附註:"The core of this book consists of a series of lectures given by [the author] at the American Museum of Natural History, where I work. The four lectures of that series (Chapters 2-5) were later revised and expanded, five additional chapters being added to form the present volume."--Page vii
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-288) and index.
摘要:Is history more than (in Boswell's words) a `chronological series of remarkable events'? Does it have a pattern? Is it fraught with `meaning'? Can we discern its trends? What determines its course? In short, can a substantial and coherent philosophy of history be devised that offers answers to these questions? These issues, which have intrigued -and bedeviled - historians for centuries, are explored in this thoughtful book.
