Imprisoned in the Tower of London after the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, Sir Walter Ralegh spent seven years producing his massive "History of the World."Created with the aid of a library of more than five hundred books that he was allowed to keep in his quarters, this incredible work of English vernacular would become a best seller, with nearly twenty editions, abridgments, and continuations issued in the years that followed.
Nicholas Popper uses Ralegh s"History"as a touchstone in this lively exploration of the culture of history writing and historical thinking in the late...