| Description |
134 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 18 cm |
| Series |
Very short introductions |
|
Very short introductions.
|
| Contents |
Machine derived contents note: 1. Questions about murder and history; 2. The history of history; 3. What really happened: truth, archives, and the love of old things; 4. Escapes from the tower; 5. Causation and interpretations; 6. Telling stories, telling tales; 7. Periodization and time; 8. Objectivity, truth, and judgement; 9. The role of the past in the present; Further reading; Index |
| Summary |
Do 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. 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. Concepts such as periodization and causation are discusses, but not in a dry or abstract fashion. 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 |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Also available online via the World Wide Web, by subscription to NetLibrary |
|
Print version record |
| Subject |
Historiography.
|
|
History -- Methodology.
|
|
History -- Philosophy.
|
|
History -- Philosopy
|
|
Historiography.
|
|
History.
|
| LC no. |
99057694 |
| ISBN |
019285352X (paperback) |
|
