From Herodotus to H-Net: The Story of Historiography

by Jeremy D. Popkin

From Herodotus to H-Net: The Story of Historiography offers a concise yet comprehensive and up-to-date account of the many ways in which history has been studied and recounted, from the ancient world to the new universe of the Internet. It shows how the same issues that historians debate today were already recognized in past centuries, and how the efforts of historians in the past remain relevant today. Balanced and fair-minded, the book covers the development of modern academic scholarship, but also helps students appreciate the contributions of popular historians and public history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World History, Philosophy, School, Read For School, Education

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Jeremy D. Popkin received his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and holds an A.M. degree from Harvard University. When he was hired on a one-year contract at the University of Kentucky in 1978, the History Department secretary put him in what was then the department's conference room, saying, "Since you won't be staying long, it won't matter." Popkin is still occupying the same office.
Popkin's scholarly interests include the history of the French and Haitian revolutions, autobiographical literature and American Jewish history.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent walkthrough of the history of how people have conducted the work of history since the time of the ancient Greeks up through the present. Popkin, who writes with the tone of a wise and even caring adviser, expertly narrates the development of different questions facing historians throughout history, the advent and development of new methodologies, and how historical insight has affected the broader world. He pays special attention to the inner-disciplinary debate over how close to retelling actual historical events we can actually achieve, which remains a key subject of debate in the wake of postmodern scholarship in the late 60s and 70s. wonderful introduction to the topic; my reading list is now overflowing even more.

Two complaints: China? Islamic world? Nobody represented in here. Doesn’t seem to grasp the role of religion in shaping history after the enlightenment and boxes in religion as a subject of history into a second-class, narrow subfield.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overview of Historiography. Well-written and engaging. It's staying on my reference bookshelf while I am in grad school.

[Lisa Naaraat · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

Interessant, maar extreem veel informatie/namen in een klein boekje.

[Suze Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lastig, moeilijk, saai.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5
Truly an eyeopener. Some parts where hard to get thru but it was a very interesting read.

[Lucas Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels strange to rate what is basically a textbook designed for undergrad students, but this was good. It casts a pretty broad net and covers elements of ancient, medieval, and modern historiography. It is a relatively quick read at under 250 pages, but that means that it keeps things pretty broad based. One of the major through lines in all these historiography books is the representatives books that get mentioned. Popkin does a good job of being representative, mentioning the books that all these books mention, but also throwing in some curveballs and mentioning it. This volume is also notable in its last two chapters that focus on the expansion of history beyond the printed page in both digital spaces and public history and the final chapter which focuses on the experience of grad school, becoming a professor, tenure, and careers beyond the academy for historians. These two chapters are unique in the historiography books I've read this summer and highlight the more practical, student oriented nature of this book. I'll revisit parts of this one for sure.

[Stephen Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most riveting book I have ever read that I presume 90% of the population would use as "this will put you to sleep" material. Popkin in his introduction suggests the benefit of a chronological approaching to studying historiography, and the rest of his book serves as excellent supporting evidence. Each chapter of Popkin's demonstrates the debates about history in their time, providing a richness which cause the scholar to analyze their own perspectives of how history ought to be written. Even as historical approaches and beliefs become more fragmented, Popkin is still able to articulate the major changes and leading thoughts of the craft.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best historiography books I’ve read, in part because it surveys the history and development, not only specific philosophies and controversies, of historiography. As mentioned by others, later parts of the book were geared towards Americans (and the chapter that deals with the historian’s education was not of great use outside the US), but as the author is writing primarily for readers in that country it is hardly surprising that this should be so; nor does it lessen the overall useful and informative nature of the book.

