In her acclaimed 1993 book Denying the Holocaust, Deborah Lipstadt called putative World War II historian David Irving one of the most dangerous spokespersons for Holocaust denial. In 1994, Irving filed a libel lawsuit, not in a U.S. courtroom-where the onus of proof lies on the plaintiff, but in the UK-where it lies on the defendant. At stake were not only the reputations of two historians, but the record of history itself.

Six years later, the case finally came to trial, a four-month ordeal from which Lipstadt emerged triumphant. Part history, part real-life courtroom drama, History on Trial is Lipstadt’s riveting, blow-by-blow account of this momentous event and its repercussions for us all.