Margaret MacMillan Quotes

“History does not produce definitive answers for all time. It is a process.”

“We have to be careful to cast our gaze as widely as possible. If we only look for the lessons that reinforce decisions we have already made, we will run into trouble.”

“Nationalism brought Germany and Italy into being, destroyed Austrio-Hungary, and, more recently, broke apart Yugoslavia. People have suffered and died, and have harmed and killed others, for their 'nation.”

“Lost golden ages can be very effective tools for motivating people in the present.”

“Histories that that show past injustices or crimes can be used to argue for redress in the present.”

“If history is the judge to which we appeal, then it can also find against us. It can highlight our mistakes by reminding us of those who, at other times, faced similar problems but who made different, perhaps better decisions.”

“Over the years, historians have tried to discern grand patterns, perhaps one grand pattern, that explain everything.”