The New Nature of History: Knowledge, Evidence, Language

An updated version of the classic The Nature of History, The New Nature of History offers answers to questions essential to the student of history What is history?; Why do History?; and How does one do history? Marwick has totally recast and rewritten the first version of the book, published in 1970, and given it a new coherence and a new dynamic thrust derived from the three words of the subtitle, "knowledge, evidence, language." Using these categories, he presents the first clear and comprehensive expression of the case against postmodernism in an undergraduate textbook. Arguing that the substance of history is evidence, not speculation, Marwick explicates the production of history as a body of knowledge. He outlines the actual activities of a working historian in discussions on the necessity of precise language, the analysis and interpretation of primary and secondary sources, and the vital distinctions between the "witting" and "unwitting" testimony of primary sources. This volume, written deftly in explicit and precise language and including a thorough index, is an ideal companion for students and writers of history at all levels.

Arthur Marwick (d. 2006) was professor of history at the Open University and an internationally known writer of both history and historiography. His many books include British Society since 1945 (1996) and The Sixties (1998).