When we try to answer the question (What is history?), our answers consciously or unconsciously reflect the era we live in and form part of our answer to the broader question of how we view our society.

The author argues that not every past event is considered historical or viewed as such by historians. He delves into the precise question: What distinguishes historical events from other past occurrences? To answer this, he discusses several issues related to philosophical problems in historical thought.

This book is a key reference in the epistemology of history, introducing the field and its methodologies. The author is a historian, journalist, and diplomat from England, and a major figure in Western historical theory.