We study the injustices of history for the same reason that we study genocide, and for the same reason that psychologists study the minds of murderers and rapists... to understand how those evil things came about.

Tasmanian history is a study of human isolation unprecedented except in science fiction - namely, complete isolation from other humans for 10,000 years.

...neither life nor history is an enterprise for those who seek simplicity and consistency.

Introspection and preserved writings give us far more insight into the ways of past humans than we have into the ways of past dinosaurs. For that reason, I'm optimistic that we can eventually arrive at convincing explanations for these broadest patterns of human history.

Much of human history has consisted of unequal conflicts between the haves and the have-nots.

History as well as life itself is complicated -- neither life nor history is an enterprise for those who seek simplicity and consistency.