History: A Very Short Introduction - John Arnold - Review

In this very short introduction, Arnold takes 'historiography' to be the process of writing history, and 'history' to be the result of that process. It is essential to understand the process of creating a history from our partial recording of the past before reading history, as it enables you to evaluate and interpret what you read according to the inherent bias of the author and their sources. This short introduction to the subject is probably as good a place as any to start, Jenkin’s Rethinking History is more academic and in depth, but provides a brilliant overview of the nature of history.

Major figures such as Thucydides and von Ranke are discussed and central issues in the philosophy of history, such as the extent to which people of other times were essentially different from us, ‘the past is a foreign country’, are introduced. He brings this to life by using real life stories to illustrate the compilation of sources into an allegedly comprehensive history, ranging from heresy to Puritan rebellion and scandal in the American colonies. Arnold presents a wide range of opinions on these various topics.

His style is extremely  readable, and breathes life into a potentially dry area of study, but overall this little book succeeds admirably in its task and contains a wealth of information and opinion. It is recommended for anyone wanting to get beyond the 'true stories' to what history really is.

It gets 4/5 for its mine of information and relatively vibrant narrative