Editor's Note
Preface to the Second Edition

1 The historian and his facts
2 Society and Individuals
3 History, Science, and Morality
4 Causality in History
5 History as Progress
6. Expanding the horizon

Appendix E.
From H. Carr's file:
Notes for the 2nd Edition of What is History?
Translator's Note on the Revised Version
Translator's Note on the First Edition
Index of names and signatures

A must-read for Korean cultured people: "What is History?" Exclusively translated and revised edition
E. is the key to understanding this book.
H. Carr's “Preface to the Second Edition” and
R., who wrote the book with him.
Second edition with papers by W. Davis
Revised edition by Professor Taek-Hyeon Kim of Sungkyunkwan University

'Just to show how it really was'—Ranke's statement about the historian's proper goal had a profound influence on later historians.
But who can say what those events were like? Professor Carr, in formulating an answer to the question "What is history?", shows that the "facts" of history are merely what historians "choose."
Millions of people crossed the Rubicon, but historians say only Caesar's crossing was significant.
All historical facts emerge as a result of the interpretive choices of historians influenced by the norms of their time.

But even if absolute objectivity is impossible, the historian's role will never be a painful one.
History is also a truly fascinating subject.
This second edition, published posthumously by R.
Includes new material by W. Davis, which presents the main conclusions of Professor Carr's notes for the second edition and a new preface by the author, reflecting on the climate of pessimism and despair that pervades Western intellectuals today and calling for 'a saner and more balanced vision of the future.'

E., author of the monumental work “History of the Soviet Union”
H. Carr is not only one of the most outstanding modern historians, but also one of the most valuable contributors to historical theory.



History is 'a conversation between the past and the present' or 'a conversation between past facts and present historians' - this is Carr's famous definition of history, which has been widely quoted by everyone.
However, among those two items, what Carr emphasizes is not the past itself or the facts of the past, but the ‘current historian’ who produces historical discourse and historical knowledge using it.
This is because it is the historian of the present who brings into the conversation facts of the past that have already passed and cannot be spoken of on their own.
Therefore, Carr says that the past is constructed according to the problems of current historians regarding the current society, and that it is more important to know what problems and values ​​the historian who produces historical knowledge has regarding the current society and reality than what the facts of the past were like.
However, Carr argues that the historian's awareness of the present and his values ​​are ultimately linked to his outlook on the future.
Looking back, we see that humanity, despite its ups and downs, has progressed toward a better society, and the very process of progress historically proves that humans are beings possessing rational reason.
Therefore, Carr is saying that human history will change and progress in a more rational direction in the future, and that the belief in this change that the present society, which will eventually become the past, will progress into a more democratic and equal society determines the nature of the dialogue between the present historian and the facts of the past, and the content of the historian's perception of the past.
―From “Translator’s Note to the Revised Version”