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Yet if absolute objectivity is impossible, the role of the historian need in no way suffer; nor does history lose its fascination. With lucidity, Carr casts a light on the proper function of the historian and the vital importance of history in modern society. “This is an admirably stimulating and intrepid book, a bold excursion into a region of central importance where most contemporary philosophers and historians, unaccountably, either fear or disdain to tread.”—Isaiah Berlin, New Statesman","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780394703916","publication_date":"19671012","publisher":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","slug":"what-is-history","subtitle":"","title":"What Is History?"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"EDU037000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Education Research","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS016000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Historiography","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS035000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Studying History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"EDU037000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Education Research","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS016000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Historiography","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS035000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Studying History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Education Research","score":1,"slug":"education-research"},{"label":"Historiography","score":1,"slug":"historiography"},{"label":"Studying History","score":1,"slug":"studying-history"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Education Research","Good for readers interested in history","Good for fans of History"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Margaret MacMillan"],"book_id":"9780812979961","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780812979961.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":13.2447,"title":"Dangerous Games","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780812979961"},{"authors":["Michel-Rolph Trouillot"],"book_id":"9780807080535","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780807080535.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":13.0543,"title":"Silencing the Past","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780807080535"},{"authors":["Simon Sebag Montefiore"],"book_id":"9780525659532","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780525659532.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.6375,"title":"The World","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780525659532"},{"authors":["Friedrich Engels","Michèle Barrett","Tristram Hunt"],"book_id":"9780141191119","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780141191119.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.5583,"title":"The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780141191119"},{"authors":["Brandon M. 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