ABSTRACT

Fifty Key Works of History and Historiography introduces some of the most important works ever written by those who have sought to understand, capture, query and interpret the past. The works covered include texts from ancient times to the present day and from different cultural traditions ensuring a wide variety of schools, methods and ideas are introduced. Each of the fifty texts represents at least one of six broad categories:

  • early examples of historiography (e.g. Herodotus and Augustine)
  • non-western works (e.g. Shaddad and Fukuzawa)
  • ‘Critical’ historiography (e.g. Mabillon and Ranke)
  • history of minorities, neglected groups or subjects (e.g. Said and Needham)
  • broad sweeps of history (e.g. Mumford and Hofstadter)
  • problematic or unconventional historiography (e.g. Foucault and White).

Each of the key works is introduced in a short essay written in a lively and engaging style which provides the ideal preparation for reading the text itself. Complete with a substantial introduction to the field, this book is the perfect starting point for anyone new to the study of history or historiography.

chapter 1|13 pages

Greece

chapter 2|10 pages

Rome

chapter 3|12 pages

Judaism and Christianity

chapter 4|7 pages

Byzantium

chapter 5|6 pages

Islam

chapter 6|10 pages

Medieval Europe

chapter 7|11 pages

Renaissance Europe

chapter 8|12 pages

Reformation Europe

chapter 9|19 pages

Eighteenth-Century Europe

chapter 10|42 pages

Nineteenth-Century Europe

chapter 11|11 pages

China

chapter 12|14 pages

Japan

chapter 13|11 pages

India

chapter 14|12 pages

Africa

chapter 15|92 pages

Twentieth-Century Europe and America