A. J. P. Taylor
A. J. P. Taylor
Alan John Percivale Taylor FBAwas an English historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his television lectures. His combination of academic rigour and popular appeal led the historian Richard Overy to describe him as "the Macaulay of our age"...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionHistorian
Date of Birth25 March 1906
war battle dice
The God of Battles will throw the dice that decide...
war break-out inevitable
No war is inevitable until it breaks out.
war fighting bismarck
Bismarck fought 'necessary' wars and killed thousands, the idealists of the twentieth century fight 'just' wars and kill millions.
war world firsts
Lenin was the first to discover that capitalism 'inevitably' caused war; and he discovered this only when the First World War was already being fought. Of course he was right. Since every great state was capitalist in 1914.
war fighting able
Though the object of being a Great Power is to be able to fight a Great War, the only way of remaining a Great Power is not to fight one.
war political politics
No matter what political reasons are given for war, the underlying reason is always economic.
war army weight
The great armies, accumulated to provide security and preserve the peace, carried the nations to war by their own weight.
anyone believe either people
Psychoanalysts believe that the only 'normal' people are those who cause no trouble either to themselves or anyone else.
dangerous history learned statesman student study
He was what I often think is a dangerous thing for a statesman to be - a student of history; and like most of those who study history, he learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.
children believe answers
I was a narrative historian, believing more and more as I matured that the first function of the historian was to answer the child's question, "What happened next?
men behaviour opinion
In my opinion we learn nothing from history except the infinite variety of men's behaviour. We study it, as we listen to music or read poetry, for pleasure, not for instruction
racing levels clients
A racing tipster who only reached Hitler's level of accuracy would not do well for his clients.
reading book feelings
There is nothing nicer than nodding off while reading. Going fast asleep and then being woken by the crash of the book on the floor, then saying to yourself, well it doesn't matter much. An admirable feeling.
hands history clerks
The male clerk with his quill pen and copper-plate handwriting had gone for good. The female short-hand typist took his place. It was a decisive moment in women's emancipation.