Barbara W. Tuchman Quotes

103 Sourced Quotes

Theology being the work of males, original sin was traced to the female.

Barbara W. Tuchman
In April 1917 the illusion of isolation was destroyed, America came to the end of innocence, and of the exuberant freedom of bachelor independence. That the responsibilities of world power have not made us happier is no surprise. To help ourselves manage them, we have replaced the illusion of isolation with a new illusion of omnipotence.

Barbara W. Tuchman
Russians, in the knowledge of inexhaustible supplies of manpower, are accustomed to accepting gigantic fatalities with comparative calm.

Barbara W. Tuchman
Friendship of a kind that cannot easily be reversed tomorrow must have its roots in common interests and shared beliefs.

Barbara W. Tuchman
That the Jews were unholy was a belief so ingrained by the Church [by the 14th century] that the most devout persons were the harshest in their antipathy, none more so than St. Louis.

Barbara W. Tuchman
To gain victory over the flesh was the purpose of fasting and celibacy, which denied the pleasures of this world for the sake of reward in the next.

Barbara W. Tuchman
If wisdom in government eludes us, perhaps courage could substitute-the moral courage to terminate mistakes.

Barbara W. Tuchman
The writer's object is - or should be - to hold the reader's attention.

Barbara W. Tuchman
In the midst of war and crisis nothing is as clear or as certain as it appears in hindsight

Barbara W. Tuchman
To ensure that no one gained an advantage over anyone else, commercial law [in the 14th century] prohibited innovation in tools or techniques, underselling below a fixed price, working late by artificial light, employing extra apprentices or wife and underage children, and advertising of wares or praising them to the detriment of others.

Barbara W. Tuchman
I have always felt like an artist when I work on a book. I see no reason why the word should always be confined to writers of fiction and poetry.

Barbara W. Tuchman
To be right and overruled is not forgiven to persons in responsible positions.

Barbara W. Tuchman
More than a code of manners in war and love, Chivalry was a moral system, governing the whole of noble life...

Barbara W. Tuchman