The author begins the chapter with a discussion of historical understanding and how there is more than one way of making sense of the past. She continues with a sociocultural understanding of historical thinking. Learning is a form a mediated action where the cultural tools that are available both restrict and aid practice. Historical thinking concerns using these mediated cultural tools, such as asking historical questions and evaluating evidence, in learning about the past. The author takes an in depth look at one of the historical cultural tools, national historical narratives in multicultural societies, that challenges our understanding of what it means to think historically. The use of perspective taking in national narratives is further explored by the author, who states that understanding why people acted the way they did in the past and not just how they acted is important to historical thinking. The author continues with a discussion of the research she completed into New Zealanders’ perspective taking in the context of national history. She begins by determining the setting and procedures of the research. The first hurdle was coming to terms with the master narrative of New Zealand students. Many of the students felt inferiority as compared to other children around the world from countries such as Britain and the United States. The students felt that New Zealanders of the past were moral even though the students did not know many of the details of New Zealand history, and believed that they always stood up for what was right even if it placed them in danger. When the students were asked to include race and ethnicity in their discussions about the past, it caused confusion and controversy. The author found that many students would rather learn about the history of the world than of New Zealand. Students were willing and more prepared to take into consideration the history of ‘others’ when it came to studying other countries but were less willing when studying New Zealand history.