The Ever-Changing Past: Why All History is Revisionist History

by James M. Banner Jr Narrated by Bob Souer

Overview

History is not, and has never been, inert, certain, merely factual, and beyond reinterpretation. Taking listeners from Thucydides to the origin of the French Revolution to the Civil War and beyond, James M. Banner, Jr. explores what historians do and why they do it.



Banner shows why historical knowledge is unlikely ever to be unchanging, why history as a branch of knowledge is always a search for meaning and a constant source of argument, and why history is so essential to individuals' awareness of their location in the world and to every group and nation's sense of identity and destiny. He explains why all historians are revisionists while they seek to more fully understand the past, and how they always bring their distinct minds, dispositions, perspectives, and purposes to bear on the subjects they study.

Editorial Reviews

JULY 2021 - AudioFile

Bob Souer narrates this academic study of the writing of history and its subsequent and inevitable revisions. Beginning with Herodotus and Thucydides, Eusebius and other church fathers, the work progresses rapidly through the late eighteenth century and on to the early 21st, focusing mostly on historians of the French Revolution and the American Civil War. Souer maintains a continuous recitation of names, dates, and in-depth discussions of historical works with few pauses for listeners to cogitate over concepts and theories. Souer rarely shifts tone or pace when reading quotations, making listeners uncertain when they end. Those familiar with historiography will find this work an excellent review. For others, Souer’s nonstop reading may be daunting. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

JULY 2021 - AudioFile

Bob Souer narrates this academic study of the writing of history and its subsequent and inevitable revisions. Beginning with Herodotus and Thucydides, Eusebius and other church fathers, the work progresses rapidly through the late eighteenth century and on to the early 21st, focusing mostly on historians of the French Revolution and the American Civil War. Souer maintains a continuous recitation of names, dates, and in-depth discussions of historical works with few pauses for listeners to cogitate over concepts and theories. Souer rarely shifts tone or pace when reading quotations, making listeners uncertain when they end. Those familiar with historiography will find this work an excellent review. For others, Souer’s nonstop reading may be daunting. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176423648
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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