Quotes from A. J. P. Taylor

In my opinion, most of the great men of the past were only there for the beer - the wealth, prestige and grandeur that went with the power.

All other forms of history - economic history, social history, psychological history, above all sociology - seem to me history with the history left out.

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.

Freedom does not always win. This is one of the bitterest lessons.

No matter what political reasons are given for war, the underlying reason is always economic.

No war is inevitable until it breaks out.

We learn nothing from history except the infinite variety of men's behaviour.

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.

The God of Battles will throw the dice that decide.

History is not a catalogue but...a convincing version of events.

Freedom does not always win. This is one of the bitterest lessons of history.

History is not another name for the past as many people imply. It is the name for stories about the past.

If men are to respect each other for what they are, they must cease to respect each other for what they own.

Knowledge breeds doubt, not certainty, And the more we know the more uncertain we become.

There is nothing more agreeable in life than to make peace with the establishment and nothing more corrupting.

Human blunders usually do more to shape history than human wickedness.

George VI in the conventional parlance was a Good King who sacrificed his life to his sense of duty. If we are to have monarchs it would be hard to find a better one.

A racing tipster who only reached Hitler's level of accuracy would not do well for his clients.

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.

The crusade against Communism was even more imaginary than the specter of Communism.

When I write I have no loyalty except to historical truth as I see it and care no more about British achievements and mistakes than any other.

Psychoanalysts believe that the only 'normal' people are those who cause no trouble either to themselves or anyone else.

The great armies, accumulated to provide security and preserve the peace, carried the nations to war by their own weight.

A master of improvised speech and improvised policies.