What Is History, Now?

By: Suzannah Lipscomb, Helen Carr

Narrated by: Helen Carr, Peter Kenny, Suzannah Lipscomb, Sara Powell

This groundbreaking new collection addresses the burning issue of how we interpret history today. What stories are told, and by whom, who should be celebrated, and what rewritten, are questions that have been asked recently not just within the history world, but by all of us. Featuring a diverse mix of writers, both bestselling names and emerging voices, this is the history book we need NOW.

WHAT IS HISTORY, NOW? covers topics such as the history of racism and anti-racism, queer history, the history of faith, the history of disability, environmental history, escaping imperial nostalgia, hearing women's voices and 'rewriting' the past. The list of contributors includes: Justin Bengry, Leila K Blackbird, Emily Brand, Gus Casely-Hayford, Sarah Churchwell, Caroline Dodds Pennock, Peter Frankopan, Bettany Hughes, Dan Hicks, Onyeka Nubia, Islam Issa, Maya Jasanoff, Rana Mitter, Charlotte Riley, Miri Rubin, Simon Schama, Alex von Tunzelmann and Jaipreet Virdi.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Suzannah Lipscomb and Helen Carr (P)2021 Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Critic reviews

"The history book for now. This is why and how historians do what they do. And why they need to." (Dan Snow)

"What is History, Now? demonstrates how our constructs of the past are woven into our modern world and culture, and offers us an illuminating handbook to understanding this dynamic and shape-shifting subject. A thought-provoking, insightful and necessary re-examination of the subject." (Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five)

"The importance of history is becoming more evident every day, and this humane book is an essential navigation tool. Urgent and utterly compelling." (Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland)

A great collection with a technical flaw

As a teacher for philosophy, it is great to use this book as a guide for students to think about narratives and the biases that lead to our ways of looking at our past. I have been assigning it as a text for my students,

However, I am pretty sure the chapter about museums (Ch. 14) have been overwritten by a duplicate of the chapter about rewriting history (Ch. 17) — as such chapter 14 is missing.