Barbara Tuchman

Barbara Tuchman once asked why doesn’t “the light of the waves behind us allow us to infer the nature of the waves ahead” (1984, 333). I will argue, that it is indeed the illusion of American Exceptionalism that has blinded us to the realities of foreign involvement…

No two things are the same. There is always imbalance. When differences occur, one object or idea will always triumph another. The intrigue in the imbalance is not how one rises to the top, but rather how the supreme fall. The studying of the fall is most peculiar within political institutions. When breaking down the underlying philosophy of a government and their fallacies, a pathway can emerge enlightening how and why they are no longer at the position of power. The fallacies of times before…

Adam Hochschild brings this largely untold story alive with the wit and skill of a Barbara Tuchman. Like her, he knows that history often provides a far richer cast of characters than any novelist could invent. Chief among them is Edmund Morel, a young British shipping agent who went on to lead the international crusade against Leopold. Another hero of this tale, the Irish patriot Roger Casement, ended his life on a London gallows. Two courageous black Americans, George Washington Williams and…

literature does not equal comprehension or understanding. Readers must first understand how their life shapes their perspective and then they must let other perceptions dominate their thoughts in order to understand the writer’s perspective. Barbara Tuchman explains that books are the foundation of life’s disciplines because “books are humanity in print”. We read books to understand other people’s culture, struggle, and perspective, but only if we desire to understand. Perspective shapes how…