Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. History    4. Study & Teaching    5. Study and teaching    6. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    7. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / General    8. Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects    9. Teaching skills & techniques   

Editorial Review

In the 19th and 20th centuries, historiographers established scientific methods and standards for the historical profession. History's claims to objective knowledge have recently been critiqued by post-foundationalists who argue that facts cannot exist outside of the "prison house" of language. Richard Evans's Read more

Reviews (9)

How to Write History.....
Richard Evans attacks a controversial topic on the world of history today -- how to write history.There are many schools of theory in the historical profession which can affect the way historians view historical sources.Evans particulary narrows his viewpoint to those historians known as "post-modernists."He does this beccause post-modernists are perhaps some of the most controversial historians, not to mention the very theory itself, in the profession today.He also ponders what place post-modernists do have in the historical profession.
Historical study of history
Richard Evans' book analyzes history as a discipline and tackles subjects as objectivity, causation, history vs science, sources and discourses.I was assigned this book for a graduate course on historiography.Evans presents his thesis and supports his arguments well.In Defense of History is a good companion to David Fischer's Historians' Fallacies, Davidson and Lytle's After the Fact and Mark Gilderhus' History and Historians.

Too Defensive
This book is a sensible (if repetitive and meandering) defense of mainstream historiography against the claims of post-modernists.I gave the book four stars instead of five because Evans is defensive to a fault and too respectful of post-modernist hype.Post-modernism is surely one of the dopier intellectual fads of the late 20th century.Good historians have always been careful to read documents critically; they have always known that interpretations of source material can be shaped by extra-historiographical considerations.This element of "looseness" is an invitation to rational discussion of the historical record.It is not proof that rational discussion is impossible or that historians are condemned to irreducible subjective bias.Working historians should treat post-modernism the way working scientists treat it:by ignoring it and going about their business. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Historiography    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Philosophy    6. Study & Teaching    7. Teaching of a specific subject    8. World history   

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - U.S.    3. History: World    4. Reference    5. Study & Teaching    6. United States - General    7. World history   

Editorial Review

The authors of Read more

Reviews (9)

A Meaningful Report from the Trenches of the "Culture Wars"
Begun in 1989 as a bi-partisan initiative to enhance the teaching of K-12 history to America's students, the authors of this book--Gary B. Nash, Charlotte Crabtree, and Ross E. Dunn--along with many others, prepared a set of guidelines and teaching examples that would guide instructors in the preparation of their classes. "History on Trial" is largely about the effort to prepare the guidelines and the furor that they caused in the mid-1990s, although there is a discussion in the early part of the book about the "culture wars" in general in the latter twentieth century.
History On Trial: Innacurate
History On Trial examines a period of time in the mid to late 1990s where political agendas raged over how to teach the subject of history in American classrooms. For the most part this book presents it's arguments from an extremely left-wing, politically correct viewpoint which I quickly grew tired of. History On Trial is also amazingly innacurate when it comes to simple facts, which calls into question how accurate the book is overall. For example only six pages into History On Trial the reader will come across this amazingly erroneous question:
History on Trial
A great resource for undergraduate and graduate students at my university in classes for scholars becoming professional educators.Would highly recommend to causal readers, also.
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Subjects:  1. Curricula    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Multicultural Education    5. Philosophy & Social Aspects    6. Study & Teaching    7. Education / Philosophy & Social Aspects   

Subjects:  1. Activity programs    2. Curricula    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. History    6. Study & Teaching    7. Study and teaching    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Social Science    9. United States    10. American history    11. Education / Curricula    12. Teaching of a specific subject    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. Afrocentrism    2. Historiography    3. International Relations - General    4. Political Science    5. Politics - Current Events    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. World History    9. Black studies    10. International relations    11. Political Science / International Relations    12. Political science & theory   

Reviews (12)

Multiple Views on U.S. History
History may be written by the winners, but that doesn't mean it's the only history that's out there. That's the premise behind "History Lessons: How Textbooks from around the World Portray U.S. History". However the only people that will run to read this book are, history teachers and history hobbyists.That's not to say it's a bad book. It is a great book, but it doesn't lend itself to be read a linier manner. It is more apt as a reference book for high school research papers on American History. The causal reader looking for a smooth mind blowing read will be bored and frustrated. The main reason that the book drags is how it's edited, there is very little writing here. Most of the passages are directly from other text books. The authors/editors do provide some brief insight before a selected passage but this is a compilation work, not aoriginal work of non-fiction.
A Good Idea, Wasted
Viewing American history from the perspective of other nations is a great idea, and could have led to some deep insights into the narrow egocentric self-image most Americans carry.
The most important history book ever published in the US
I won't repeat the excellent synopsis and commentary in the review below. Instead, as a non-Amercian living in the US, I'd like to add my thoughts on the importance of this book.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Historiography    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Study & Teaching    7. United States - General    8. American history    9. History / General    10. Teaching of a specific subject    11. USA   

