The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide

by Conal Furay, Michael J. Salevouris

Like its predecessors, the third edition of one of our most popular texts, The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide, is a dynamic text/workbook that combines theory with "hands on" practice, providing engaging essays, documents, and exercises designed to make history more meaningful and accessible to student readers—whether they are majoring in history, taking a history course as an elective, or simply reading history on their own—as well as strengthen their critical-thinking and communication skills. While this third edition retains the essence of its highly successful predecessor in the form of its practical, timely advice on research and writing and “field-tested” exercises, it features important modifications as well, including a reorganization of the chapters to progress even more smoothly from a theoretical discussion of the nature of history (Part I), to practical considerations involved in confronting historical accounts (Part II) to actually “doing” history (Part III). The final section (Part IV) provides a brief overview of how history as a discipline evolved and how it relates to other academic disciplines, as well as appendices that comprise interesting historical documents and helpful source references and bibliographies.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Education, Reference, School, Research Methods, Historical

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

textbooks are seriously the bane of my existence
(but at least they count towards my reading goal!!)

[Valerie Cotnoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another textbook I had to read this past summer, but this time for a class on Historical Methods. I actually really enjoyed this textbook. The chapters were concise and I learned a lot about different ways to approach history, research it and write about it. I loved that this book approached history with a critical thinking mindset and was very honest about the fact that we can never fully understand or comprehend historical events, but that we must never stop trying. I also liked its emphasis on the nuance of history and that, while morality may be black and white, historical events rarely are.

[☮ morgan ☮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for Class and hated every minute of it.

The way this is written feels like it just wants to confuse you. The exercises are sometimes difficult to figure out what they actually want you to do.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better books Ive read on methodology. All credz to Mr. Furay.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book. The book teaches you how to research and write about history. It also teaches you how to differentiate between primary and secondary sources and how they can be different when researching history and in researching other sources. This was the second book we used as a textbook for my fall history class

[Hannah Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good workbook to learn about how to do good history. It isn't great but it is a good start with plenty of exercises and examples.

[Vadim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Вводная книга, которая объясняет, что подразумевает работа историка. Так как у историков есть разногласия по этому поводу, автор книги по мере необходимости освещает и эти разногласия. Интересные истории, с которых начинается каждая глава, показывают профессию историка -- а автор подает историков еще и как "рассказчиков историй" -- с привлекательной стороны.

Лично меня особенно впечатлила история Арно дю Тиля, изображавшего исчезнувшего за восемь лет до его появления Мартена Герра. Столкнувшись с обвинением в самозванстве, он оказался в суде, где дали показания примерно 150 человек. Причем около трети признали в нем Мартина Герра ("никаких сомнений -- мы росли вместе"), треть отказалась признавать, а еще треть не имела мнения. Итак, 150 свидетелей оказалось недостаточно, чтобы разобраться в правде! Всё решило неожиданное возвращение самого Мартина. А ведь историку не так легко найти 150 свидетелей интересующего его события!

[Michael Loveless · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Methods and Skills of History is no page-turner, but it is a helpful book for history students and the teachers who teach them. The book breaks history down into small, simple topics. After a theoretical explanation there are exercises to help the reader understand and practice the concept and related skills. Anyone who wants to understand how historians do their work would benefit from reading it.

[Shannan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text for history class

[Juan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should be an interesting and useful book for high-school students and even first year undergrads. It basically explains what academic history is about and how you go about writing it.
Each chapter could be used as the background for a more detailed discussion supplemented by other references.