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In his 2010 review of Fire in the
Sky. The Australian Flying Corps in the First World War, historian Michael
McKernan stated that ‘Michael Molkentin is a young historian with an impressive
future’ (see the review at http://www.michaelmolkentin.com)
and iterated
his initial impression in his 2012 review of Flying the Southern Cross: Aviators Charles Ulm and Charles Kingsford
Smith. As well as a historian awaiting final assessment of his PhD thesis, Michael
Molkentin is a teacher, battlefield guide, contributor to key military
documentaries, compiler of on-line teaching resources and acclaimed author of Fire in the Sky (Allen & Unwin 2010)
and Flying the
Southern Cross (National Library of Australia 2012).
Of Fire in the Sky, Michael McKernan praised Michael Molkentin for presenting
a range of stories in a ‘manner that is accessible and unfailingly interesting,
not to say exciting’. The research is evident but there is nothing ponderously
dry about either of Michael Molkentin’s books. In previous Echats I have spoken
with aviation writers of diverse background and experience but none are
professional historians. All bring special qualities to their writing but I was
keen to discover more about the historian as popular (as opposed to academic)
writer. I wondered about how Michael made the leap from historian to engaging recorder
of key aspects of Australian aviation history and whether he had set out to be
a writer or whether he just fell into it. Needless to say, I was pleased when he
agreed to be pestered by questions for the fourth in my Echat With… series.
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Michael grew up in Wollongong, NSW where he went to the local
high school and completed a BA (Hons) in English and History at University of
Wollongong in 2004. He followed that with a Graduate Diploma of Education while
he thought about what he wanted to research for a PhD project. He became one of
the rare people to score a teaching job in his home town and discovered that he
enjoyed working with students and infusing them with a keen appreciation of
history. Before he knew it, four years had passed in the classroom.
For
some reason, I had got it into my head that Fire
in the Sky was based on Michael’s thesis but he set me straight. ‘In 2004 I
wrote my BA Hons thesis on the AFC—I’d always been interested in WWI aviation
(I grew up reading Biggles and playing the Red Baron video games)—and it seemed
that although the Australian War Memorial had voluminous private records
relating to Australian airmen in the First World War, few books had been
published on the subject since the Official history in 1923. [FM Cutlack: The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War 1914–1918.
Volume VIII: The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918] Shortly after I started teaching
in 2006, Professor Peter Stanley (then principal historian at the War Memorial)
encouraged me to produce a book on the AFC and introduced me to Ian Bowring who
published a lot of the military history at Allen & Unwin. This is how Fire in the Sky came about.’ Perhaps
explaining why I thought Fire in the Sky
was the book of the thesis, Michael told me that the book ‘used a similar
approach to my thesis and a style that appealed to A&U’s broad readership—the
story of WWI air combat from an Australian perspective and one that relied
predominantly on private records (letters, diaries, memoirs, interviews)’.
Michael
was teaching full time at this stage and so he wrote in the evenings and on
weekends. It proved a ‘demanding task and one I started not really appreciating
how much work was involved’. Even as he taught and wrote, Michael had not forgotten
his ambition for higher studies. ‘As I was finishing Fire in the Sky, Professor Jeffrey Grey at ADFA contacted me and
asked if I would be interested in doing a PhD on Australians and air power in the
First World War—it would form the basis for a volume in the Army Centenary
series of which he had been appointed editor.’ (This is Oxford University Press’s
five volume Australian Army Centenary
History of the Great War series. Written
by a group of historians mainly associated with the Australian Centre for the
Study of Armed Conflict and Society at UNSW, Canberra, the series is funded by
the Australian Army.)
Such
an invitation would be the dream of any young writer and historian but Michael
was initially reluctant to accept as he did not want ‘to commit to another four
years research on the same topic—but knew there was a lot of material I had not
looked at (especially overseas) that research funding and full-time study would
allow.’ And so, in 2010 he embarked upon his PhD studies with a thesis that
might be broadly in the same area but of an entirely different focus. ‘Fire in the Sky looked at Australia’s
involvement in the First World War “from below”—from the pilot and air
mechanic’s perspective. The thesis—Australia,
the Empire and the Great War in the Air—examines it from above, from the
perspective of imperial politics, strategy, operations; it perceives Australian
involvement as part of the empire’s broader effort in the air’. I wondered if Fire in the Sky delayed the thesis at
all. ‘Not really and I am glad I wrote a book on the subject first. Most people
do it the other way around of course. Starting my PhD I already knew the AFC’s
narrative and all the main people involved; this was a useful framework to
build on.’
