Antony Beevor
Antony Beevor
Antony James Beevor, FRSLis an English military historian. He has published several popular histories on the Second World War and the 20th century in general...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionHistorian
Date of Birth14 December 1946
almost basic careers civil discipline further history ideal needed politics practical private provides purely relations skills students
At a purely practical level, history is important because it provides the basic skills needed for students to go further in sociology, politics, international relations and economics. History is also an ideal discipline for almost all careers in the law, the civil service and the private sector.
british country empire forming history links national respect teaching understand unlikely
Teaching the history of the British Empire links in with that of the world: for better and for worse, the Empire made us what we are, forming our national identity. A country that does not understand its own history is unlikely to respect that of others.
economic history lose pressures socially understanding
Without an understanding of history, we are politically, culturally and socially impoverished. If we sacrifice history to economic pressures or to budget cuts, we will lose a part of who we are.
across both cannot deplorable encourage except history inspiring perhaps profession seems
I have come across both inspiring teachers of history and deplorable ones over the years, so one cannot generalise, except perhaps to observe that the profession seems to encourage anti-militarist sentiments.
entertainment historical history knowledge lacks main source supposedly
Entertainment history is now the main source of supposedly historical knowledge for more and more people, but 'histo-tainment' is superficial and lacks all context.
emphasized history influence reason took
The reason that 'Stalingrad' took off was because it emphasized the influence of history on the individual.
history weapon
Politicians are often tempted to deploy history as a weapon against each other.
history love
I love 'Blackadder,' but history it certainly ain't.
denied history novelists people voice
Some novelists want to give people in history a voice because they have been denied it in the past.
easily history though
Of course history is easily manipulated - though that makes it even more important for us to know what actually happened.
clue lies nation pattern pedestal people searching sort sound supporters temptation themselves
The temptation in any approaching crisis or conflict is, because people haven't got a clue what lies ahead, they're always searching into the past for some sort of pattern ... to galvanise the nation or their supporters and put themselves on a pedestal to sound Churchillian or Rooseveltian.
ages dated head practice punishment shaving
The punishment of shaving a woman's head had biblical origins. In Europe, the practice dated back to the Dark Ages with the Visigoths.
allied armies local majority officers population treated
The majority of soldiers and officers of the Soviet Army and the allied armies treated the local population humanely.
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Counter-knowledge covers the propagation of false legends and conspiracy theories often used for political purposes or fundamentalist religious propaganda.