--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the great challenges of being a…" description: "\"One of the great challenges of being a modern historian is interviewing multiple people who were all there for something, some event. No one's version ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/david-garrow-31526_challenges_one-of-the-great-challenges-of-being-a-m_1164482.jpg" --- # One of the great challenges of being a modern historian is… ![“One of the great challenges of being a modern historian is interviewing multiple people who were all there for something, some event. No one's version matches up 100% with other people's, even if it's three or four people on a conference call.” quote by David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/david-garrow-31526_challenges_one-of-the-great-challenges-of-being-a-m_1164482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/david-garrow-31526_challenges_one-of-the-great-challenges-of-being-a-m_1164482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/david-garrow-31526_challenges_one-of-the-great-challenges-of-being-a-m_1164482.jpg) > “One of the great challenges of being a modern historian is interviewing multiple people who were all there for something, some event. No one's version matches up 100% with other people's, even if it's three or four people on a conference call.” [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historians face conflicting eyewitness accounts, making definitive narratives difficult. **In simple terms:** Historians struggle with differing eyewitness stories. Key Takeaway Acknowledge multiple perspectives. Themes history truth memory methodology Mood reflective analytical Type explanatory scholarly When to use this quote - research projects - documentary filmmaking - archival work Key Concepts source criticism subjectivity corroboration Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which version to prioritize? - What methods improve reliability? A Different Perspective Conflicting accounts can never be fully reconciled. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian/) [Historian Interviewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian-interviewing-3347900/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Interviewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interviewing/) [Interviewing Multiple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interviewing-multiple-3347901/) [Modern Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-historian-3347902/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) ## Related quotes > [There are videos I used to take at home, pretending to be a newscaster, interviewing the teapot or my house cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wagner/there-are-videos-i-used-to-take-at-home-pretending-to-be-a-newscaster/) [Alex Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wagner/) > [I read that you have to give the person interviewing you something to remember. Apparently that doesn't mean giving them a bite mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-read-that-you-have-to-give-the-person-interviewing-you-something-to/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I am certainly more interested in interviewing than being interviewed. Sometimes you find yourself attacked from the start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-am-certainly-more-interested-in-interviewing-than-being-interviewed/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [I never drove a car. I'm hopeless that way. I press the wrong buttons on the tape recorder. But if the person I'm interviewing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-never-drove-a-car-i-m-hopeless-that-way-i-press-the-wrong-buttons/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Their term project consists of a fieldwork collection of folklore that they create by interviewing family members, friends, or anyone they can manage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dundes/their-term-project-consists-of-a-fieldwork-collection-of-folklore/) [Alan Dundes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dundes/) > [If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016 election was on cable news, it was world-class journalists interviewing morons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up-what-the-2016-election-was-on/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [Interviewing someone is very similar to preparing a character, isn't it? You're just asking questions: 'Who is this person? Why did they make that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/interviewing-someone-is-very-similar-to-preparing-a-character-isn-t/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [Interviewing is not a democratic art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/interviewing-is-not-a-democratic-art/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [Interviewing is fun. You get to learn things about people other than yourself. When you're being interviewed, you're talking about things you've already lived.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-smear/interviewing-is-fun-you-get-to-learn-things-about-people-other-than/) [Pat Smear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-smear/) > [“Waking up Thursday morning to another dreary day and the sense of being physically stuffed, they focused on FISH. While Charlotte interviewed the postmaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-delinsky/waking-up-thursday-morning-to-another-dreary-day-and-the-sense-of/) [Barbara Delinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-delinsky/) > [The excitement for me lies not so much in interviewing the hard-to-get famous person, but the person whom you are about to discover. