2. Archives
3. IHR
4. JHR Volume 1

Book review

The Barnes Trilogy

• The Barnes Trilogy, by Harry Elmer Barnes, Institute for Historical Review, 144pp, paperback, $4.00. ISBN: 0-911038-56-6.

This is a new reprint of three of Barnes' last pamphlets, where one can trace his development as a full-fledged, out-of-the closet, Historical Revisionist. Of course, this is not the first time these pamphlets have been published in a collection. In 1972 Arno Press (part of the New York Times group) published a collection of eight of his pamphlets including these same three. The Arno tithe Selected Revisionist Pamphlets (also available from IHR at $15.00), has several shortcomings, which hopefully the new Barnes Trilogy will put to rights.

First, the IHR book is a much better value than the Arno edition, and can thus be distributed to a much wider audience. Second, the pamphlets are in chronological order in IHR’s book, but not in Arno's. Third, IHR provides a detailed and factual introduction, by IHR Chief Lewis Brandon, which guides the reader through Barnes ' work, drawing attention to important features. The reader of Arno is left to fend for himself. Finally, the IHR edition shows dates of publication, which Arno omits altogether.

In summary, it would seem that the shoestring Institute for Historical Review can teach a few publishing lessons to even the grandest of Madison Avenue outfits.

From The Journal of Historical Review, Spring 1980 (Vol. 1, No. 1), page 5.