--- product_id: 6520056 title: "In Defense of History" price: "28.12 DT" currency: TND in_stock: false reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/6520056-in-defense-of-history store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # In Defense of History **Price:** 28.12 DT **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** In Defense of History - **How much does it cost?** 28.12 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/6520056-in-defense-of-history) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description A master practitioner gives us an entertaining tour of the historian's workshop and a spirited defense of the search for historical truth. E. H. Carr's What Is History? , a classic introduction to the field, may now give way to a worthy successor. In his compact, intriguing survey, Richard J. Evans shows us how historians manage to extract meaning from the recalcitrant past. To materials that are frustratingly meager, or overwhelmingly profuse, they bring an array of tools that range from agreed-upon rules of documentation and powerful computer models to the skilled investigator's sudden insight, all employed with the aim of reconstructing a verifiable, usable past. Evans defends this commitment to historical knowledge from the attacks of postmodernist critics who see all judgments as subjective. Evans brings "a remarkable range, a nose for the archives, a taste for controversy, and a fluent pen" ( The New Republic ) to this splendid work. "Essential reading for coming generations."-Keith Thomas Review: Postmodernism - The book challenges the self-designated left-wing radicalism of postmodernists. And the challenge came from a leftist. Postmoderism is a extreme relativism form of thinking, that opens the door to fascists and racists as well as radicals and progressives by allowing anybody to claim that their view of history, their reading of a document, is as valid as anybody else's, and by making it impossible to refute their arguments on anything but political grounds. Pr. Evans hit the core of the problem that changed the quality of discourse in the educational world. Postmodernism is a form of skepticism combined with self-consciousness. Its adherents believe that no historical narrative can be considered authoritative, because writers always have political motives, whether they are aware of them or not. In short, they believe that there is no such thing as objectivity. Every claim is suspect, especially if it is generally accepted as true. The motives of every historian must therefore be scrutinized, except those of postmodernists themselves. The educational system of my country, is "prisoner" in this form of historical thinking, a form that teach students "what to think" and not "how to think". Evans book exposes with scientific manner this way of thinking, reminds me the "Alan Sokal" case. Review: Brilliant theory - There is nothing wrong with theorizing historical research, but the danger resides in analysis to the point of dissolution. In the Introduction to his book, Richard Evans expressed this idea clearly: “The theory of history is too important a matter to be left to the theoreticians” (p. 12). It’s the old debate between the doer and the thinker, no tolerance for the other. While the thinker has the ideas, it’s the doer that must implement them—and s/he knows what is practical and what is not as Evans pointed out: “Practicing historians may not have a God-given monopoly of pronouncing sensibly on such matters, but they surely have as much right to try and think and write about them as anyone else, and the experience of actually having done historical research ought to mean that they have something to contribute which those who have not shared this experience do not” (p. 12). Historians always must theorize to a point, depending on the topic, the sources available and practical ideology. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #535,462 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #292 in Historiography (Books) #410 in Historical Study & Teaching #593 in European History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 88 Reviews | ## Images ![In Defense of History - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81uHcId6M4L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Postmodernism *by G***U on February 26, 2011* The book challenges the self-designated left-wing radicalism of postmodernists. And the challenge came from a leftist. Postmoderism is a extreme relativism form of thinking, that opens the door to fascists and racists as well as radicals and progressives by allowing anybody to claim that their view of history, their reading of a document, is as valid as anybody else's, and by making it impossible to refute their arguments on anything but political grounds. Pr. Evans hit the core of the problem that changed the quality of discourse in the educational world. Postmodernism is a form of skepticism combined with self-consciousness. Its adherents believe that no historical narrative can be considered authoritative, because writers always have political motives, whether they are aware of them or not. In short, they believe that there is no such thing as objectivity. Every claim is suspect, especially if it is generally accepted as true. The motives of every historian must therefore be scrutinized, except those of postmodernists themselves. The educational system of my country, is "prisoner" in this form of historical thinking, a form that teach students "what to think" and not "how to think". Evans book exposes with scientific manner this way of thinking, reminds me the "Alan Sokal" case. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brilliant theory *by S***N on August 9, 2018* There is nothing wrong with theorizing historical research, but the danger resides in analysis to the point of dissolution. In the Introduction to his book, Richard Evans expressed this idea clearly: “The theory of history is too important a matter to be left to the theoreticians” (p. 12). It’s the old debate between the doer and the thinker, no tolerance for the other. While the thinker has the ideas, it’s the doer that must implement them—and s/he knows what is practical and what is not as Evans pointed out: “Practicing historians may not have a God-given monopoly of pronouncing sensibly on such matters, but they surely have as much right to try and think and write about them as anyone else, and the experience of actually having done historical research ought to mean that they have something to contribute which those who have not shared this experience do not” (p. 12). Historians always must theorize to a point, depending on the topic, the sources available and practical ideology. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not the last word but enjoyable and provocative. *by G***R on April 5, 2003* There has been an ongoing and vigorous debate in the philosophy of history for the last thirty or so years concerning the ways in which postmodernism should or should not impact the writing of history. In this delightfully polemical book, Richard Evans does not try to engage the writings of the major postmodernists. Do not expect to find counterarguments to the writings of Derrida, Foucault, Lyotard or de Certeau. It is in the writings of thinkers like Hayden White, Frank Ankersmit, Dominick LaCapra, Keith Jenkins, Elizabeth Ermath, Joan Scott, etc. that the major claims of the postmodernists have been made for history in the English speaking world. It is with their writings that Evans engages in debate. This does not, however, put him in the camp of conservatives like Gertrude Himmelfarb, John Vincent, David Harlan and Keith Windschuttle. Evans is arguing for a middle position- one that emphasizes the recalcitrance of the "facts", i.e., the historical records. Evans denies that all of history is interpretation and that no one interpretation is better than any other. He believes that careful and honest shifting of the historical record will show some or one interpretations to be better grounded in that record than others. On the other hand, he is excited by some of the possibilities for history that have been opened up by those working historians whose work he admires and who are identified with the postmodern camp, e.g., Simon Schama, Theodore Zeldin and Orlando Figes. One of the main points of his critique is that Evans feels that postmodernism removes the possibility of any sort of critical perspective- he reiterates the old point that if there is no grounds to prefer one interpretation over another, if there is no such thing as a fact than there is no reason to prefer the views of the standard histories of the Holocaust over those of a denier, e.g., David Irving. This is not the best of the books I have read recently on historiography. Berkhofer's Beyond the Great Story retains that distinction. It does have the advantage of being very well written, very clear in it's presentation and quite enjoyably feisty. Evans' style is like that of a good lightweight- constantly circling, jabbing his opponents, sensing a weakness and then throwing the combination. If you think my pugilistic metaphor to be inappropriate, ... for a series of short essays Evans wrote in reply to his many and equally nasty critics. This site is probably the best way to figure out if this book is for you. As for me, I have come to realize that this is a debate without end. Evans did not really settle anything for me. Neither has anyone else I have read lately. He does give you a lot to think about and he points the reader in the direction of a lot of interesting work done by other people. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/6520056-in-defense-of-history](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/6520056-in-defense-of-history) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-07-10*