This collection of writings by Thompson, the influential British historian of 18th- and 19th-century England, was compiled by his widow, the historian Dorothy Thompson (The Chartists). In this single edition, she includes The Making of the English Working Class, Customs in Common, Making History, and other of Thompson's salient works of history from the bottom up, or "history from below" the phrase that happens to be the title of one of the essays here. Whether discussing weavers or Mary Wollstonecraft, Thompson argues that social relationships in the modern Western world are open, dynamic, and evolving categories. Thompson considers consciousness, culture, and value systems just as crucial to the historical narrative as are explanations of social class and power. Indeed, his works have become important points of reference for many post-1960s American social historians.

In his lifetime E. P. Thompson was both admired and reviled. Even his harshest critics paid tribute to his incisive intellect and his efforts to write "history from below," detailing the everyday lives and contributions of ordinary people. Yet conservatives could not stomach his leftist sympathies while orthodox Marxists attacked his constant rebellions against their ideological straightjacket. The selections reveal a man committed to what he viewed as "progressive" causes, but also a man open to new ideas and interpretations of history and culture, even if they contradict his long-held positions. Some of the selections, such as The Making of the English Working Class (1963), are familiar to many historians. Others, such as his moving examination of the life of Mary Wollstonecraft, are rather obscure gems.