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). |
From inside the book
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... never been a good idea for historians. For centuries they have profited immeasurably from the invasions of neighbouring disciplines, starting with philology, the foundation of the methods of source- criticism associated with the name of ...
... never been a good idea for historians. For centuries they have profited immeasurably from the invasions of neighbouring disciplines, starting with philology, the foundation of the methods of source- criticism associated with the name of ...
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... never be written , ' declared Lytton Strachey in a fit of ironic despair : ' we know too much about it . " 11 11 Not only the idea of the final discovery of all the facts that could be known , but also the notion of a truly scientific ...
... never be written , ' declared Lytton Strachey in a fit of ironic despair : ' we know too much about it . " 11 11 Not only the idea of the final discovery of all the facts that could be known , but also the notion of a truly scientific ...
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... never be known scientifically like the causes and effects of some chemical reaction, nor could they be grounded in discoverable laws like the law of gravity or the second law of thermodynamics. The historian who would give the best ...
... never be known scientifically like the causes and effects of some chemical reaction, nor could they be grounded in discoverable laws like the law of gravity or the second law of thermodynamics. The historian who would give the best ...
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... never thought that he could find out enough about an individual in the past to subject his character to psychoanalysis . However , he did think , as a result of his Freudian views , that what drove people to do the things they did were ...
... never thought that he could find out enough about an individual in the past to subject his character to psychoanalysis . However , he did think , as a result of his Freudian views , that what drove people to do the things they did were ...
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... never entirely deserted them since. The German historians of the post-1968 generation, the first to have reached professional maturity in the post-war era, eagerly imported the theories and methods of American and above all neo-Weberian ...
... never entirely deserted them since. The German historians of the post-1968 generation, the first to have reached professional maturity in the post-war era, eagerly imported the theories and methods of American and above all neo-Weberian ...
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