[Michael Kliewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremy Popkin's From Herodotus to H-Net vividly explores the history of the study and methodology of history from Thucydides to Charles Beard. Throughout his book, Popkin systematically explains the story of historiography, characterizing it as the "history of history" or, as he later defines it, "metahistory, or a narrative of narratives" (5). He begins with Herodotus and his treatment of the Greco-Persian Wars, tracing the evolution of historiography to the creation and development of the contemporary academic discipline of History.
Contrary to the Athenian interpretation highlighted by Popkin, the field of historiography did not originate exclusively in Athens. Historical accounts of the past were primarily imbued with religious motivations, evident in the stories of the Egyptians, Hebrews, and even in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (28). However, the genesis of historiography can be pinpointed to the methodological distinctions between Herodotus and Thucydides. According to Popkin, "What set Herodotus and Thucydides apart... was their endeavor to define history as a distinct method of narrating the past, distinguished... by its commitment to the critical examination of evidence" (28).
Subsequently, the historiographical works produced by Herodotus and Thucydides paved the way for similar historical endeavors by Roman authors like Plutarch, who openly criticized Thucydides for his "biases and inaccuracies" (35). During this Roman era, history also became a tool for political manipulation, as seen in Caesar's misuse of historical narratives, a practice later condemned by Tacitus. Tacitus, who confronted a corrupt tyrant himself, vehemently denounced Augustus using concise historical examples (34).
The surge in Christian belief within the Roman Empire gave rise to new forms of historiography, exemplified by the historical interpretations of Augustine and Gregory the Great. Their perspectives posited that human history was subservient to the actions of God. In the case of Gregory, his primary objective was to minister to the souls of Christians, as his "goal was pastoral, and contemporary history was his means of persuasion" (40-41).
During the era of early modern Europe, another revolution in the dissemination of history unfolded with the advent of the printing press. The increased availability of resources to historians eventually facilitated the development of philological assessments of historical sources. This, in turn, led to the revelation that the historically significant Donation of Constantine, which had bestowed dominion upon the Catholic Church throughout the Middle Ages, was, in fact, a historical forgery (50). History underwent a transformation from something esoteric to something that could be consumed by the masses.
The widespread availability of history facilitated by the Renaissance swiftly ushered in the Enlightenment period, featuring figures such as Leopold von Ranke. As an Enlightenment intellectual, Ranke played a transformative role in shaping history into an academic discipline, pioneering new methods of historical inquiry and research. Ranke's revolutionary approach was marked by his unwavering commitment to the "strict preservation of facts, contingent and unattractive though they may be, [which] is undoubtedly the supreme law" (80).
After the Enlightenment period, the modern and post-modern era emerged, giving rise to a form of epistemological nihilism that questioned the reliability of knowledge. According to Foucault, history, in this perspective, was merely a social construction revolving around the accumulation of power (143). These methodological approaches eventually clashed in 2000, where the historical argument for the reality of the Holocaust was on trial in the UK. The significance of this debate lay in the fact that the reliability of knowledge itself was on trial, testing the discipline of history's ability to ascertain knowledge. Fortunately, for the more Rankean historian, the reliability of historical evidence prevailed (174).
Overall, Popkin's book masterfully utilizes a wide variety of sources and expertly crafts a narrative of the history of history that is both engaging and approachable. Moreover, his broad display of multiple perspectives demonstrates his commitment to painting a holistic picture of historiography. However, some minor flaws in the book include the lack of exploration of the development of history outside the Western tradition. While he draws attention to other methods of history, he rarely demonstrates their interaction and the benefits they may have received. Additionally, the historical developments of the Middle Ages seem to be lacking, despite this period being rich and equally filled with history.
Jeremy Popkin's From Herodotus to H-Net provides a compelling journey through the evolution of historiography, characterizing it as the "history of history" or "metahistory." While acknowledging minor flaws such as limited exploration outside the Western tradition and a gap in Middle Ages coverage, the book excels in offering an engaging narrative and a holistic view of historiography. From the foundational contributions of Herodotus and Thucydides to the clash of methodological approaches in the modern and post-modern era, Popkin captures the dynamic nature of the discipline. Overall, "From Herodotus to H-Net" stands as a valuable resource, shedding light on the ever-changing landscape of historical inquiry.

