Another Writer on Why History or, I Wish I Wrote That

What can we learn from this knowledge that can actually help us? Actually, quite a lot. Because behind the great themes are great men and women, the leaders of history. History by definition is about human beings, and there is nothing more fascinating, or more immediately applicable to our lives, than the study of human nature. History is a record of mankind's stupidities, pride, vindictiveness, hypocrisies, and ambitions, tempered by moments of heroism, grace, good judgment, and nobility. In the broad brush strokes of great themes these are sometimes hidden or obscured. But it is history's little stories that provide the greatest insight into the nature of man. Some are not pretty, some are powerful, and some are poignant. But the best of them are worth remembering precisely because they have something to teach. (Wick Allison. Condemned to Repeat It. (xv-xvi)