A leading scholar of Jewish history's bracing & challenging case for the role of the historian today Why do we study history? What is the role of the historian in the contemporary world? These questions prompted David N Myers's illuminating & poignant call for the relevance of historical research & writing His inquiry identifies a number of key themes around which modern Jewish historians have wrapped their labors liberation consolation & witnessing Through these portraits Myers revisits the chasm between history & memory revealing the middle space occupied by modern Jewish historians as they work between the poles of empathic storytelling & the critical sifting of sources History properly applied can both destroy ideologically rooted myths that breed group hatred & create new memories that are sustaining of life Alive in these investigations is Myers's belief that the historian today can & should attend to questions of political & moral urgency Historical knowledge is not a luxury to society but an essential requirement for informed civic engagement as well as a vital tool in policy making conflict resolution & restorative justice