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-gross/the-excitement-for-me-lies-not-so-much-in-interviewing-the-hard-to/) [Terry Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-gross/) > [The value that I found in interviewing was for an educational experience, just to know that history itself is subjective, that you can't say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/the-value-that-i-found-in-interviewing-was-for-an-educational/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [When you're interviewing someone, you're in control. When you're being interviewed, you think you're in control, but you're not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-walters/when-you-re-interviewing-someone-you-re-in-control-when-you-re-being/) [Barbara Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-walters/) > [I am really bad at actually interviewing people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-norton/i-am-really-bad-at-actually-interviewing-people/) [Graham Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-norton/) > [Doing an interview you're going to have certain things you want to get at, but you're better off if you play to people's strengths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-decurtis/doing-an-interview-you-re-going-to-have-certain-things-you-want-to/) [Anthony DeCurtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-decurtis/) ## More by David Garrow > [President Obama's achievements and failures must be evaluated by comparison to those chief executives who have come before him and not be measured against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/president-obama-s-achievements-and-failures-must-be-evaluated-by/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Healthcare in the U.S. remains a dire mess, and the Obama presidency, unfortunately, didn't really address that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/healthcare-in-the-u-s-remains-a-dire-mess-and-the-obama-presidency/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [I think American life would be better without Twitter, and I think we'd have a better country if the president was not on Twitter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/i-think-american-life-would-be-better-without-twitter-and-i-think-we/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [It's simply incorrect to call Dr. King a Republican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/it-s-simply-incorrect-to-call-dr-king-a-republican/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Politically or ideologically oriented evaluations of Chief Justice Rehnquist should not overlook what a successful and popular chief justice he was within the Court…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/politically-or-ideologically-oriented-evaluations-of-chief-justice/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [I have very purposely never signed up with commercial lecture agencies as most, I think, prominent historical authors do because, to me, that's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/i-have-very-purposely-never-signed-up-with-commercial-lecture/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Prior to Roe , ... whether one could obtain a legal abortion in the face of an unwanted pregnancy was a crap shoot. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/prior-to-roe-whether-one-could-obtain-a-legal-abortion-in-the-face-of/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Dr. King, if he were alive today, probably would simply be a minister, a pastor. His initial intent was, indeed, just to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/dr-king-if-he-were-alive-today-probably-would-simply-be-a-minister-a/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [With Barack, there's an emotional need to succeed, to win, to obtain victory. He always believes that he's the smartest person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/with-barack-there-s-an-emotional-need-to-succeed-to-win-to-obtain/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [The Barack who was so successful in Illinois in a Republican-controlled legislative situation for most of his time and who was a very outspoken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/the-barack-who-was-so-successful-in-illinois-in-a-republican/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > ['Dreams from My Father' was not a memoir or an autobiography; it was instead, in multitudinous ways, without any question a work of historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/dreams-from-my-father-was-not-a-memoir-or-an-autobiography-it-was/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [I'm a pro forma Bernie Sanders donor. In years past, when Michael Harrington was still alive, I was a very active member of Democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/i-m-a-pro-forma-bernie-sanders-donor-in-years-past-when-michael/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [King would certainly be overjoyed by Barack Obama's inauguration, but we must avoid, and indeed reject, any careless claims that Obama's swearing in marks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/king-would-certainly-be-overjoyed-by-barack-obama-s-inauguration-but/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [I first started reading about Barack and taking notes when he won the Iowa caucuses in January 2008 because I was embarrassed that, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/i-first-started-reading-about-barack-and-taking-notes-when-he-won-the/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Once you choose to run for president of the United States and succeed, your earlier life, your biography, is a major part of American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/once-you-choose-to-run-for-president-of-the-united-states-and-succeed/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) [Explore all 16 David Garrow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) ## More Challenges quotes > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-want-to-be-perceived-as-a-guy-who-played-his-best-in-all-facets-not/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [I personally think if something's not a challenge, there's no point doing it, because you're not gonna learn much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-personally-think-if-something-s-not-a-challenge-there-s-no-point/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) [Whitney Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-gaskell/) > [Growing up with a parent in the army, I saw firsthand the challenges our service members face when transitioning to new jobs after time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharice-davids/growing-up-with-a-parent-in-the-army-i-saw-firsthand-the-challenges/) [Sharice Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharice-davids/) > [Nobody challenges me. I challenge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakuntala-devi/nobody-challenges-me-i-challenge-myself/) [Shakuntala Devi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakuntala-devi/) > [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) [Browse all 8,851 Challenges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the great challenges of being a modern historian is interviewing multiple people who were all there for something, some event. 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