In this volume, leading historians reflect on writing about New Zealand's past. They also test how that past is investigated and framed. Their essays tell us much about New Zealand's many pasts and how historians have imagined them, and indicate particular concerns with what the country is now and the current role of history as a discipine within our nation. They ask questions and venture some answers. The introductory essay by the editors surveys the work of historians since the 1980s, while the final essay is based on an interview with Erik Olssen, whose work has been at the forefront of historical research and methodology in the period. In between, a variety of topics are visited and methodologies applied. Running through the volume are two threads: discussions of the limits of national history and the search for new archives and sites of historical enquiry.
