Includes bibliographical references and index. The role of the past in the present Further reading Index.
The book begins by inviting us to think about various questions provoked by our investigation of history, and explores the ways these questions have been answered in the past. What really happened: truth, archives, and the love of old things 4. Arnold's Very Short Introduction is a stimulating essay about how we study and understand history.
Instead this book works through particular historical examples - including a medieval murderer, a seven-century colonist, and ex-slave women - to illustrate and explain the ways in which we study and understand history, giving the reader a science of the excitement of discovering not only the past, but also ourselves. Concepts such as periodization and causation are discusses, but not in a dry or abstract fashion. Taking us from the fabulous tales of ancient Greek historians to the varied approaches of modern professionals, this book illuminates our relationships to the past by making us aware of how 'history' has changed as a subject. Oxford New York : Oxford University Press, 2000ĭo historians reconstruct the truth or simply tell stories? This book suggests that they do both, and the balance between 'truth' and 'story' is tremendously important to history. History : a very short introduction / John H.
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