The Voice of the Past: Oral History - By Paul Thompson - (May 25, 2000)

On the second edition: "Paul Thompson is a passionate and convincing crusader in the cause of oral history" --The Times Educational Supplement
"It must be rare in modern academic life to replace your own unrivalled book after 10 years with an even better one, but he has done so. His new material on memory and the self, and on drama as therapy, should be read by literary critics in their infancy."--The Independent
"The first book to combine a theory of oral history, the technical processes involved, and a road map of where oral evidence fits into the landscape of western historiography." --American Historical Review

Now in a new edition, this influential book traces oral history through its own past and weighs up the recent achievements of this international movement. Paul Thompson challenges myths of historical scholarship and looks closely at the use of oral sources by historians. He offers advice on designing a project; discusses reliability of oral evidence; considers the context of the development of historical writing including its social function; and looks at memory, the self and the use of drama and therapy. This new edition has been substantially revised and updated and includes an expanded discussion of narrative approaches and looks at new technology used in the recording of information.