What distinguishes history from other fields of study? Sarah C. Maza explores this question through a clear, engaging introduction to historical inquiry. Organized around major questions about whose stories are told, where history happens, what subjects deserve attention, and how evidence is interpreted, the book presents history as an eclectic and contested discipline. Rather than offering definitive answers, Maza uses illuminating examples to encourage discussion and show how historical thinking remains dynamic, relevant, and connected to everyday life.

Why You Should Read?

• Understand how historians define their field and distinguish description from interpretation.
• Explore debates about power, agency, national boundaries, global history, and the private sphere.
• Examine how historians use sources and study ideas, objects, science, nature, and society.
• Gain a balanced introduction that presents history as a vibrant field shaped by continuing controversy.

About the Author

Sarah C. Maza is a professor of history and the Jane Long Professor in the Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University in the United States. She specializes in the history of France and has written several books, including Violette Nozière: A Story of Murder in 1930s Paris and The Myth of the French Bourgeoisie: An Essay on the Social Imaginary, 1750–1850. Her work examines how social structures, cultural ideas, and historical interpretation shape our understanding of the past.