94 Historians Quotes for You to Enjoy

Historians and journalists always have agendas, but if I want to find out what's going on in South Africa, I read Nadine Gordimer or John Coetzee because they offer novelistic truth. Justin Cartwright

Truth South Africa Out Find John Journalists Read Because Always South Historians Offer Going Africa Want Agendas

As historians, we spend days in archives, gazing at account books. We train would-be historians in the arts of deciphering letters and documents, early Latin, scribal handwriting, medieval French. Kate Williams

Spend Books Gazing Latin Would-Be Archives Days French Documents Historians Account Train Handwriting Arts Letters Early Medieval

Most historians agree that Abraham Lincoln was the most important man to ever occupy the White House because he abolished slavery and kept the states united through a bloody civil war. Kitty Kelley

War Man Important White White House States Civil Abolish Civil War Abraham Abraham Lincoln Through He Most House Because Occupy Lincoln Historians Bloody The Most Important Agree United Ever Slavery Kept

Events are moving so fast and what in one moment seems impossible, the next is happening. I'm sure historians will, in time, provide theories and analysis, but for now I think most of us simply want the tide stemmed. Lucy Powell

Drawing on real life is what novelists do. It's not the same as reconstructing real life, which is what historians do. Luke Davies

Life Real Life Drawing Real Historians Same Which Novelists

Historians and archaeologists will one day discover that the ads of our time are the richest and most faithful reflections that any society ever made of its entire range of activities. Marshall McLuhan

Historians often find important decisions few knew were important at the time. Michael Beschloss

Time Important Few Find Knew Important Decisions Were Historians Often Decisions

Historians sometimes view presidents very differently from the way the public did at the time. Sometimes they don't. Michael Beschloss

Time Sometimes Way Presidents Historians Very Did Public View Differently

It is curious that the two best-known British historians in the United States are Andrew Roberts and Niall Ferguson, each of whom represents, in fact, a different school of serious historical writing, and both of whom seem to have gained for themselves, perhaps without intending to, a special reputation on the American right. Michael Korda

Writing School Reputation States Andrew Seem Both Fact Perhaps Roberts Without Ferguson Historians Historical Curious American Intending Represents Different In Fact Gained Themselves Special Each Serious Whom United United States Right Two British

So this was the big secret historians keep to themselves: historical research is wildly seductive and fun. There's a thrill in the process of digging, then piecing together details like a puzzle. Nancy Horan

Together Big Research Digging Secret Wildly Details Seductive Thrill Puzzle Like Historians Historical Process Themselves Then Fun Keep

The whole point about historians is that we are really communing with the dead. It's very restful - because you read. There's some sociopathic problem that makes me prefer it to human interaction. Niall Ferguson

Me You Problem Restful Some About Point Dead Read Because Makes Historians Very Human Interaction Prefer Really Whole

We historians are increasingly using experimental psychology to understand the way we act. It is becoming very clear that our ability to evaluate risk is hedged by all sorts of cognitive biases. It's a miracle that we get anything right. Niall Ferguson

I don't see why a book shouldn't be intellectually sound, entertaining, and fun to read. Historians who write academic history, which is unreadable, are basically wasting their time. Norman Davies

Time History Book Entertaining See Write Academic Read Sound Historians Intellectually Which Who Fun Why Wasting Basically

Traditionally, historians thought in terms of invasions: the Celts took over the islands, then the Romans, then the Anglo-Saxons. It now seems much more likely that the resident population doesn't change as much as thought. The people stay put but are reculturalized by some new dominant culture. Norman Davies

The historical profession is nowhere famous for its tolerance, but there are not many countries where historians can expect to pay for their opinions with penal servitude or the firing squad. Norman Davies

Pay Tolerance Firing Countries Opinions Historians Historical Squad Expect Famous Where Profession Many Nowhere Servitude

At some time in their careers, most good historians itch to write a history of the world, endeavor to discover what makes humanity the most destructive and creative of species. Paul Johnson

Time Good History Creative Humanity World Endeavor Destructive Some Write Most Makes Discover Historians Itch Species Careers

Most historians are engaged in fiction. Peter Morgan

Most Historians Fiction Engaged

There are a number of World War II historians I admire: Cornelius Ryan, Mark Stoler, Antony Beevor, to name a few. As for generals, there are those I admire as combat leaders and others I admire because they're great fun to write about. Rick Atkinson

I look to historians for their power to illuminate not just the invisible lineaments of the present, but also that which is not present. What are the roads that were not taken that most shape our own time? Rick Perlstein

Time Power Own Our Shape Taken Roads Invisible Look Most Also Were Historians Just Which Illuminate Present

Truman is now seen as a near-great president because he put in place the containment doctrine boosted by the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and NATO, which historians now see as having been at the center of American success in the cold war. Robert Dallek

Success War Seen NATO Cold Cold War President See Marshall Marshall Plan Having He Put Doctrine Because Been Truman Historians American Center Place Which Plan Now

Historians evaluating George W. Bush's first term will focus on foreign policy and, most of all, 9/11. I think they will criticize him for his early reaction, for not returning at once to Washington, D.C. Robert Dallek

Will Focus First Think Once Criticize Term Most Reaction Him Policy Returning First Term Foreign Foreign Policy George His George W Historians Bush Evaluating Washington Early

I am sure future historians will say the biggest and most astonishing change in politics has been the embracing of all the tenets of Thatcherism by the party of Keir Hardie: trade union legislation, Europe, the replacement of Trident, 10 per cent tax for people who have made millions from their companies. Robert Harris

Politics Future Change People Will Made Party Astonishing Say Has-Been Embracing Per Most Sure Trade Trade Union Am Been Historians Replacement Legislation Tax Biggest Cent Union Who Europe Companies Millions

When historians consider the significance of the Berlin crises of the mid-20th century, I do not believe that they will record it as an incident in the encirclement of freedom. The true view, in my judgment, will be to see it rather as a major episode in the recession of communism. Robert Kennedy

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