A History of Histories: Epics, Chronicles, Romances and Inquiries from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Twentieth Century

by: John Burrow

Published by: Vintage Books

Reviewed by Sharron Stockhausen, MMA

Every fan of history needs this book on his or her bookshelf—both for reading and for researching the past 2500 years of captured history. Of course, not every chronicler of history covered in this book achieved the overall goal of recording history impartially, but Burrow doesn’t disqualify anyone for that reason. Rather, he allows us to see history evolve.

I’m sure the histories Burrow shares had to pass some sort of test—one could say it had to pass a partiality benchmark—to be included, for it is impossible to include so much history in only 500 pages without some inclusion criteria.

One can only imagine how much Burrow chose to omit. At the very beginning he puts the reader on notice that he didn’t include memoirs, yet at times the reader can’t help but notice some first-person inclusions in the book.

Written for the educated general reader rather than the academician, this book is challenging, yet engaging. Burrow does a good job of putting the historians included in their historic places so the reader can see the historian in his time. So often we look back on history and forget it is written in times that are contemporary to the writer.

The book is ambitious in its mission, but Burrow keeps the reader’s interest by offering an aside now and again that lightens the load. He also peppers the text with excerpts to show the reader the actual writing.

Although Burrow’s focus is on western European history, which is his expertise, I didn’t get any sense of him making a case for accuracy or inaccuracy in the histories covered. Rather, he seems more interested in sharing information about and from many works across the centuries.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a history book that covers so much territory and does it with a mixture of wit, scholarly expertise, fairness, and acknowledgement that more history remains to be written.

Get this book and keep it.

Armchair Interviews agrees.