Reviews (1)

Great Book
Very Interesting ... Fast and Interesting
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Subjects:  1. Citizenship    2. Civics & Citizenship    3. Examinations, questions, etc    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History - U.S.    7. History: American    8. Study & Teaching    9. United States    10. United States - General    11. History / United States / General   

Reviews (2)

Simple intro
This book is fairly short (111 pgs with not a lot of print on them,) but is a great introduction to writing for history classes.It doesn't go into lots of detail, it is very basic.
Ideal for advanced undergraduate students of history
Storey, developed this text for a writing program at Harvard.A historian by training, Storey does an excellent job of describing basic and advanced research and writing techniques.His text is succinct and lively, filledwith well chosen examples.If you have ever wondered about the differencebetween a primary and secondary source or how to deal with contradictoryevidence, this is the book for you.I assign it in my writing courses. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Academic writing    2. Composition & Creative Writing - General    3. Historiography    4. History    5. History - General History    6. Language    7. Language Arts & Disciplines    8. Research    9. Study & Teaching    10. World - General    11. History / Study & Teaching    12. History, World    13. Writing & editing guides   

Subjects:  1. Examinations, questions, etc    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Sources    6. Study & Teaching    7. World - General    8. World history    9. History / World   

Reviews (2)

Celebrating a Centennial
For decades Diane Rademacher has diligently sought remnants from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. She has traveled thousands of miles and interviewed hundreds of people. Rademacher sought not the collectible souvenirs from the Fair but rather relics from the Fair itself -- the buildings (or parts of buildings), the sculpture, the exhibits. Great book. Lots of wonderful details on a fabulous Fair.
If you have any interest in the St. Louis World's Fair, I highly recommend this book. The author has clearly done a tremendous amount of research. It is absolutely amazing the one-of-a-kind items she has tracked down from this amazing Fair. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History - General History    2. Study & Teaching   

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Study & Teaching    4. Teaching Methods & Materials - Social Science    5. United States - General   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. General    4. History    5. Philosophy    6. Social History    7. Social Science    8. Social sciences and history    9. Sociology    10. Sociology - Social Theory    11. Study & Teaching    12. History: theory & methods    13. Social Science / Anthropology / General   

Reviews (1)

Overall good, but somewhat incomplete
This is a nice "coffee table" book with lots of rare photographs and drawings . The book is focused on the architecture of past World's Fairs, and the author chooses expositions that he considers to bearchitecturally significant. This means that his choices are a bitarbitrary, and also, because of their transient nature, most of thebuildings at World's Fairs will eventually be torn down. The authorbasically ignores most of the World's Fairs that have taken place in thelast 25 years, and doesn't mention some landmarks from recent World'sFairs, that have become part of the buildings that define a city, such asthe Canada Place building from Expo '86 in Vancouver, that is a key part ofthat city's architecture now. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. 20th century    3. Architecture    4. Customs & Traditions    5. History    6. History - General    7. History - General History    8. Modern Architecture    9. Trade shows    10. World - General    11. Architecture / General    12. Exhibition    13. Non-Classifiable    14. Public buildings: civic, commercial, industrial, etc    15. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (4)

A Detective Manual for Domestic Mysteries
Everyone can find interest in researching the history of past inhabitants of their house.This book gives step-by-step instructions to identify the names of past inhabitants, how to locate them or their relatives, and learn facts about their lives as well as obtain old photos showing your house in previous incarnations.One can learn about hidden mysteries ranging from hidden rooms to why in the world did they choose THAT interior decoration, etc.
Very useful
Many people are familiar with the idea of tracing your family roots, and learning what history surrounds you. But, this book tells you how you can trace the history of the house you live in! Providing a great deal of suggestions and courses of action, this book tells you how you can find out all sorts of wonderful information on your house. If you are interested in the history of small things, then I highly recommend that your get this very useful book!

A fun, simple, and "user friendly" step-by-step guide
Discovering The History Of Your House And Your Neighborhood by noted house historian Betsy J. Green is a fun, simple, and "user friendly" step-by-step guide to researching the history of a private home. From surfing the Internet, to following a paper trail, Discovering The History Of Your House is a welcome and highly recommended primer to finding out everything you want or need to know about the architectural history of your own home, but didn't know who or how to ask. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Domestic    3. Dwellings    4. Genealogy    5. General    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Historic buildings    8. Historiography    9. Research    10. United States   

Reviews (6)

Dr. Page rules!
This is a great book and I was able to get even more out it since I am one of Dr. Page's students at East Tennessee State.

