Overall good job on the vid. The opening with your face in shadow was a little difficult, and sometimes the music was distracting. I liked the hand gestures, but it was hard to tell when (if?) you inserted your own personal commentary, I presume the vast majority was straight from the book, which seemed a critique -largely in agreement- of Tolstoy?
Having not read War and Peace, I'm at a disadvantage, but there are points I might quibble. Tolstoy himself, whether that was his intent or not, ended up being one of those "great people" to influence (or not, as it were) history.
The job, or object if you will, of the historian is to make a slice of history cogent. In a political sense this is often turned to cast a political leader in a flattering light, to that I cannot disagree. But to imply that all historians aspire to this singular point of view fails to grasp the entirety of the science. What is anthropology without history? An empty biological shell, devoid of psychology, culture, religion, philosophy or any other enduring human traits. Without history to place these into a coherent framework, all that is left is a puddled, incoherent mess.
No historian today worthy of the title would say that any matter begins "there" and ends "here." It is part and parcel of the science, that everything began before the beginning, and that beginning had an earlier beginning, and that all matters have multiple external influences across a span of time. So if I understand the critique, in order to explain what happened yesterday I would be required to start way back in the fog and mist of prehistory - at every telling! It is difficult enough to get someone to pay attention for even a moment to some matter of import today, but the solution is to retell the history of the world at every turn? That isn't a very realistic solution. Humorous perhaps, but not at all practical. And as we know, every infinitesimal person will hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest. To quote the oft quoted George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
Good lesson on the futility of a comprehensive understanding of history from "historians." I really hope there is an Akashic record, or book of life, or book of death/the dead (where my story would likely be found). Overall, very uplifting, thanks.