“Once upon a time, a historian told me that the most important choice a new historian could make was of his or her specialist subject. Most of the good stuff was far too overcrowded, so you had to pick about in the exotic and extinct. His recommendations were the Picts or the Minoans, because hardly anything was known about them and you could spend a happy lifetime of speculation.” ImportantChoicesStuffKnownHistorySubjectsHumourPicksLifetimeHistorianHappy LifeSpeculationExoticOnce Upon A TimeSpecialistsRecommendationsImportant Choices Author:A. A. Gill
“I wrote about World War II because I didn't understand it. I think that's the reason that historians are drawn to any subject - there's something about it that doesn't make sense. I wanted to work my way through what happened slowly, and look at everything in the order in which it took place.” ThinkingWorldWayLooksWarReasonWantedOrderHappenedSubjectsMy WayMake SenseWar Of The WorldsHistorianWorld War IiWorld War I Author:Nicholson Baker
“Virtually every subject is most effectively learned directly from the greatest thinkers, historians, artists, philosophers, scientists, prophets and their original works. Great works inspire greatness. Mediocre or poor works inspire mediocre or poor learning. The great accomplishments of humanity are the key to quality education.” ArtistHumanityPoorQualitySubjectsGreatnessInspireKeysScientistOriginalsPhilosopherAccomplishmentProphetThinkerHistorianMediocreGreat WorkQuality EducationGreat Accomplishment Author:Oliver DeMille
“Historians who stuff in every item of research they have found, every shoelace and telephone call of a biographical subject, are not doing the hard work of selecting and shaping a readable story.” HardStoriesFoundStuffSubjectsHard WorkResearchHistorianTelephonesItemsShoelaces Author:Barbara Tuchman