In Defence of History“A lucid, muscular, and often sly reflection” on the worth and purpose of historical scholarship by the award-winning author of The Third Reich Trilogy (Kirkus). In this volume, the renowned historian Richard J. Evans offers a fervent and deeply insightful defense of his craft and its importance to civilization. At a time when fact and historical truth are under unprecedented assault, Evans shows us why history is necessary. Taking us into the historians’ workshop, he offers a firsthand look at how good history gets written. In staunch opposition to the wilder claims of postmodern historians, Evans thoroughly dismantles the notion that a realistic grasp of history is impossible to attain. He then goes on to explain the deadly political dangers of losing a historical perspective on the way we live our lives. In the tradition of E.H. Carr’s What Is History? and G.R. Elton’s The Practice of History, Evans’ In Defense of History delivers “a model of lucid and intelligent historiographical analysis” (The Guardian, UK). |
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... European states of his day as ' spiritual substances ... thoughts of God ' . This distanced him from the Prussian school of German historians , from nationalists such as Treitschke , who condemned his impartiality and regretted his ...
... European states of his day as ' spiritual substances ... thoughts of God ' . This distanced him from the Prussian school of German historians , from nationalists such as Treitschke , who condemned his impartiality and regretted his ...
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... Europe. Only then, by gathering, criticizing and verifying all the available sources, could they put themselves in a position to reconstruct the past accurately. The application of philological techniques to historical sources was a ...
... Europe. Only then, by gathering, criticizing and verifying all the available sources, could they put themselves in a position to reconstruct the past accurately. The application of philological techniques to historical sources was a ...
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... European society was not only vastly more populous than before , it not only produced many more documents , reflecting both the increase of literacy and the rapidly increasing functions of the state , it also generated new kinds of ...
... European society was not only vastly more populous than before , it not only produced many more documents , reflecting both the increase of literacy and the rapidly increasing functions of the state , it also generated new kinds of ...
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... European states , documents which themselves gave a deliberate impression of neutrality and value - free reporting . As the British historian John Pemble has pointed out , ' To the next generation Ranke was not Rankean enough . ' His ...
... European states , documents which themselves gave a deliberate impression of neutrality and value - free reporting . As the British historian John Pemble has pointed out , ' To the next generation Ranke was not Rankean enough . ' His ...
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... European countries , too , historians rejected the universalizing tendencies of both Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire and Gibbon and Romantics such as Ranke . Popular , nationalist history had reached its apogee in Britain with ...
... European countries , too , historians rejected the universalizing tendencies of both Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire and Gibbon and Romantics such as Ranke . Popular , nationalist history had reached its apogee in Britain with ...
Contents
22 | |
Society and the Individual | |
Objectivity and its Limits | |
Afterword | |
Further Reading | |
Index | |
About the Author | |
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Abraham academic American Historical Review Appleby approach argued argument Arthur Marwick belief Britain British Cambridge Carr's century claim concept contemporary critics critique cultural David debate Defence of History Derrida discipline discourse documents E. H. Carr E. P. Thompson Easthope economic history England Evans evidence example fact Frank Ankersmit French G. M. Trevelyan Geoffrey Elton German Hayden White historians historical knowledge historical profession historical scholarship historical writing Historiography History and Post-Modernism History London Holocaust Holocaust denial Hugh Trevor-Roper Hunt and Jacob ibid ideas ideology Intellectual History Intelligent Person's Guide interpretation J. H. Hexter Keith Jenkins kind LaCapra language Lawrence Stone linguistic turn literary Marxist meaning modern moral Namier narrative Noble Dream Novick objectivity Oxford past Patrick Joyce political postmodernism postmodernist present Purkiss quoted reality Revolution scientific sense Social History social sciences society sources thought Trevelyan Vincent written Zeldin