American Empire- it is an empire that lacks the drive to export its capital, its people and its culture to those backward regions which need them most urgently and which, if they are neglected, will breed the greatest threats to its security. It is an empire, in short, that dare not speak its name. It is an empire in denial.
Niall FergusonOral history is a recipe for complete misrepresentation because almost no one tells the truth, even when they intend to.
Niall FergusonIt's all very well for us to sit here in the west with our high incomes and cushy lives, and say it's immoral to violate the sovereignty of another state. But if the effect of that is to bring people in that country economic and political freedom, to raise their standard of living, to increase their life expectancy, then don't rule it out.
Niall FergusonWhy did the Germans and Japanese keep fighting after 1943 when every rational hope of victory had disappeared?
Niall Ferguson