Description
Introducing the book History of Irrationality by Barbara Tuckman
Humans seem to have shown incompetence in governance more than anything else. Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Tuckman addresses a topic as old as human history in her History of Irrationality, citing many examples of the irrationality of the world’s rulers. He concludes from his examples that irrationality is born of power, and that as power increases, responsibility for it fades away.

Barbara Tuckman (1912-1989) is a historian whose writings have always been one of the best-selling books of the year. Perhaps his historical narrative style, which is similar to that of novels and literature, has influenced this tendency. Tuckman is a unique narrator whose goal is to keep the reader focused on the historical story and get the point across. To this end, he pursues his story and does not exhaust himself under the burden of historical details and causes.
The Radcliffe College (affiliated with Harvard University) studied storytelling as a foreign journalist during the Spanish Civil War. Tuckmann joined and helped the Spanish Republican forces in Madrid. He was besieged by enemy forces in Madrid for some time and later wrote an article for the Spanish Republican propaganda magazine in London.
About the history book of irrationality
The History of Irrationality is about one of the great contradictions in human history: governments that act against their own interests. Tuckman describes four historical turning points in which the irrationality of the rulers played a key role: In the Trojan War, they brought the Greek wooden horse into the city and turned victory into defeat; ۲. Renaissance popes fueled conflicts between the Catholic and Protestant religions; 3. British policies on American colonies during the reign of George III led to their secession; 4. The United States War in Vietnam lasted twenty years, and American presidents made mistakes over and over again.
The structure of the history book of irrationality
The book History of Irrationality has five chapters:
In the first chapter, entitled “Pursuing policies contrary to one’s own interests”, the author gives several examples of rulers who worked against their own interests.
The second chapter, entitled “The Beginnings: The Trojan Wooden Horse”, tells the famous story of the Western world. In this event, myth and reality are mixed and give it an artistic and literary color. The story of Troy is a prime example of the fact that wisdom has seldom been a determining factor in human life.
In the third chapter, we go to the time when Christopher Columbus discovered America (1492) and the Renaissance was at its peak in Italy. Six popes (five Italians and one Spaniard) took their seats one after the other, disappointing the believers with their irrationality and turning their backs on moral principles, and leaving the cry for reform unanswered.
In the fourth chapter, “Britain loses America”, which is a catastrophe for old colonialism and a blessing for the new world. Salah was in agreement; But as relations deteriorated, the work came under fire.
In the fifth chapter, it was the turn of neo-colonialism to be captured by the irrationality caused by perversion. In this chapter, “America betrays itself in Vietnam.” “It was not foolish in Vietnam to pursue a goal while being ignorant; “It was foolish to insist on continuing along the way, despite the growing evidence that such a goal is not achievable.”
Is this book for you?
Fluent and eloquent prose along with the translation of Siles Hassan Kamshad does not allow the reader to lay down this thick book. Each event is presented in detail and surrounds the reader. Reading this book, he realizes that it is irrationality that has shaped the world today, and that history is full of prey to human greed, greed, and oppression. In this sense, the history of irrationality is a truly enlightening book, and its audience is all those who fall prey to these irrational policies.
Excerpts from the book History of Irrationality
“There are four types of mismanagement, and it is often a mixture of all four:
1. Tyranny or oppression or oppression that history is so full of famous examples that there is no need to mention evidence;
۲. Excessive ambition, such as Athens’ struggle to conquer Sicily in the Peloponnesian War; ;
3. Inadequacy or decline, like the story of the ancient Roman Empire and the last Romanov tsars of Russia and the last dynasty of the Chinese Empire;
4. And finally, irrationality or insistence on perversion. This book is about a special manifestation of the recent crack; “It means following policies that are against the interests of our people and our country.”
1- Introducing the book on YouTube
2- Introducing the book in Aparat
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