A book from a military historian post world war 2 on the lessons of the 20th century and why humanity doesn't learn from its past
Rating: 4/5
History should make us not shrewder but wiser
A long historical view keeps us calm in times of trouble but reminds us there is an end to the longest tunnel
‘Fools learn by experience. I prefer to profit by other people’s experience’ - Otto von Bismarck
History is often a game of chance, perhaps the most powerful of such accidental influences is the lunch hour
Struggles that go on behind the scenes are rarely recorded in documents
Hard writing makes easy reading
It’s sad to discover how many apparently honourable men would stoop to almost anything to help their own cause
A lot of us do foolish things but the wiser realize what they do
Intimate advisors of leaders shape most of their major decisions
Mankind and least of all its great men, do not learn from history
‘The race for power and personal positions seems to destroy all men’s character’
Victory in war always sows the seeds of a fresh war
Ancient Greece showed that in a democracy, emotion dominates reason to a greater extent than any other political system
International relations are governed by interests and not moral principles
An intellectual must recognize the world is shaped by human emotion, emotion uncontrolled by reason
‘The energy that actually shapes the world springs from emotions’ - Orwell
‘The affairs of mankind would never go right until the rulers become philosophers or the philosophers become rules’ - Plato
‘All power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ - Lord Acton
History was compiled by human interpreters, humanly liable for mistakes
Truth is a spiral staircase. What looks true on one level may not be true on a higher level. Don’t only look at the parts in relation to one another but embrace the different planes
Progress of ideas depends on a high degree of co-operation
Collective action suffers if the masses can be managed; collective growth is only possible through the freedom and enlargement of individual minds
‘He must realize the world is a jungle. But if he has seen that it can be better for anyone if the simple principles of decency and kindness were applied then he must honestly try to practice these consistently and to live as if they were general. In other words, he must follow the light he has seen’
‘Behold I set you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, be you therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves’
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