Fire in the Sky received a number of favourable reviews—and I should
declare an interest here as mine was one of them (see the review at http://www.kristenalexander.com.au/reviews#233).
This history of the Australian Flying Corps particularly impressed me because,
while many formation histories are simply catalogues of movements and battles
(and are consequently dead boring, in my humble opinion) Fire in the Sky is interesting, well paced, and easily digestible
for the general reader. It seemed to me that this was because Michael kept the
men and their individual stories in mind as he wrote it: they are the heart of the
book, not the Corps and its activities. I wondered if this is a fair
assessment? ‘This is exactly what I intended’, Michael told me. ‘I’d say it is
one of the historian’s greatest challenges to balance the “big” picture with
personal experiences. A heap of interesting characters floating around in a
historical vacuum is as difficult to understand as the “catalogues of movements
and battles”. I like books that balance both elements—they show what Private
Smith experienced but also set his experiences in a context that makes them
meaningful’.
I
feel that one of the best aspects of Fire
in the Sky is how Michael wove one story from a number of different
accounts (in my review I used the example of Owen Lewis’s story). In my own
work I too have pulled stories together from multiple threads and have
encountered conflicts in the source material, including diverging personal
interpretations and perceptions. I was particularly interested to know how
Michael resolved those conflicts. ‘Historians have a professional obligation to
be transparent with their evidence’, Michael advised. ‘Even in books for a
popular readership they should signal when their interpretation is based on
incomplete or contradictory evidence. As well as being honest, this also
indicates to the public (which typically sees history as a sequence of facts)
that history is an interpretive and highly subjective business—and that the
book they are reading, and indeed, no book, could be considered definitive.’
A
change of direction from military to civil aviation came about when Michael was
contacted by the National Library of Australia’s publications branch. ‘They had
read a positive review of Fire in the Sky
[the aforementioned one by Michael McKernan] and wanted to do a Collection
Highlights book on an item in their Kingsford Smith collection’. Michael ‘did
not really know much at all about Kingsford Smith’, but accepted the commission
as he ‘saw the project as an opportunity to find out more about Australian
aviation between the wars’.
Given
the serendipitous aspects of Michael’s writing career, it is clear he did not
set out to be a writer and indeed he ‘did not aspire to be a writer’. But he
developed an early interest in historical research and that set him on the path
to history writing. ‘I probably began to be interested in historical research
in the later stages of my undergraduate degree when I started doing assignments
that involved some nominal archival research. Then, in 2005 I was an Australian
War Memorial summer scholar—I spent six weeks as an intern in the Memorial’s
military history section where I researched the training of the Third Division
AIF’s training in Salisbury in 1916. This was to support archaeological field
work being undertaken that year by the UK’s Ministry of Defence (the AIF
training grounds lay on land held by UK Defence). It was a rich and rewarding
experience—doing research that nobody had done before and that had a practical
application’.
Although
plenty of people had trawled widely through Charles Kingsford Smith’s life, few
had looked at Charles Ulm’s crucial role in the preparations for their
trans-Pacific flight. Flying the Southern
Cross presented a particular challenge in that Michael’s brief was to use Charles
Ulm’s log book (as well as other related items in the National Library of
Australia’s holdings) as the frame work for the story. Even so, there was much
scope for original research and to critically look at some of the myths
surrounding Kingsford Smith and Ulm over the decades. In particular, Michael highlighted
some less favourable aspects of Kingsford Smith’s and Ulm’s personalities and
business practices. I wondered how Michael felt about tackling a subject that
has such ‘holy cow’ elements to reveal a less savoury side of the legend? (I
asked this as I was recently criticised by a connection of Charles Kingsford
Smith for mentioning in a talk that Lores Bonney—the subject of the
talk—detested him and considered him arrogant. The connection thought I was
being unfair as he was such a good man and a hero.) Michael told me that ‘it
didn’t concern me at all: as a historian my job is to interpret the evidence,
not to promote myths. My reading of the evidence indicated the extraordinary
courage and skill of those two men but also some undesirable elements of their
characters (which ironically, in Ulm’s case, probably ensured the success of
the flight).’ That is good advice, and I will remember it as I pursue my own
research interests.
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Michael
enjoyed a good working relationship with Charles Ulm’s son, John, and I asked
if he had been concerned about how John would react to his interpretation of
the evidence. ‘Of course, I was sensitive to John’, Michael explained, ‘but was
pleased to discover that he was pragmatic about the whole thing—he knew that, like
all of us, his father and Kingsford Smith had flaws. His only concern was that
I was fair and accurate; he read the finished manuscript and was pleased with
it.’ So too are the reading public. Michael told me that he has ‘received no
criticism at all regarding my portrayal of Kingsford Smith and Ulm.’ Indeed,
Michael McKernan for one praised him for his treatment of them: ‘Our heroes,
all of them, may have feet of clay; anyway they are ordinary mortals, with the
faults common to all of us. Molkentin wisely acknowledges that—more, he
embraces it.’
