Book excerpt: Fifty Key Thinkers on History is a superb guide to historiography through the ages. The cross-section of debates and thinkers covered is unique in its breadth, taking in figures from ancient China, Greece and Rome, through the Middle Ages, to contemporary Europe, America, Africa and Australia; from Bede to Braudel; Marx to Michelet; Ranke to Rowbotham; Foucault to Fukuyama. Each clear and concise essay offers biographical information, a summary and discussion of the subjects approach to history and how others have engaged with it, a list of their major works and a guide to diverse resources for further study, including books, articles, films and websites.