Disaster is rarely as pervasive as it seems from recorded accounts. The fact of being on the record makes it appear continuous and ubiquitous whereas it is more likely to have been sporadic both in time and place.
Barbara TuchmanA phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests.
Barbara TuchmanIt is wiser, I believe, to arrive at theory by way of evidence rather than the other way around.... It is more rewarding, in any case, to assemble the facts first and, in the process of arranging them in narrative form, to discover a theory or a historical generalization emerging of its own accord.
Barbara Tuchman