Why Don't We Learn From History?
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Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. They contain quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover Why Don't We Learn From History?, a book written by B. H. Liddell Hart that discusses the lessons that many fail to learn from history.
Author
B. H. Liddell Hart and Giles Laurén
Introduction
Originally written in 1944, Why Don't We Learn From History? is the unfinished work of military historian B. H. Liddell Hart. Hart died before the book could be published, so it was actually published posthumously by his son Adrian Liddell Hart, with the help of author Giles Laurén. Hart's aim with the book was to summarize the history of warfare. Rather than writing the lessons we learn from history, Hart flipped the message to discuss the many lessons we fail to learn from history.
Message and Purpose
The book is comprised of three major sections:
History and Truth. This section outlines various topics such as: the value of history, the significance of military history, the explorations of history, the treatment of history, the scientific approach, the fear of truth, the evasion of truth, and blinding loyalties.
Government and Freedom. This section outlines various topics such as: blindfolded authority, restraints of democracy, power politics in a democracy, men behind the scenes, pattern of dictatorship, the psychology of dictatorship, the basic flaw in dictatorship, disturbing trends, the fallacy of compulsion, and progress by compulsion.
War and Peace. This section outlines various topics such as: the desire for power, the shortsightedness of expediency, the importance of keeping promises, the importance of care about making promises, the germs of war, how the germs work, how the germs persist, the illusion of victory, the importance of moderation, the illusion of treaties, the dilemma of the intellectual, the limitations of conformity, the problem of force, the problem of limiting war, the problem of disarmament, the problem of irregular warfare, the problem of world order, and the problem of world faith.
As you can see, a wide array of topics are discussed in this short, dense book. The central theme of the book focuses on the importance of history and why it should be studied more widely and with more seriousness. History, Hart claims, is essentially truth, as history repeats itself continuously.
Remarkable Chapter
The third section—discussing war and peace—has some profound insights. A particular portion of this section I found quite remarkable was regarding the germs of war. Hart explains that accuracy, that is, telling the truth, is one of the pillars of livelihood:
"I have come to think that accuracy, in the deepest sense, is the basic virtue, the foundation of understanding, supporting the promise of progress. The cause of most troubles can be traced to excess; the failure to check them to deficiency; their prevention lies in moderation. So in the case of troubles that develop from spoken or written communication, their cause can be traced to overstatement, their maintenance to understatement, while their prevention lies in exact statement. It applies to private as well as public life.
Sweeping judgements, malicious gossip, inaccurate statements which spread a misleading impression; these are symptoms of the moral and mental recklessness that gives rise to war. Studying their effect, one if led to see that the germs of war lie within ourselves, not in economics, politics, or religion as such. How can we hope to rid the world of war until we have cured ourselves of the originating causes?"
If sweeping judgements and malicious gossip are primary contributors that cause wars, think about how harmful these are in our mundane, daily lives! One of the last things on earth I would want to be known as is a gossiper. Don't be that person. Speak truth or speak directly, but don't speak deliberate inaccuracies.
Conclusion
Why Don't We Learn From History? is a perceptive peek into the mind of one of history's great military historians. Hart has quite a unique perspective into war as he participated in them, studied them, and consulted within them. He was a British officer in World War I and consulted both sides of World War II. This wide perspective makes for a fascinating read and insightful learning opportunity for the reader.