What Is History?

Rating:
Summary: 6 great lectures given in 1961 are collected in this volume.
Review: Some of the direct answers Prof. Carr gives to this stimulating question are (1) "to enable [us] to understand the society of the past" and (2) "to increase [our] mastery over the present. Discovering how he arrives at these answers is a reward in itself for anyone who cares in the least bit about the past, the present, or the future. This slim book, burgeoning with exposees and suggestions for thought, is a must-read for anyone who thinks he or she knows what history is, what it means, and what its implications are. The first lecture, "The Historian and His Facts", is a wake-up call for those who define history as a great-big collection of facts, the significance of which resides exclusively in the facts themselves. "Wie es eigentlich gewissen" was, as Prof. Carr explains, an untenable philosopy of history, since so much of what actually happened (and especially what it meant) in the past is dependent upon the biases of those involved in the actions and those involved in attempting to explain them. The five remaining lectures build on each other and make for wonderfully stimulating and interpretive reading. Built of the clarity and intermittent humor of Prof. Carr's prose, the structure of the book is well-conceived and tries to include as many of the central issues as possible, while presenting as fairly as one man can the views of those who do or did cling to conceptions of history which Prof. Carr discredits.

Rating:
Summary: THE STYLE COULD BE MORE FLUENT
Review: WHEN I HAVE READ THIS BOOK I LEARNT THAT,HISTORY IS NOT AS SAME AS WE KNOW.BUT I SHOULD SAY THAT ARRANGING OF THE WORDS HAVE CAUSED A DIFFICULTY RELATED TO READING THE BOOK IN A FLUENT MANNER.THANKS FOR GIVING A CHANCE WHICH I COULD SAY MY IDEAS.