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About this quote

What does it mean?
Biographers research and organize facts to construct a coherent, completed picture of a deceased person's life.
In plain terms
Biographers piece together facts to make a clear picture of a dead person.
What can you take from it?
Biography aims to turn scattered facts into a coherent story.

Where it applies

  • writing biographies
  • studying history
  • researching lives

Putting it to work

  • writing biography
  • organizing facts
  • historical research

Questions to consider

  • Can one story ever capture a whole life?
  • Is a completed picture possible?

Another view

Simplified narratives often distort the true complexity of a life.

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