Barbara W. Tuchman

Historian

1912-01-30 – 1989-02-06

Barbara W. Tuchman was an American historian and author known for narrative history. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for The Guns of August and Stilwell and the American Experience in China.

Quotes by Barbara W. Tuchman

A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests. Mankind, it seems, makes a poorer performance of government than of almost any other human activity. In this sphere, wisdom, which may be defined as the exercise of judgment acting on experience, common sense and available information, is less operative and more frustrated than it should be. Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlightened self-interest suggests? Why does intelligent mental process seem so often not to function?
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Even his own speeches bored him.
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They resented the patronage they depended upon.
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Between the happening of a historical process and its recognition by rulers, a lag stretches, full of pitfalls.
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I will only mention that the independent power of words to affect the writing of history is a thing to be watched out for. They have an almost frightening autonomous power to produce in the mind of the reader an image or idea that was not in the mind of the writer. Obviously they operate this way in all forms of writing, but history is particularly sensitive because one has a duty to be accurate, and careless use of words can leave a false impression one had not intended.
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If the historian will submit himself to his material instead of trying to impose himself on his material, then the material will ultimately speak to him and supply the answers.
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In writing I am seduced by the sound of words and by the interaction of their sound and sense.
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Britain had an air of careless supremacy which GALLED her neighbors.
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A minister's (cabinet member's) function was not to DO the work but to see that it got done.
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Confronted by menace or what is perceived as menace, governments will usually attempt to smash it, rarely to examine it, understand it, and drefine it.
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The author says one patrician English leader saw his relationship with the populace thusly: He wasn't responsible TO them. He was responsible FOR them. He was responsible for their care.
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Diplomacy's primary law: LEAVE ROOM FOR NEGOTIATION.
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The art of oratory was considered part of the equipment of a statesman.
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Duty was not untinged by ambition.
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He was always acting, always enveloping himself in artificiality, perhaps to conceal the volcano within.
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The utility of perseverance in absurdity is more than I could ever discern. Edmund Burke
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No less a bold and pugnacious figure than Winston Churchill broke down and was unable to finish his remarks at the sendoff of the British Expeditionary Force into the maelstrom of World War I in Europe.
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House speaker Thomas read could see the trend, but he could not have changed himself.
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William McKinley was a man made to be managed.
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What other country has had the privilege of making the world's heart beat faster?
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