Dead Men, Dirty Records & The Truth | Learn High-level Historical Research

Name: Dead Men, Dirty Records & The Truth | Learn High-level Historical Research
SKU: 164215376135199

$17.99

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Dead Men, Dirty Records, and the Truth doesn't teach history like a college lecture. It teaches you how to think like a historian. Using the American Civil War as the ultimate research laboratory, Tim G. Daniel takes you into real investigations, showing you how professional historians track down evidence, separate fact from fiction, challenge long-held myths, and uncover the truth hidden in the historical record. You'll work with actual letters, military reports, newspapers, census records, and firsthand accounts, learning quantitative and qualitative historical research methods by solving real historical mysteries. It's less like sitting through a graduate seminar and more like grabbing a beer with a historian in a Gettysburg tavern while he shows you how history is really uncovered.

DEAD MEN, DIRTY RECORDS, AND THE TRUTH
A Nonfiction Methodology Book by Tim G. Daniel

Genre: Nonfiction / Historical Research Methodology / Popular History & Reference
Format: Paperback / Hardcover / eBook
Audience: Independent researchers, writers, students, educators, genealogists, lifelong learners
Overview: Dead Men, Dirty Records, and the Truth is a practical guide to quantitative and qualitative historical research methods and theory, using the American Civil War as its working laboratory. Rather than teaching through academic lectures or dense scholarly language, Tim G. Daniel walks readers through real historical investigations — showing how professional historians collect evidence, evaluate sources, test competing claims, identify bias, and build evidence-based conclusions from the historical record. Every principle is taught through actual Civil War documents: letters, military reports, newspapers, census records, and firsthand accounts — so readers learn the research process by solving real historical problems instead of memorizing theory.

Key Selling Points:
Delivers graduate-level historical methodology in plain English — no academic background required
Teaches through real Civil War case studies (letters, military reports, census records, firsthand accounts) rather than abstract theory
Voice-driven: reads like sitting across the table from a working researcher rather than a textbook
Serves four overlapping audiences at once: aspiring historians, historical fiction writers wanting authenticity, genealogists, and general readers who want to evaluate historical claims more critically
Natural extension of Tim's own primary-source methodology already showcased in Creek and The Last July — positions him as a teacher of the craft, not just a practitioner of it
Strong crossover potential with History Nerds Gettysburg tour audiences and Civil War/genealogy communities online
Built around a clear, quotable thesis: history is built on evidence, not assumption — "the willingness to follow the receipts wherever they lead"