Given that Michael did not set out to be a writer, I was interested in
how he managed the writing process, especially how he keeps track of a myriad
of information. Rather than invent something new, Michael drew on the
experiences of others and adapted their systems. ‘A lot of the older historians
I’ve spoken with use (or once used) the index card method of note taking—essentially
taking notes from the sources on cards and then arranging them either into a
kind of index based on topic or the book’s structure. My system is similar in
principle. After doing the background reading I map out the structure of what I
am going to write—with Flying the Southern
Cross it was relatively easy as the NLA wanted a clear chapter outline from
the outset that followed Ulm’s logbook—and place my notes on a scaffold of
chapter headings and sub-headings. As I do more research the structure is
likely to change—like the old card system, however, using a word processor
makes it easy to move notes around and play with the structure.
Drawing as he has on the experiences of those who have gone before, I
asked Michael about the most important writing advice he has ever received? ‘ “Don’t
get it right, get it written”. As a younger writer I would labour over every
word and sentence but have learned that it is important to get a rough draft
down on paper and then use that as a platform on which to re-work and revise.
Writing also is the best indicator of where more research is necessary. I now
tell my students that they will do their best thinking on the page.’
As
well as interacting with students in the classroom, Michael is the man behind
some key teacher resources—such as Zero
Hour (http://www.zhour.net/)—which help other educators instil a love of
history in new generations. I asked what he looks at when writing these
resources and whether they are pitched at the student or the teacher? ‘The
syllabus comes first’, says Michael. ‘It has to address the subject’s outcomes.
Secondly, the (admittedly limited) literature on history teaching pedagogy
indicates that students learn best when they approach the past with an
“inquiry” or “uncovering” method. So, rather than students digesting a
“pre-fabricated” narrative from a text book they use the evidence to solve
problems for themselves—essentially do a scaled down version of what a “real”
historian does. Students not only tend to find this more engaging than a fact
memorisation exercise but it teaches them higher-order thinking skills such as
critical analysis and synthesis—abilities that have strong applications well
beyond the history classroom.’ Teaching has changed much—and for the better—from
when I was a bright eyed bushy tailed schoolie.
Michael
has found another avenue for history teaching and storytelling. He is also a
battlefield guide. ‘Battlefield guiding shares many elements of teaching’,
Michael explained. ‘The battlefield itself—the terrain—replaces the photographs
and maps that I would normally use in the classroom. Storytelling is an
important element for a guide, especially as the Great War’s battlefields on
the Western Front are so immense. I find it is necessary to interpret places
through the experiences of an individual or a small group—then a place starts
to make sense for the battlefield visitor.’
Michael’s writing plate is currently full. Once he finishes the First
World War air power book he will turn to an account of the 1917 Passchendaele campaign
which Allen & Unwin will publish for the 2017 centenary. It is too soon to consider what he will focus on after 2017 but I could
not help asking if, given the particular people focus of his first two books
and his special ability to bring the dead back to life through storytelling, if
he would move into biography? ‘I’ve come across a couple of very impressive
collections of private papers during my doctoral research in Australia and
Britain. I have played with the idea of using these as the basis for a
biography one day. It seems a challenging task and I am guessing that having an
extensive set of private papers would be crucial’. Nothing definite, but he
hasn’t ruled anything out!
Michael may not have set out to be a writer but he is now well
established in his career, but not so far from his beginnings that he has
forgotten his earliest writing thrill, that of ‘seeing a pile of Fire in the Sky in a Sydney bookshop the
day it was first released. After four years of hard work it is incredibly
gratifying to see your work out there for sale’. And that is an experience
shared with every other writer.
If you would like to connect to Michael, visit his website at http://www.michaelmolkentin.com/ You
can view him talking about Flying
the Southern Cross: Charles Ulm and Charles Kingsford Smith and chatting
with Charles Ulm’s son John at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjCAAahMJEE
Both of Michael’s books are currently in print and available in Australian bookshops.
I am delighted Michael Molkentin agreed to be the subject
of my fourth Echat With... I have learned much about the writing
practice of historians. Next month I Echat With... Andy Wright, aviation book reviewer extraordinaire of
Aircrew Book Review http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com.au/
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