In this biography, James Humphreys takes a close look at Simkins as a man, to better understand him as a historian. He engages with Simkins' physical and mental eccentricities and explores the extent to which the historian was shaped by the values he learned during his childhood in segregationist South Carolina.

The inaugural volume in a new historiography series

Historians possess the power to shape the view of history for those who come after them. Their efforts to illuminate significant events of the past often result in new interpretations, which frequently conflict with ideas proposed by earlier historians. Invariably, this divergence of thoughts creates a dissonance between historians about the causes and meanings of prior events. The Kent State University Press's new Interpreting American History Series aims to help readers learn how truth emerges from the clash of...