(September 22, 2009, New Orleans, La.) - He Lies Like an Eyewitness: Evaluating Wartime Accounts will be the topic of a University of New Orleans Eisenhower Center for American Studies Roundtable featuring John Mosier, Loyola University professor of English, on Tuesday, September 29 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 103 of the UNO Bicentennial Education Center.

Mosier will speak on the 1928 definitive analysis of World War I battlefield accounts produced by French historian and combat veteran Jean-Norton Cru. Although little known outside France, Norton Cru provided a method for evaluating the reliability of such accounts and ranked every French narrative accordingly. Mosier will explain the necessity for using such criteria and will extend those standards to an evaluation of second-hand and retrospective accounts by staff officers, generals and political figures. Mosier cotends that a lot of military history is flawed by the uncritical acceptance of allegedly authentic accounts.

Mosier is the author of The Myth of the Great War, Grant from the Great Generals Series, The Blitzkrieg Myth and Cross of Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German War Machine.

The free event is open to the public. Free parking is available.

For more information on the Eisenhower Center Roundtable, contact Michael Edwards at (504) 280-6138 or mjedward@uno.edu. For more information on the UNO Eisenhower Center for American Studies, visit http://ikecenter.uno.edu/.

The University of New Orleans (UNO), the urban research University of the State of Louisiana, provides essential support for the educational, economic, cultural and social well-being of the culturally rich and diverse New Orleans metropolitan area. It opened its doors in 1958 as part of the Louisiana State University System "to bring public-supported higher education to Louisiana's largest urban community." Today, UNO offers 43 undergraduate degree programs, 37 masters, and 11 doctoral programs. The 340-acre main campus sits on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, offering easy access to all parts of the metro area. For more information, visit www.uno.edu.

Johanna M. Schindler  

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