Jim Sheehan, Stanford Professor of History, Emeritus, describes the two ways in which he has lived in history: as a historian who studies the past, while at the same time living in a present that will become a part of history. He reflects on his Irish Catholic upbringing in San Francisco, Stanford undergraduate years in the 1950s, and doctorate in German history at UC Berkeley. He discusses his career academic focus on Germany within the broader context of European history.