This study investigates the fundamental question of whether the craft of the historian has remained static since classical antiquity or if it has undergone significant evolution. A. J. Woodman, a distinguished scholar of classical literature, challenges the traditional assumption that ancient historians operated under the same objective standards as modern practitioners. By examining the intersection of rhetoric and historical narrative, the author argues that classical historiography was primarily a literary endeavor rather than a scientific one, fundamentally altering how we interpret the works of antiquity.

Experts frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the literary nature of ancient historical writing. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which requires a strong background in classical languages and historical context to fully appreciate the author's arguments.