Books With Flair

A brief yet comprehensive introduction to the study of history, A Student's Guide to History discusses the discipline, reviews basic study, research, and writing skills, and describes the most common kinds of history assignments. Class tested and having seven editions, this text is a useful reference for any student of history, major and non-major alike, in both introductory and advanced courses.

Whether you are taking your first college-level history course or are majoring in history, this best-selling guide provides tools that will help you to improve your performance: Guidelines for tackling common history assignments, with practical examples and concise explanations. Step-by-step advice on coming up with an effective thesis or argument for your paper. Comprehensive coverage of conducting research, with an emphasis on using the Internet to locate reliable sources. An appendix that highlights the most helpful print and digital resources for starting your research. Guidelines for documenting sources, with over one hundred models that illustrate proper footnote/endnote and bibliography style for a variety of print and electronic sources. A Studentÿs Online Guide to History Reference Sources offers an easy-to-navigate, linked version of Appendix A "Resources for History Research," as well as complete contact information for state, local, and professional history organizations. Book jacket.

History and Economic Life offers students a wide-ranging introduction to both quantitative and qualitative approaches to interpreting economic history sources from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century. Having identified an ever-widening gap between the use of qualitative sources by cultural historians and quantitative sources by economic historians, the book aims to bridge the divide by making economic history sources more accessible to students and the wider public, and highlighting the need for a complementary rather than exclusive approach. Divided into two parts, the book begins by equipping students with a toolbox to approach economic history sources, considering the range of sources that might be of use and introducing different ways of approaching them. The second part consists of case studies that examine how economic historians use such sources, helping readers to gain a sense of context and understanding of how these sources can be used. The book thereby sheds light on important debates both within and beyond the field, and highlights the benefits gained when combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to source analysis. Introducing sources often avoided in culturally-minded history or statistically-minded economic history courses respectively, and advocating a combined quantitative and qualitative approach, it is an essential resource for students undertaking source analysis within the field.

The History of English provides an accessible introduction to the changes that English has undergone from its Indo-European beginnings to the present day. The text looks at the major periods in the history of English, and provides for each a socio-historical context, an overview of the relevant major linguistic changes, and also focuses on an area of current research interest, either in sociolinguistics or in literary studies. Exercises and activities that allow the reader to get 'hands-on' with different stages of the language, as well as with the concepts of language change, are also included. By explaining language change with close reference to literary and other textual examples and emphasising the integral link between a language and its society, this text is especially useful for students of literature as well as linguistics.

A thoughtful look at the value of learning from the past: “Nobody has done more than John Lukacs to turn the short history book into an art form” (Antony Beevor, Toronto Globe & Mail). To study history is to learn about oneself. And to fail to grasp the importance of the past—to remain ignorant of the deeds and writing of previous generations—is to bind oneself by the passions and prejudices of the age into which one is born. John Lukacs, one of today’s most widely published historians, explains what the study of history entails, how it has been approached over the centuries, and why it should be undertaken by today’s students. This guide is an invitation to become a master of the historian’s craft.

Writing History offers a wealth of advice to help students research and write assignments for history classes. Designed for Canadian students in all areas of the discipline, this book includes up-to-date information and examples from the works of cultural, political, and social historians on finding a research topic, interpreting source materials, performing internet searches, avoiding plagiarism, and more. With an expanded section on using online resources and a new chapter on writing assignments, including research proposals, book reviews, and essay exams, Writing History is an ideal supplement to any history course that requires students to conduct research.

Reading Russian Sources is an accessible and comprehensive guide that introduces students to the wide range of sources that can be used to engage with Russian history from the early medieval to the late Soviet periods. Divided into two parts, the book begins by considering approaches that can be taken towards the study of Russian history using primary sources. It then moves on to assess both textual and visual sources, including memoirs, autobiographies, journals, newspapers, art, maps, film and TV, enabling the reader to engage with and make sense of the burgeoning number of different sources and the ways they are used. Contributors illuminate key issues in the study of different areas of Russia’s history through their analysis of source materials, exploring some of the major issues in using different source types and reflecting recent discoveries that are changing the field. In so doing, the book orientates students within the broader methodological and conceptual debates that are defining the field and shaping the way Russian history is studied. Chronologically wide-ranging and supported by further reading, along with suggestions to help students guide their own enquiries, Reading Russian Sources is the ideal resource for any student undertaking research on Russian history.

A robust understanding of the past has the power to shape our perspective on the present and plans for the future. In this introduction to the study of history, a historian helps students grasp what it means to examine and explore history from a distinctly Christian perspective. In addition to opening students’ eyes to the riches of the past, this readable guidebook models an approach to history that embraces the fundamental beliefs and convictions that make up the Christian worldview. Part of the acclaimed Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition series, this volume will be an invaluable tool in the hands of those seeking to engage with the past with God in mind. Includes illustrations, reflection questions, and a list of resources for further study.

Philosophy of History is an essential introduction to a vast body of writing about history, from classical Greece and Rome to the modern world. M.C. Lemon maps out key debates and central concepts of philosophy of history, placing principal thinkers in the context of their times and schools of thought. Lemon explains the crucial differences between speculative philosophy as an enquiry into the content of history, and analytic philosophy of history as relating to the methods of history. The first two parts of the book trace each of these traditions, whereas the third part revisits both in the light of recent contributions to the discipline. This guide provides a comprehensive survey of historical thought since ancient times. Its clear terminology and lucid argument will make it an invaluable source for students and teachers alike.

Historians are increasingly looking beyond the traditional, and turning to visual, oral, aural, and virtual sources to inform their work. The challenges these sources pose require new skills of interpretation and require historians to consider alternative theoretical and practical approaches. In order to help historians successfully move beyond traditional text, Sarah Barber and Corinna Peniston-Bird bring together chapters from historical specialists in the fields of fine art, photography, film, oral history, architecture, virtual sources, music, cartoons, landscape and material culture to explain why, when and how these less traditional sources can be used. Each chapter introduces the reader to the source, suggests the methodological and theoretical questions historians should keep in mind when using it, and provides case studies to illustrate best practice in analysis and interpretation. Pulling these disparate sources together, the introduction discusses the nature of historical sources and those factors which are unique to, and shared by, the sources covered throughout the book. Taking examples from around the globe, this collection of essays aims to inspire practitioners of history to expand their horizons, and incorporate a wide variety of primary sources in their work.