When history is said to repeat itself, it is never for good reasons. George Bernard Shaw captured this when he said: "If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience."
The question of whether nations can learn from history nag policymakers around the world. Part of the problem is that history is handed down through a variety of interpretations that do not reflect reality. But contemporary history, if genuine presented, can offer policy makers with lessons they can learn from.
This is the central message in the newly released book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World, by Graham Allison and Robert Blackwill, with Ali Wyne. This is a contemporary account of Lee Kuan Yew's thinking as told through a series of interviews.