History, as a discipline/art form, is particularly hard because it exists along two related but distinct axes.

The first runs from the academic article/monograph which painstakingly tries to establish the truth of some specific issue, using scientific methods and and tools

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To the popular history book that presents an overall story or narrative of some series of events or thematic concept through the ages.

The second runs from our desire to know what were the true stories of other ages, our general desire for novelty now applied to time,

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Visiting these locals & events like vacationers in new lands, hearing a good tale

To the want to use the past to direct our current actions, glean morals from prior decisions, learn from others’ mistakes & successes

This makes history both a vital and a fraught enterprise

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