Few historians have done more to change the way we see the history of modern times than Eric Hobsbawm. From his early books on the Industrial Revolution and European empires, to his magisterial 1995 study of the "short twentieth century," Age of Extremes, Hobsbawm has become known as one of the finest practitioners of his craft.

On History brings together his brilliant and challenging reflections on the uses, and abuses, of history. Ranging from considerations of "history from below" and the "progress" of history to recent debate on the relevance of studying history and the responsibility of the historian, On History reflects Hobsbawm's lifelong concern with the relations between past, present, and future.