By H. A. L. Fisher

FROM THE PREFACE: “…Men wiser a n dmore learned than I have discerned in history a plot, a rhythm, a predetermined pattern. These harmonies are concealed from me. I can see only o n e emergency following upon another as wave follows upon wave, only one great fact withrespect to which, since it is unique, there can be no generalizations, only one safe rule for the historian: that he should recognize in the develop- ment of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unforeseen. This is not a doctrine of cynicism and despair. The fact of progress is written plain and large on the page of history; but progress is not a law of nature. The ground gained by one generation may b e lost by the next. The thoughts of men may flow into the channels which lead to disaster and barbarism….

London. Collins. Fontana. 1960 (1936). 770p.