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Product Description
Review
Reviews of the previous Edition:‘This is exactly the kind of book to recommend warmly to any student wanting a general introduction to the discipline of history. It is highly accessible and could as easily be handled by the general reader wanting to know what is happening to history today.'
British Book News
‘Tosh provides an excellent introduction to methodology in history which will be read with advantage by historians at any stage of their development.'
History
‘...admirably up-to-date, well-researched and written with the kind of brio which might alone suggest that history is exciting....The judgements are individual and sometimes controversial but there is no better tour d'horizon on the market.'
Journal of African History
'Tosh writes clearly and pungently...a very satisfactory as well as stimulating vade-mecum for all who work at history.'
Times Higher Education Supplement
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
British Book News
‘Tosh provides an excellent introduction to methodology in history which will be read with advantage by historians at any stage of their development.'
History
‘...admirably up-to-date, well-researched and written with the kind of brio which might alone suggest that history is exciting....The judgements are individual and sometimes controversial but there is no better tour d'horizon on the market.'
Journal of African History
'Tosh writes clearly and pungently...a very satisfactory as well as stimulating vade-mecum for all who work at history.'
Times Higher Education Supplement
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
“An excellent introduction to methodology in history which will be read with advantage by historians at any stage of their development.”
History
“Can easily be handled by the general reader wanting to know what is happening to history today.”
British Book News
This classic introduction to the study of history invites the reader to stand back and consider some of its most fundamental questions - What is the point of studying history? How do we know about the past? Does an objective historical truth exist and can we ever access it?
In answering these central questions, John Tosh argues that, despite the impression of fragmentation created by postmodernism in recent years, history is a coherent discipline which still bears the imprint of its nineteenth-century origins. Consistently clear-sighted, he provides a lively and compelling guide to a complex and sometimes controversial subject, while making his readers vividly aware of just how far our historical knowledge is conditioned by the character of the sources and the methods of the historians who work on them.
The fifth edition has been revised and updated throughout, with the addition of new sections on:
· Global history
· Comparative history
· Postcolonialism
· Women’s and gender history
· Oral history and memory
Lucid and engaging, this new edition retains all the user-friendly features that have helped to make this book a favourite with both students and lecturers, including marginal glosses, illustrations, suggested further reading and boxed guides to key events and people.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
73 of 79 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having completed a BA Honours degree in History in 1999 I am still very surprised by the rarity of a worthwhile book on my subject. One that unpacks the discipline itself, inspires enthusiasm and a genuine sense of enjoyment. Invariably you are pointed in the direction of 'How to Study' books as a substitute. But these are an appalling slog for the average reader. They usually comprise 200 pages on how to skim read, make a spider diagram and render a perfectly good text book worthless with a flourescent green highlighter pen! In fact, most 'This is History' books that you can lay hands on are even worse, being almost always 'Source- hysterical'. Just how many times can you explain 'Primary' 'Secondary' and the 'Who', 'What' 'When' and 'To what end' conundrums of witting and unwitting testimony? Then if we stay awake long enough to reach chapter three we step into the academic minefield of verbose and complex 'Marx-speak'. Usually by this time I've joined 'Clarinet' or Tai Chi classes at the local College; sat next to ladies that resemble Renee Roberts of 70's Coronation Street fame. Thankfully however, John Tosh has saved us from such nightmares and produced a little triumph here. Nice, smooth, prose which glides through the subject with fluent skill. He handles historicism and theory without getting bogged down and I was left feeling genuinely 'interested'. History as a subject became far too Weimar obsessed-especially at A level- and fresh, new approaches are needed. Well done John!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
John Tosh is in my view an excellent writer. This book enables even dimwits like me to understand the basics of historiography - the methods of history. This edition has really helpful notes in the margins explaining more complicated terms in a very simple way - spelling out anachronistic for example. Where I disagree with him slightly is in his emphasis on oral history being a technique rather than a 'genre'. OK he dedicates a fair bit of space to his book to discussing oral history but is not as positive about its contribution as Gwyn Prins - whose argument is better backed up by sources.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is great as it looks at how to go about researching local history looking at issues such as oral, visual and written history. As it says in the title the author looks at "aims, methods and new directions in the study of modern history". Its a very good book for those just starting to look at researching history.Tosh deals with the problems that surround the uses of primary and secondary sources.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent
Tosh is a great author and brilliantly put this book together, excellent for students and the general reader... Read more
Published 6 months ago by lockefab
What a load of Tosh...
It's a book. Nothing much more to say about it, but useful for essays at postgraduate level. Undergraduates would do well to use this text.
Published 7 months ago by Bruce Wayne
Great Condition and contents
The book was in a lovely condition and came just in time for my history essay. If you want a fast delivery i'd advise you not to go for the free option as it will take time. Read more
Published 7 months ago by SSim
a really fabulous introduction
this is a fantastic book - I would recommend it to any student studying history as well as to anyone generally interested in the subject. Read more
Published 8 months ago by dwiendle
The Pursuit of History - Very good condition
The delivery of this item was very quick and upon opening I was very pleased to find the condition was very good. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Skippy
Book never arrrived- no reason given!!
After waiting over 10 days for the book to delivered, i called amazon to ask where it was . I contacted the seller via mail and so did they- no joy. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2010 by Ms. M. Hardy
Good read but hard-going in parts
This is a good introduction to the ongoing debates surrounding history. I brought it when I was studying the nature and purpose of history at uni and it did help me. Read more
Published on 3 Oct 2007 by Nathan
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