The Ever-Changing Past

“A model of accessible, jargon-free prose. . . . A useful and sober contribution to specialist historiographical debate and to the understanding of the discipline of history more generally.”—Donald Bloxham, Times Literary Supplement

“A rallying cry in favor of historians who, revisiting past subjects, change their minds. . . . Rewarding reading for serious students of history.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A work of learning and integrity, deserving a wide readership beyond the precincts of university discourse.”—M. D. Aeschliman, National Review

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2022

“A genuinely impressive book that traverses the history of history, spanning millennia, taking its readers on a literary ride that encompasses countless issues that are historical, historiographical, and philosophical.”—Eric Arnesen, George Washington University

“As James Banner explains in this clear analysis, all good history is ‘revisionist history’ because it is written from the perspective of the ever-changing present to tell us how that present evolved over the past.”—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom

“A wise, erudite, and, perhaps most important, a clearly written examination of the ways historians go about their craft of interpreting and reinterpreting the past.”—Gordon S. Wood, Brown University

“A wide-ranging, insightful meditation on why the histories inherited by one generation rarely satisfy the next. A book for everyone who sometimes wonders why old historical certainties now feel controversial.”—Linda K. Kerber, author of No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies

“A wonderfully lucid presentation of the way historians actually work, and the way that historical knowledge develops. Instructive and engaging.”—David A. Bell, Princeton University