Convinced that anyone who studies or teaches history should be exposed to the “historical cultures” of other civilizations beyond their own, Woolf delivers a concise history of historiography with a global perspective and a broad time span.

Covering a long period of time—from the earliest forms of historical writing in the Near East to the modern world—and including developments in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, the work also examines contemporary issues and scholarly debates, such as “Big History,” “Deep History,” and the impact of the digital age. It provides timelines of the major dynasties and political powers worldwide in parallel with historiographical developments, guides to important figures who have reflected on history and to seminal historical works, a suggested reading list, a glossary of basic terms, and questions at the end of each chapter that encourage further reflection and dialogue.

This is a revised and abridged version of A Global History of History, a truly global overview of the historical course of intercultural interactions that led to the prevalence of Western historiographical methods. The book deals with many different historiographical traditions, which followed parallel paths for long periods and sometimes (especially from the sixteenth century onwards) intersected and converged. These traditions were expressed in many literary genres; they were disseminated in various forms of remembrance and communication of the past (both oral and iconographic as well as written), while they emerged and evolved in very different political and social contexts. The author attempts to capture these complex processes and offer a comprehensive guide to the development of historiography, highlighting the art of historians as a timeless and universal endeavor.

Daniel Woolf is a Professor of History at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.