On 18 Apr 2004 18:35:30 GMT, ost (Chris Mark) wrote:

I know of two instances where very good historians have used Caidin as a
source. Both Robert Caro and Geoffrey Perret cite Caidin's account of how
Lyndon Johnson got his Silver Star

I always read a history or biography with my right thumb (or if I'm
really interested, a moving Post-it Note) in the citations. My
amazement was total when I discovered that Caro used Caidin's book as
his sole source. It shook me for a while, but I finally got back to
enjoying the book. But I still think of it whenever I read Caro or see
him on TV as an expert: the man who cited Martin Caidin!

I don't know Perret. Is it possible that he was simply parotting Caro?
(Or vice versa, I suppose.) This is how the story perpetuates itself
about "the Flying Tigers, who were fighting the Japanese in China
before Pearl Harbor." You see that line in serious histories to this
day, by reputable historians. The actual source of the myth is a John
Wayne, Republic studios, wartime B flick


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

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