Historia is a series of interlocked observations on the nature of temporality, the human practice of writing its history, and the histories all things accumulate around themselves, as does the author even while discoursing on historia. A number of examples of history writing are provided which support the arguments of the text: five books of history ‘about America and the Americas,’ and some examples from archeological reconstruction, from historical drumming in West Africa, and from the history of a painting by Albrecht Duerer. The book does not reach a conclusion – does not define historia – but views the term from many angles, and will refresh the reader’s sense of what the historical is.
And what is it? It is the dimension in which the present takes on cargo and weight. While it is true that the past is instantly devoured by the present, it is also true that the past pervades the present – while being devoured by it. Of course when I switch on the light Edison switches it for me. And it is not just TE. It is industry, commerce, and the electrician around the corner. I can do nothing effectual without the past, but the past has no meaning except through me. Historia rings many changes on this obvious, but endlessly instructive, idea.
