The great European dream was to diminish militant nationalism. We would all be happy Europeans together. But we are going to see the old monster of militant nationalism being awoken when people realise how little control their politicians have.

The vital thing for me is to integrate the history from above with the history from below because only in that way can you show the true consequences of the decisions of Hitler or Stalin or whomever on the ordinary civilians caught up in the battle.

The great help of being in the Army is to understand why are the armies clever in what they describe as emotional intelligence, making soldiers come to terms with the death of comrades by certain rituals.

I just love the days when you come out of the archives with half a dozen excellent descriptions or poignant accounts of personal experiences.

I think it's outrageous if a historian has a 'leading thought' because it means they will select their material according to their thesis

The duty of a historian is simply to understand and then convey that understanding, no more than that.

The blurring of fact and fiction has great commercial potential, which is bound to be corrupting in historical terms.