013. 11 November 2016.
  33. Web site: Das Auto: The Germans, Their Cars and Us. BBC. 2013. 11 November 2016.
  34. Web site: Strange Days: Cold War Britain. BBC. 1 December 2015. 2015.
  35. Web site: Learning to Listen. 2014. BBC. 11 November 2016.
  36. Web site: Tomorrow's Worlds: The Unearthly History of Science Fiction. BBC. 2014. 11 November 2016.
  37. Web site: Dominic Sandbrook: Let Us Entertain You. BBC. 2016. 11 November 2016.
  38. Web site: The 80s with Dominic Sandbrook. BBC. 2016. 11 November 2016.
  39. Web site: Future Tense - The Story of H.G. Wells. BBC. 11 November 2016. 2016.
  40. News: Cunliffe . Rachel . The Rest is History is breathtaking in its scope . 27 July 2022 . New Statesman . 20 April 2022.