Barbara W. Tuchman – Quote Investigator®

History Is the Unfolding of Miscalculations

Barbara W. Tuchman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular historian Barbara W. Tuchman crafted one or both of the following cautionary adages: War is the unfolding of miscalculations. History is the unfolding of miscalculations. Sometimes the final word is singular. Would you please help me unravel this mystery? Quote Investigator: In 1971 Tuchman published “Stilwell …

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Nothing is More Unfair than to Judge the Men of the Past by the Ideas of the Present

Barbara W. Tuchman? Denys Arthur Winstanley? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular historian Barbara W. Tuchman suggested that it was unfair to “judge men of the past by the ideas of the present”. She credited this interesting stance to an unnamed English historian. Yet, I have been unable to determine the identity of this astute …

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