The Historian behind the History brings together a collection of valuable interviews with prominent southern historians conducted over the course of a decade by graduate students in the University of Alabama’s history program for the journal Southern History. In the interviews, ten notable southern historians and mentors illuminate the state of historiography, their experiences in the profession, and their thoughts about graduate education and southern history.

The historians and their main topics include:

Richard J. M. Blackett on antebellum and African American history

Dan T. Carter on Reconstruction, Civil Rights, and George Wallace

Pete Daniel on the New Deal and the Cold War South

Laura F. Edwards on the Early Republic, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and women’s history

William W. Freehling on the antebellum South

Gary W. Gallagher on the Civil War

Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore on Jim Crow

James M. McPherson on the Civil War

Theodore Rosengarten on the Depression

J. Mills Thornton III on the antebellum South

In his introduction, award-winning author and historian George C. Rable draws together the multifaceted themes of these interviews, offering a compelling overview of the nature of the field. Edited by Megan L. Bever and Scott A. Suarez, The Historian behind the History offers critical insights about the craft and professional life of the historian.