Extremely helpful book
Marius has written an extremely readable and informative book on the writing of history. He proceeds from showing readers what questions to ask in doing historical research into types of historical writing can be done, from discriptive to argumentitive. Helpful Resource on Historography
History prof recommended this for help in writing research papers in history department.Read more

Subjects:  1. Academic writing    2. Composition & Creative Writing - General    3. Historiography    4. History    5. History - General History    6. Language    7. Language Arts & Disciplines    8. Methodology    9. Research    10. History: theory & methods    11. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing    12. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (1)

The best biography of the best British historian
This is a beautifully written biography of the most famous British historian of the twentieth century. It takes its place as the best book on Taylor, far better than the earlier books by Robert Cole and Adam Sisman. Kathleen Burk, similarly a prolific and professional historian, is especially good on Taylor's methods of work, and on the importance of his contributions to historical knowledge and debate.Taylor was one of the best ever diplomatic historians, yet he was also an inspirational populariser of history. He combined excellent scholarship with an unusual ability to make history accessible, through his many books, newspaper articles, book reviews, lectures at universities, speeches at meetings, and radio and TV talks and appearances.Diplomatic history is rather unfashionable today, but, as he wrote, it "deals with the greatest of themes - with the relations of States, with peace and war, with the existence and destruction of communities and civilisations." He analysed the profound and specific causes of historical events, so we can say that imperialism ensures that there will be wars, yet that each particular war occurs at a particular time for specific reasons.All his writings explored the causes, histories and outcomes of the world wars, but he also wrote about a huge variety of other themes. Unfortunately, Burk does not mention his many newspaper articles opposing the Common Market, a shared antipathy that largely explained his continuing links with Lord Beaverbrook.She concludes that his three finest books were The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848-1918, The Origins of the Second World War, and English History 1914-1945. Other readers will have their own favourites. I would also recommend The troublemakers: dissent over British foreign policy 1792-1939, and Professor A. J. P. Taylor on Europe: the historian who predicted the future.Read more

Subjects:  1. (Alan John Percivale),    2. 1906-    3. 20th century    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. College teachers    9. England    10. Great Britain    11. Great Britain - History - 20th Century    12. Historians    13. Historical - General    14. Historiography    15. History    16. Oxford    17. Taylor, A. J. P    18. History / General   

Reviews (6)

Beautiful travel writing based on extensive historical research!
As in "Balkan Ghosts," Kaplan writes with great clarity and intelligence, weaving a fine travel narrative founded on extensive historical research. He writes with a unique and creative eye, and tends to focus on important yet little-known locales. He philosophizes quite a bit, but it is an intriguing, pleasurable philosophy. The following quote from his section on Greece crystallizes for me the special appeal of this type of writing, "...travel writing, rather than a low-rent occupation for the Sunday supplements, could also be a means to explore art, history, literature, and statecraft..." Precisely! Bravo, Kaplan!
A journey of mind
Impressions are akin to the distillates of grape rinds which when aged in the charred barrel of time yield the fine cognac of memories that become smoother and more satisfying with age. Mediterranean Winter is not an account of a recent journey or the nostalgic pining for youth but rather the mature reflections of a man whose impressions of a lifetime of world travel have been aged in the in the cask of the mind. Kaplan’s work is a delicate blend of autobiography, travel, philosophy, and above all, history. Like a fine cognac it is smooth, delicious, and relaxing.
A Landscape Companion
Robert D Kaplan's latest book, "Mediterranean Winter: The Pleasures of History and Landscape in Tunisia, Sicily, Dalmatia, and Greece," is written in the tradition of what was known in the 1930's as "landscape companions."The most well-known practitioners of this lost art were Robert Byron, David Talbot Rice, Lawrence Durrell, and Patrick Leigh Fermor.(They were all children of the British Empire.) This book recounts a journey Kaplan took shortly afer graduating from college in the mid 1970's.Kaplan writes: "With this journey, I acquired the habit of searching books linked to landscapes and seascapes through which I traveled.Reading became surgery; a way of dissecting the surrounding landscape and may own motivations for being there."
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Subjects:  1. Antiquities    2. Civilization, Classical    3. Classical antiquities    4. Description and travel    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. Europe - General    7. Europe - Greece    8. Historical - General    9. History    10. History: World    11. Mediterranean Region    12. Study & Teaching    13. Travel - General    14. Voyages And Travels    15. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Dictionaries    3. Historians    4. Historiography    5. History    6. History - General History    7. Reference    8. World - General    9. History / World   

Subjects:  1. Curriculum Materials    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. History    5. Secondary School Social Sciences    6. Study & Teaching    7. Study and teaching    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    9. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / General    10. Teaching of a specific subject    11. World history: BCE to c 500 CE    12. World history: c 1500 to c 1750    13. World history: c 500 to C 1500