"Herodotus of Halicarnassus here displays his inquiry, so that human achievements may not become forgotten in time, and great and marvelous deeds—some displayed by Greeks, some by barbarians—may not be without their glory; and especially to show why the two peoples fought with each other."
In books from the ancient world, it is often hard to distinguish books of fact from books of fiction, but here in Herodotus' Histories we see one of the first self-conscious attempts to present an organized history based on personal interviews, old record books, and corroborated tales handed down through the generations. Considered by many to be the father of history, Herodotus is a model for all historians who follow him. This category contains books that endeavor to present accurate information about past events based on historical evidence. It offers works on all periods from antiquity to the present from ancient writers like Herodotus and Josephus to more modern authors like Russell Freedman, Genevieve Foster, and Albert Marrin.
What sets this section apart from typical history textbooks and reference books, however, is that these books present the information in story form. We try to include here primarily what some people call living books—defined simply as "a book that engages the reader and draws him or her into learning more about a subject, typically narrative in style and written by an authority on the material." These are typically not intended to cover large periods of time (though some do); books intended to cover longer periods we categorize as spines & surveys.
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