By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) (12.239.86.117) on Sunday, February 17, 2002 - 02:59 pm:

Stephen Ambrose Defends Himself


By Kia Shant'e Breaux
Associated Press Writer
Friday, February 1, 2002

ST. LOUIS –– Embattled historian Stephen Ambrose admitted lifting several sentences in his best-selling books from other authors, although he said his footnotes adequately attributed the passages.

At least six books by Ambrose have been questioned for including material that closely resembles passages by other authors. Many of Ambrose's peers have said footnoting the passages is not enough.

"There are something like six or seven sentences in three or four of my books that are the sentences of other writers," Ambrose said Thursday at a lecture sponsored by Maryville University.

"I know they are, and now reporters know they are, and now the whole world knows they are because I put footnotes behind those sentences and cited where I got this from. What I had failed to do – and this was my fault, my mistake – was to put quotation marks around those six or seven sentences."

Ambrose drew laughter from the capacity crowd of 2,100 when he recalled comments someone made to him recently about the accusations of errors or plagiarism.

"Someone said to me, 'You have to be some kind of a fool to plagiarize somebody and then put a footnote on it and tell them where it came from,'" he said.

Ambrose also has blamed errors on his quick pace; he has published an average of more than a book a year since the mid-1990s.

Those who attended Thursday's lecture seemed unconcerned about the plagiarism accusations. Some said Ambrose is a talented writer who should not be discredited.

"His books are fabulous," said Sally Coleman, 60, of St. Louis. "I really haven't followed the plagiarism controversy, but I don't think he would intentionally do something wrong. Wouldn't you think it was done naively? If the accusations were true, I would be disappointed, but continue to read his work and buy his books."

The most recent accusation of lifting material from other sources emerged Tuesday. It dates back to 1970, when the late historian Cornelius Ryan accused Ambrose of a "rather graceless falsification" in Ambrose's book, The Supreme Commander." Ambrose at the time acknowledged failing to give Ryan proper credit for some material, but the mistake remains in the book's current edition.

His other works under scrutiny are: Nothing Like It in the World, Citizen Soldiers, {Vol. III of Ambrose's Richard Nixon trilogy, Crazy Horse and Custer, and The Wild Blue, his latest best seller.

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