Customer Reviews

Historiography: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern

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I used this book when taking a post-graduate historiography course. Clearly not for novices or history "buffs," the book proved an excellent source for graduate students seeking some understanding of the fundamental beliefs associated with historians and how they interpreted history through various "schools" of thought. As such, it was very helpful for explaining the philosophical underpinnings behind various works. I recommend that history students use the book that way. For example, when reading Thomas B. Macaulay's "History of England" as an example of Whigish History, Breisach's interpretation of the Whig approach came in handy. His portions on Vico, and later the Annales Group or School, also proved very helpful. He certainly spent more time on European approaches although he paid some attention to American ideas. Those looking for deeper American philosophical interpretations should examine Eric Foner's "The New American History" and Peter Novick's "That Noble Dream." Breisach's book makes a great desk reference for its cross-referenced index.

This is, without question, Breisach's magnum opus. From Herodotus to Hegel, and from Bancroft to Collingwood, Breisach offers the student of history a cogent history of historiography. While it is probably best suited for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, it should be required reading for "history buffs", History Channel producers, and David McCullough.

The only way Breisach could have made this work better, is by dividing the three eras (Ancient, Medieval, and Modern) into three volumes. As it is, major figures such as Michael Oakeshott get no more than a brief mention on one page.

The history of history as a discipline (historiography) tends to be a boring topic. One of my teachers even told me never to take a course in it. Professional historians tend to avoid the subject like the plague. This has left it in the hands of amateurs, even though some of those amateurs have been geniuses in their own disciplines.

Breisach has written the most informative book on the topic in English. He covers the whole span from Homer to post-modernism in a very short book. He emphasizes the right topics. Although after reading it, you won't remember much, you know where to look for information if you want it.

The book is basic for those that want to know a discipline such as History, which is so important for understanding ourselves and the rest of humanity. How many other displines have their own Muse (Cleo)?

Those that complain about the book should try reading other histories of history and they will see what a stupendous job Breisach has accomplished.

I used it as a textbook for my undergraduate students in the Historiography course and they did not complain.

I used this book as part of an undergrad historiography course. It contains literally everything you would ever need to know.

The writing is very dry, but what do you expect from a textbook?

What else can be said?

There is a new edition coming out soon. The professor who taught the course I took has changed texts to one that's not so imposing and having looked at it and it's a poor substitute. This book is the ultimate power in Historiography.

Historiography: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern by Ernst Breisach is a text book that traces how history was written from the dawn of western history to the modern age. It traces how and why history was written. The author goes from the Classical Greek historians, their Roman heirs. He then procedes to Medieval Europe and how the Catholic Church shaped the world view of history. He then procedes to show how the "truth" evolved to what people believe "truth" is today. It is a must for the graduate student in history.

When I studied for the MA, this book (and John Lukacs' "Historical Consciousness") had the greatest influence on my developed historiography.

Breisach shows that the historian is culture's interpreter and that, while there are eternal truths, human history is not yet finished and there is a great importance to continue to record what really happens.

Brilliant!

I am recently taking a history class at my college and this book is being used as one of my textbooks for my class. Since I do not have a great knowledge in European History, I struggled throughout this book and became often confused between names, of the importance of the historians, and what they wrote about. The author, Breisach, wrote this book intended for those who have a higher intellect in European history, it is not intended as an introduction into European History. It is a very broad overview of almost every historian from Ancient Greece to Modern times. Breisach tries not to exclude any historian from his book, which is a big fallback. It becomes often confusing in this book to tell which historians are more important to study than others. Breisach also tends to blend different historians together, which if you're not paying attention, you won't know who he is talking about. He does do a great job in comparing and contrasting different historians and going into great detail on the styles of historians. He will discuss the authors background, their influences, and what kind of style they have written in. He usualy compares that author to other authors of their time or earlier authors, such as those from Ancient Greece.If you are a big history buff, you might love this book for its great detail and its insight. But if you have no knowledge in the subject, this book is not for you. Briesach did not intend this book to be a reference book, but more as an evening read for those who want a broader knowledge of European historians before their time.

The book is about ancient,medieval and modern times and is nothing for Pellazgians, more then 20 Illyrian Tribes,Dardania, Pannonia, Thrakia, Epiri (Epirus),This is Balkan not only Greece.