[Sydney Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Popkin brought me into the dreaded subject of historiography and I didn't want to run away. He does a great job of explaining the ways that scholarship has changed over the many, many years since its establishment.

But, beware: if you want to be a professional historian, chapter 8 is not your friend!

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent look into the development of the historiography. The culture references made allow the book to connect with newer generations.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for historiography overview, very American-centred.

[Addie Nolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m gonna be so for real, I didn’t read this book the way I normally do. It was assigned for my capstone class as a book review, and I did a quick skim to catch the main points and grab some critiques, which I will now kindly relay to you, my favorite Goodreads followers. This book is atrocious. I gave her three stars cuz I felt bad saying that when I didn’t actually read her. Popkin sets out to give a “palatable” overview of the history of studying history and I’ll be darned if I could palate it at ALL. The language was simple enough, but it felt like he went on and on and on and never actually said anything worth hearing. I genuinely skipped over HUGE chunks of the book, and even I could tell that he didn’t actually provide any helpful hints on how to build an academic historiography nor how to evaluate sources and critical lenses. Overall, I was super disappointed in this book because it was one that I was looking forward to learning from. I did learn things, but mostly just fun facts about dead historians. Womp womp. Have a great day!

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Herodotus to H-Net is a book that tells you, like the title says, the historiography. It chooses certain points in history which the author thought to be relevant. In this his focus in the first part of the book is on people as Thucydides, Ibn Khaldun, Adam Smith and Lorenzo Valla. The second part of the book aims more to discover the historiography of the modern european age in which names as Ranke, Braudel, Lamprecht and Marx are brought forward

The book itself is a very good summarisation of this metahistory, of this so called history of historical thinking. I however have complaints that its very europe centered. Even before he goes towards the second part of the book. He could have made it more broad. It is however a great work if you wish to understand the historiography of the modern age and want to understand the way of historical thinking which was used in Europe. No one can escape not knowing about names as Braudel, Ranke, Herodotus and Marx within the european framework of historical writing.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly exciting! I went into this book expecting to force myself through it, but I somehow found it very difficult to put down. I wanted to immediately reread it, but thought it more rewarding to savor the resulting reflections instead.

Popkin has an uncanny ability to make the driest topic refreshing. Definitely developed an academic crush with this one! If nothing else, readers should understand flaws are natural in writing, and it is difficult to write such a broad topic adequately with publishers limiting page counts far more brutely than they once have. It is also noted (practically the first line) that this book was designed for undergrad and grad students, so readers should approach this expecting base theories. This is an entry-level book, and in that way, it does it's job wonderfully.

If nothing else, Popkin's writing style should serve both as model and inspiration to fellow historians and students alike (especially when they aim at broader, entry-level theoretical writing).

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popkin does a good job of showing how intellectual and religious movements shaped historiography.

I dislike the periodic virtuous statements that are clearly meant to qualify it as a textbook in public universities. I get it though.

It absolutely should be used as a textbook for undergrad historiography. It's as if Marc Bloch had time to edit.

[Paige Hennen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid overview of historiography. But I DID have to read it for class.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Ariana Mohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

counting this because it was my textbook in college but it still was very good and educational. probably one of the easiest books i’ve read for a history class to date

[Madelein Feij · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️ prima boekje, best interessant.

[Patrick Dempsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

took something of a long time with this one, didn't read it for a good while. In that meantime though I learned that the book will be assigned to me in a call this fall.

[Sam Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popkin provides an essential piece on the foundation of historiography. Anybody with any intention of writing a graduate-level research thesis should read this book before they ever even think about writing.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read book for all history majors in college!! Helped me a lot.

[Ryan Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your basic guide to the 'history of history'. Every historian has their own favorites to emphasize, and Popkin, of course, left out some of my favorites, but his text probably served my students well enough. I found the last chapter a particularly useful guide to modern academia for undergrads--they rarely understand what it actually means to have a professor with a PhD.