The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 52, July 1948 - April, 1949 Page: 253
512 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
work was edited, pays respect to Ernst Bernheim's Lehrbuch der
historischen Methode as "the classic work in the field of historical
method," but regrets that it has never been translated and that
"those who taught this subject [historical method] in countries
where German is not the mother tongue" have not "explicitly
attempted to adapt Bernheim's book to the needs of their stu-
dents." Allen Johnson, whose work as a historian is well known,
has said that writers on historical method since Bernheim's time
"flatter him by imitation."
When Allen Johnson wrote of Father Feder's Lehrbuch der
geschichtlichen Methode as making "no advance beyond Bern-
heim" and being "in many respects reactionary in its point of
view, especially in matters concerning ecclesiastical history and
tradition," it seems he started Father Gilbert J. Garraghan, al-
though the foreword does not specifically say so, on the idea of
translating and adapting Feder's work. Father Garraghan went
beyond his original intention and "his treatment of the subject
became more independent," so that "what he has done should be
regarded as truly original, except for Part III, entitled 'Criti-
cism.' Even in this third part,. and throughout the whole book,
wherever possible, his illustrative material is taken from Amer-
ican and English History."
The editor "has endeavored to make no change affecting the
substance of the book," whence results a book which is not "mere-
ly a textbook for classroom use." To own a copy of this book, then,
is practically an unescapable requirement for one who plans seri-
ously to engage in historical research and writing. One needs but
look at the table of contents to feel and be assured that here is
a really worth-while book.
The table of contents indicates the use of nineteen chapters
to cover 426 pages of discussion. These chapters form the core of
the four parts into which the book is divided. Part I is entitled
Prolegomena to History and contains three chapters on the mean-
ing, method, and certainty in history as well as one on the aux-
iliary sciences. Part II, called Finding the Sources, shortest of
the four parts, has a chapter on the nature and classification of
historical sources and another on mechanical aids to research.
Part III on Appraising the Sources requires seven chapters with253
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 52, July 1948 - April, 1949, periodical, 1949; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101121/m1/262/: accessed April 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.