跟隨著E.H.卡爾的經典之作《歷史學是什麼？》的腳步，理查．伊凡斯告訴我們，歷史學家是如何從桀傲難馴的過去身上，粹取出意涵。無論面對的材料是貧乏不堪，或是浩瀚無涯，歷史學家總備有一整套工具，從人人皆能同意的文獻鑑定法則與強而有力的電腦程式，到老練的研究者瞬間的識見，所有這些工具，都被用來實現重建一個查證屬實又裨益後世的過去之目標。後現代主義派的評論家抨擊歷史知識，他們認為所有的歷史論斷都是主觀的。於此，為了替歷史知識辯護，伊凡斯賦予這部生動的研究著作「一個開闊的視野、一種搜尋文獻的敏銳嗅覺、一種面對爭議的評鑑力，以及一付雄辯滔滔的文筆。」

理查德-艾文斯(Richard J．Evans)，当代杰出的历史学家，剑桥大学近现代史钦定讲座教授。著作等身，曾获多种奖项与奖励。在迄今为止他出版的近二十本著作中，影响最大的书当属Deathin Hamburg：SocietyandPolitics the Choler a Yearsl830-1910(Oxford，1987)，InHitler's Shadow：WestGermanHistorians andtheAttempttoEscapefrom the NaziPast(New York，1989)，Rituals ofRetribution(Oxford，1996)，Talesfrom the German Underworld(New Haven and London，1998)，The ThirdReich in Powerl933-1939(London and NewYork，2005)等。

著作详细目录

The Feminist Movement In Germany, 1894–1933, London: Sage Publications, 1976.

"German Women and the Triumph of Hitler," The Journal of Modern History Vol. 48, No. 1, March 1976

The Feminists: Women's Emancipation Movements in Europe, America and Australasia, 1840–1920, London: C. Helm, 1977.

Society And Politics In Wilhelmine Germany edited by R. J. Evans, London: Croom Helm, 1980, 1978.

Review article: "The History of European Women: A Critical Survey of Recent Research," The Journal of Modern History Vol. 52, No. 4, December 1980

The German Family: Essays on the Social History of The Family in Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century Germany, London: C. Helm ; Totowa, N. J.: Barnes & Noble Books, 1981.

The German Working Class, 1888–1933: The Politics Of Everyday Life, London: Croom Helm ; Totowa, N. J.: Barnes & Noble, 1982.

The German Peasantry: Conflict And Community in Rural Society from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Centuries edited by Richard J. Evans and W. R. Lee, London: Croom Helm, 1986.

The German Unemployed: Experiences And Consequences Of Mass Unemployment From The Weimar Republic To The Third Reich, London: C. Helm, 1987.

Rethinking German History: Nineteenth-Century Germany And The Origins Of The Third Reich, London: Allen and Unwin, 1987.

Comrades And Sisters: Feminism, Socialism, And Pacifism In Europe, 1870–1945, Brighton, Sussex: Wheatsheaf Books; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.

"The New Nationalism and the Old History: Perspectives on the West German Historikerstreit," The Journal of Modern History, Volume 59, No. 4, December 1987, pages 761–97

Death In Hamburg: Society And Politics In The Cholera Years, 1830–1910 Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987.

The German Underworld: Deviants And Outcasts In German history, London: Routledge, 1988.

In Hitler's Shadow: West German Historians And The Attempt To Escape From The Nazi Past, London: I. B. Tauris, 1989, ISBN 1-85043-146-9.

Proletarians And Politics: Socialism, Protest, And The Working Class In Germany Before The First World War, New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990.

The German Bourgeoisie: Essays On The Social History Of The German Middle Class From The Late Eighteenth To The Early Twentieth Century London: Routledge, 1991.

Rituals Of Retribution: Capital Punishment In Germany 1600–1987, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Rereading German History: From Unification To Reunification, 1800–1996, London; New York: Routledge, 1997.

Tales From The German Underworld: Crime And Punishment In The Nineteenth Century, New Haven [Conn.]; London: Yale University Press, 1998.

In Defense of History, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1999.

Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, And The David Irving Trial, New York: Basic Books, 2001; published in the United Kingdom as Telling Lies About Hitler: The Holocaust, History and the David Irving Trial, Verso Books, 2002.

The Coming Of The Third Reich, London: Allen Lane, 2003.

The Third Reich In Power, 1933–1939, New York: Penguin, 2005.

The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster , London: Allen Lane, 2008.

Cosmopolitan Islanders: British Historians and The European Continent, Cambridge University Press, 2009