John Vincent has often been accused of political incorrectness, but never in his writing of history. In this book his writing has been highly praised for its "verve, excitement, wit and original thought". In this controversial and through-provoking study of history, Professor Vincent goes to the very heart of the classic and complex issues raised by the subject.
In 1928 Bernard Shaw wrote his Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism. Nearly seventy years later, in what some may mistake for a merely polemical tract, Vincent makes no concessions to fashion or contemporary orthodoxy.
An Intelligent Person's Guide to History provides a comprehensive examination of the philosophy and evolution of history. It explores the nature of historical evidence, historical imagination, together with morality, causality, bias and hindsight.
This is a controversial work, packed with ideas, by a leading historian. Penetrating, incisive and always provocative, An Intelligent Person's Guide to History will prove both a vital text for scholar and a stimulating guide for the general reader.
John Vincent has been Professor of History at the University of Bristol since 1970. Educated at Bedales and Christ's College, Cambridge, he was formerly Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Cambridge. Among his many acclaimed and influential publications are The Formation of the Liberal Party (1966), Gladstone and Ireland (1979) and a masterly short biography of Disraeli (1990). Professor Vincent is also widely known as a journalist and controversialist.