Actually, read both. The contradiction shows how history isn't some dead thing set in stone, but a field created by people with ever-changing (often clashing an

Actually, read both. The contradiction shows how history isn't some dead thing set in stone, but a field created by people with ever-changing (often clashing and very ideological) interpretations of the past, alternating with attempts to tie those elaborate interpretations to the evidence available. (And sometimes, new evidence shakes it up...) _The Past is a Foreign Country_ by David Lowenthal is a decent book about how historians interpret and rediscover the past. Really, though - read quite a bit, read primary documents, read attempts to synthesize them, and try to draw your own conclusions. I'm not sure I'd recommend any book in particular. (Also, history is often the most interesting when you get really specific. I'm particularly geeked about the history of medicine, but that's me.)