In Defence of History

Book Jacket Under the onslaught of postmodernist theory, the profession of history is in crisis, its assumptions derided and its methods rejected as outmoded. Richard J. Evans mounts a brilliant and compellingly effective defence of the historian's capacity to reach genuine insights about past events.

About the Book "In Defence of History gave me much pleasure from the beginning...it's also brilliantly readable--as all history, and all references to it, should be." -- Antonia Fraser, Guardian

"Evans takes us on a fascinating journey during which we observe a top-class professional labouring to make sense out of the past, addressing the question of sources, causation and the place of moral judgement in history." --John Charmley, Daily Telegraph

"Lucid and vivacious enough to make the most abstruse philosophical arguments interesting (and intelligible) to the average school student."--Ronald Hutton, Times Education Supplement --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Synopsis This volume combines argument about the nature of history with case studies of how good history is written and researched. At a time of deep scepticism about people's ability to learn anything from the past, even to recapture any serious sense of past cultures and ways of life, Richard Evans shows readers why history is both possible and necessary. He demolishes the wilder claims of postmodern historians who deny the possibility of any realistic grasp of history, and explains the political dangers of losing a historical perspective on the way people live their lives. Richard Evans is the author of "Death in Hamburg" (winner of the Wolfson Literary Award for History) and "Rituals of Retribution".