Good men who exercise power are really the most fascinating of all people. John Keegan More Quotes by John Keegan More Quotes From John Keegan Soldiers, when committed to a task, can't compromise. It's unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it's been done. John Keegan loyaltysoldierletting-go I don't look to find an educated person in the ranks of university graduates, necessarily. Some of the most educated people I know have never been near a university. John Keegan graduationinspirationalfunny The historian ought to be an educated person, writing for other educated people about something which they don't know about, but wish to know about in a way that they can understand. John Keegan writinghistorypeople The Second World War is the largest single event in human history, fought across six of the world's seven continents and all it oceans. It killed 50 million human beings, left hundreds of millions of others wounded in mind or body and materially devastated much of the heartland of civilization. John Keegan oceanheartwar The written history of the world is largely a history of warfare, because the states within which we live came into existence largely through conquest, civil strife, or struggles for independence. John Keegan independencestrugglewar It's a necessary quality of a diplomat or a politician that he will compromise. Uncompromising politicians or diplomats get you into the most terrible trouble. John Keegan diplomatsqualitycompromise The leader of men in warfare can show himself to his followers only through a mask, a mask that he must make for himself, but a mask made in such form as will mark him to men of his time and place as the leader they want and need. John Keegan warfareleadermen A civilised man is someone who has discovered something more satisfying than combat. John Keegan satisfyingcombatmen The great Chinese classics have always said that it's better not to fight; that the clever man achieves his ends without violence; that a battle delayed is better than a battle fought. John Keegan fightingclevermen I think that black Africa is extremely terrifying. Black Africa can become a maelstrom of warring tribes without the outside world needing to feel the need to do anything about it. John Keegan blackscarythinking There are certain wicked people in the world that you can't deal with except by force John Keegan wickedpeopleworld I don't think that what's going on in Bosnia is political activity. It's partly political, but it's partly atavistic as well. John Keegan bosniapoliticalthinking I think to be shot in a mountain valley somewhere or other is altogether less glorious than crashing an airliner into a skyscraper. John Keegan mountainhikingthinking Well, if they are trying to kill you, on the whole they're the people you have to kill, aren't they? John Keegan wellstryingpeople Some people are more terrorist than others John Keegan terroristpeople Slavery in the modern world implies the absolute deprivation of the individual's liberty, while possession of weapons and mastery of their use are means to the individual's liberation. We do not perceive how a man may be armed and at the same time bereft of his freedom. John Keegan libertymenmean If Wellington epitomizes the English gentleman, Eisenhower epitomizes the natural American gentleman. John Keegan gentlemannaturalhair The Islam of the 18th, 19th and first half of the 20th century was a poor thing. Nobody bothered about it. Islam was that funny sort of pure system of beliefs that depressed people in the Middle East held as their religion. John Keegan middle-eastislampeople Men killing other men really is an extraordinary phenomenon. Why does it happen? And how long has it gone on? And have the motives changed? John Keegan killing-othersmenlong The great men of power who seek to change the nations they belong to usually are pretty terrible people. John Keegan terriblemenpeople
