From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods
"Among the books designed to teach aspiring historians proper procedures for their work, this volume ranks high. . . .Readers will especially appreciate the care taken to show the link between methodological innovations and the historical contexts in which they occurred."—Choice, January 2002, Vol. 39, No. 5"If the best historians, beginning with Thucydides, have been skeptical of metaphysical absolutes, they have also been reluctant to immerse themselves in antiquarianism. The present book draws strength from this tension."—Charles Sullivan, Common Knowledge, 2003"Historians generally have had to work out for themselves the different ways to read and use sources, the issue of how much we actually can learn from the past, the different ways that historical questions have been asked, and the uses to which history can be put. From Reliable Sources makes this process easier by laying out the principal elements of historiography and source criticism. No one, after reading this book, will be able to think again of sources as unproblematic conveyors of simple facts."—Constance Brittain Bouchard, University of Akron"Both learned and informative, From Reliable Sources is clearly the outcome of extensive archival and critical experience. With its accessible balance of exposition and example, it is also a pleasure to read. There is nothing else like this in English."—Isabel V. Hull, Cornell University