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A History of Histories: Epics, Chronicles, Romances and Inquiries from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Twentieth Century

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Manufacturer: Knopf

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This unprecedented book by one of Britain’s most admired historians describes the intellectual impact that the study and consideration of history has had in the Western world over the past 2,500 years.

Treating the practice of history not as an isolated pursuit but as an aspect of human society and an essential part of the culture of Europe and America, John Burrow magnificently brings to life and explains the distinctive qualities found in the work of historians from the ancient Egyptians and Greeks to the present, including Livy, Tacitus, Bede, Froissart, Clarendon, Gibbon, Macaulay, Michelet, Prescott and Parkman. The author sets out not to give us the history of academic discipline but a history of choices: the choice of pasts, and the ways they have been demarcated, investigated, presented and even sometimes learned from as they have changed according to political, religious, cultural, and (often most important) partisan and patriotic circumstances. Burrow aims, as well, to change our perceptions of the crucial turning points in the history of history, allowing the ideas that historians have had about both their own times and their founding civilizations to emerge with unexpected freshness.

Burrow argues that looking at the history of history is one of the most interesting ways we have to understand the past. Certainly, this volume stands alone in its ambition, scale and fascination.


PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS:

Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 907.2
EAN: 9780375413117
ISBN: 0375413111
Label: Knopf
Manufacturer: Knopf
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 544
Publication Date: 2008-04-08
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: 2008-04-08
Studio: Knopf


SIMILAR ITEMS:

• The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History
• The Library at Night
• The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories
• Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45 (Vintage)
• The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World


CUSTOMER REVIEWS:

Masterful survey. -
I am just beginning the exploration of why history is written and what it means in my life; this book has been a great help.

Tracing historians from Herodotus to 20th century microhistorians, this book covers much ground in a relatively concise narrative. It treats each subject or school fairly, explaining the motivations behind most of the theories and writings, and what you can expect if you read them. It was particularly strong, I thought, in treating pre-C20 subjects. His commitment to brevity means that a lot of developments in recent times had to be cursorily treated. I'm interested in what other academic disciplines can contribute to the idea of a fair or "objective" history, so I thought that was a pity.

The various approaches to history -- the idea of it as a recorder of great human actions, a moral tirade, a collection of personalities or an idea of progress as seen through political/diplomatic actions, a cultural zeitgeist, realpolitik, civic history, and so on -- are confusing, numerous, and complicated enough as it is for the layperson to tackle with no prior reading or academic training in the discipline. What Burrows has done here is to provide a good first entry point for readers like me who need an introduction to influential and historically important historians, as well as strains of historical thought that have swept and/or are sweeping the intellectual world of today.

Highly recommended, particularly since his own philosophical love of the subject comes out in how he writes each chapter and how each approach has its own merits and weaknesses.

A rare book. -
A rare book because it more than rewards the effort of reading. Like all great teachers, Burrow's affection for his subject and its practitioners shines through. His prose can be a little scholarly at times (terms such as "prolix" and "antinomian" can make even a fairly literate reader feel excluded) but that's just nit-picking. Also, the book is a history of *western* histories - not surprising given the author's background; you can only cast your net so wide. It is a breathtaking achievement - an easy, engaging read that makes you want to learn more.

An eccentric smorgasbord of delights -
A History of Histories is an idiosyncratic work filled with a kaleidoscope of insights that derive from the author's broad education and lifetime of reading. At his best, Burrow seems like an animated tour guide pointing us to histories that we have never read and never will read: "Bet you've not thought about William Robertson. Well, let me tell you what's important about his History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V (1769). And then Carlyle--how about his peculiar and evocative prose style?"

What one should not expect of Burrow is a systematic study of great historians or western historiography. Everyone can choose his own favorite examples of imbalance. Ancient Greek historians get more space than the entire twentieth century. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the egregious medieval mythmaker, gets five and a half pages to Leopold von Ranke's three at best. Among Americans, William Hickling Prescott gets eight pages, Charles Beard a sentence and a half.

I also think Burrow has slighted the influence of the religion of the Bible in the development of western historiography. He postpones consideration of the Book itself until after all the ancients, although anyone guessing at the dates of composition for what Herbert Butterfield calls the "Court History of David" (I & II Samuel) would probably place it several centuries before Herodotus and would also probably, like Butterfield, credit it with "an amazing impartiality and independence." Then too, much of the praise bestowed on Enlightenment historians should, in my opinion, be attributed to the outworking of the Reformation. Likewise, nineteenth-century historicists reflect the soft glow of German pietism at their backs.

In the end, A History of Histories is still the finest piece of historigraphical literature written for the educated general reader in our generation. It's an eccentric smorgasbord of delights. If there are too many kinds of artichokes, there is still plenty of steak on the table.

Impressive -
A History of Histories is an ambitious book that attempts to show the developments in the writing of history over the span of around 2,500 years. The author examines who some of these major historians were, what topics they considered worthy of recording, what their strengths and weaknesses were ,and lastly, how history became professionalized.

I found the first section of Burrow's book easier to follow since I have read some of the works of the ancient Greek and Roman historians detailed here. I wasn't as familiar with the works of the later historians, though I have heard of several of these figures. This part was a slower read as my knowledge of these historians and their works was not as strong. The author has an impressive knowledge of so many of these figures and their works.

The author does a good job in tracing the developments in the writing of history and who some of the representative historians from each major period were. Obviously it is also important to know a little about the world around them at their time and how that influenced their writings, which the author also touches on. Epics, chronicles, annals, universal histories, socioeconomic, cultural, political/diplomatic histories and the likes are all included in this broad overview. Indeed, the evolution in the writing of history becomes clear in this book. The author aptly concludes by stating this is a story that doesn't end. An erudite, but challenging read in places, at least for me.

A truly monumental work -
I have always been a history nut, reading history after history throughout my life. And one cannot read these histories without realizing that there is a difference between the way the historians viewed their subjects, and how they went about recording history. In this fascinating book, author and noted historian, John Burrow, examines the historians, putting them within their historic framework, and showing how they viewed their subjects.

As each historian is unveiled - Herodotus, Thucydides, Zenophon, and on and on - you get an understanding of what the historian was saying and how he understood his subject. Even more, you get to see how the understanding of "history" has changed throughout the unfolding of Western society.

Overall, I found this to be a thoroughly absorbing book. I really enjoy history, and now I see how a "history" is part of history, with a context to it. If you enjoy reading non-modern histories, you really should read this book. I does a great job of taking you behind the words, to what the author was truly saying and why. I think that this is a truly monumental work, one that is sure to please any history buff.

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