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1000 Word Book Review
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Arnold’s addition to
Oxford’s Very Short Introductions books
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The strengths, weaknesses and contrasting views to Arnolds
ideas will be presented, and a conclusion will be made as to the whether Arnold has furthered
any arguments on the topic of how to approach history
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Arnold brings to light several important issues that all students of history should
reflect upon as one reads history as written by others and as one conducts ones’ own
historical research
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Throughout the text, Arnold uses cases both from historical events and
the writing of well-known historians to examine the varying purposes history has served over
time
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Arnold’s primary aim seems to be demonstrating the similarities that exist between “history”
and “storytelling
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He also
provides an insightful exploration into a process used by historians; origins, outcomes and
effects
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To say this work has numerous strengths would be a huge understatement
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Arnold uncovers
major subjects in the historical profession in a way that invites readers in, with a very
welcoming way of doing so
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In Chapter 6
Arnold addresses how histiography, culture, economy and society effects stories, while
continuing to discuss what makes historical renovation subjective
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The weaknesses, which are unfortunately unavoidable in such a book, are more a matter of
format than actual content or context
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Likewise, each chapter ends with Arnold summarizing what he covered in
the prior pages
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For such a short work Arnold spends a considerable amount of time
repeating material
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From the case study of Guilhem de Rodes, Arnold moves on to discover the ways in which
historiography has changed throughout history
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He then precedes to the early modern and modern
periods, where he spends the majority of his time
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Arnold spends the substance of his final
chapters discussing issues of bias, both within sources and amongst historians
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Without bias, there would be no need for a
historian to interpret the past for the general public
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There is also of course the consideration of whether Arnold’s argument of how historians tell
stories is widely accepted or not
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In its entirety it is
chaotic, uncoordinated, and complex as life
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’1 In
unknown support, the very much respected E
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Carr states in his book What is History that
‘History therefore is a process of selection in terms of historical significance… Just as from
the infinite ocean of facts the historians select those which are significant for his purpose
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It is clear from this that Arnold is clearly reiterating points made
previously by past historians, therefore not furthering the field of this argument as much as he
may have wanted to
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Despite a few issues of formatting, Arnold’s History: A Very Short Introduction serves as an
interesting treatise on history and historiography
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This book has if not furthered, definitely reiterated some
crucial points in a welcoming, clear way to an age that is desperate for clarity within history
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 Arnold,  History:  A  Very  Short  Introduction,  (Oxford:  Oxford  University  Press,  2000)  p
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 E
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 Carr,  What  is  History,  (London:  Penguin  Books,  1990)  p
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