A Short History of Power by Simon Heffer (PT15)

Published 2011: First Edition / Hardcover / Excellent Condition / As New

Original maroon cloth with titles all round. 168 + as new very clean and bright pages. Slight shelf wear might be expected. (PT15)

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Taking a panoramic view from the days of Thucydides up to the present, Heffer analyses the motive forces behind the pursuit of power, and, explains in a beautiful argument why history is destined to repeat itself.
From Macaulay in the 19th century to Fukuyama in the late 20th, historians have often been lulled into thinking that things can only get better. Such belief in progress, argues leading political commentator Simon Heffer, may be typical of times of plenty, but it ignores a less palatable truth: that, since the beginnings of recorded history, the major events in international relations can be attributed to a single cause, the desire by rulers to assert or protect their power.

Taking a panoramic view from the days of Thucydides up to the present, Heffer offers a fourfold analysis of the motive forces behind the pursuit of power: land, wealth, God and minds. If we understand these forces, he contends, we can more clearly understand why history is destined to repeat itself.

Review
‘Intelligent, lyrical, prosaic, theoretical, pragmatic, funny, serious. His best prose does everything at once.’ James Wood, New Yorker

‘Take a dash of Montaigne and add a smidgen of stimulants and you get a digressive, engaging ride of an essay... Cohen is a cockily pyrotechnic writer; his essay is a show-off, but with something to show off about.’ Jenny Diski, Guardian

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-History-Power-Simon-Heffer/dp/