Book excerpt: Learning history as only a collection of dates and names prevents us from seeing the true value of the past. The Student Guide to Historical Thinkingreveals the study of history as a mode of thinking with real current-day implications. It begins with a focus on important historical understandings and then presents strategies for fostering fair-minded historical thinking. Students learn to engage with the past in a way that promotes critical thinking about the present and future. As part of the Thinker’s Guide Library, this book advances the mission of the Foundation for Critical Thinking to promote fair-minded critical societies through cultivating essential intellectual abilities and virtues across every field of study across world.