History Quote by Michael Dobbs

“Realpolitik for Bismarck depended on flexibility and on the ability to exploit every available option without the constraint of ideology.”

— Henry Kissinger

“they did not take their life seriously and despised it as something of no consequence. They preferred to close their eyes and to live…

— Viktor E. Frankl

“Political judgment is the ability to hear the distant hoofbeats of the horse of history.”

— Otto von Bismarck

“[Otto von Bismarck] only considered the interests of his own country - always the worst offense that a statesman can commit in the eyes…

— A.J.P. Taylor

“With snow-white hair and a massive forehead, Bismarck, in military uniform, welcomed Grant with both hands extended. Turning on the charm, he expressed surprise…

— Ron Chernow

“When Leopold wrote that the precise frontiers of the new state or states would be defined later, [German Chancellor] Bismarck said to an aide,…

— Adam Hochschild

“Hence anyone who is to listen intelligently to lectures about what is noble and just and, generally, about the subjects of political science must…

— Aristotle

“In each case the individuals made history-although,to adapt the thought of Karl Marx,not under circumstances of their choosing”

— Ian Kershaw

“We grow justly weary of our politics. But we must remember this: Politics - in all its grubby, grasping, corrupt, contemptible manifestations - is…

— Charles Krauthammer

“For those under the age of 45 it seemed that world events had finally contrived a meaningful test of their capacity for conscientious political…

— Joseph O'Neill

“In politics, where everything romantic and sentimental is folly, the converse is usually considered true, and every brutality is thought sound sense”

— William Bolitho

“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”

— Timothy Snyder