History, or the past in the present

Modern man is accustomed to think historically, look for his place on the “axis of time” and distinguish today from the past and from the future. However, this was not always the case, and to this day the very concept of “history” retains its uncertainty.
What did they understand before and what is understood now by this word - the past, a story about him or a study of the former? What is history - science, literature, a form of public consciousness, or maybe just a method? Are there “laws of history”? What forces came together in the struggle for history? What happens when history intersects with politics? Look for the answers to these questions in the book History, or the past in the present